PENNSYLVANIA
Daily Pennsylvanian
By William Snow
In the wake of the Larry Nassar scandal in USA Gymnastics, Penn hosted a symposium on Wednesday on athletes and abuse. The day-long event featured panels discussing the sexual abuse of athletes from children to Olympians and every level in between.
Penn partnered with CHILD USA and the Ortner Center on Violence and Abuse in Relationships to bring in a number of high-profile speakers to share their perspectives on the subject. Among those speaking at the first symposium of its kind were Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro, former NFL player and current Wharton MBA student Justin Tuck, and Olympic gold medalist Dominique Moceanu.
Many of the speakers throughout the day tended to echo similar points — namely, that the issue of the abuse of athletes is a pressing one that must be addressed head-on with open and honest dialogue. Many also added thoughts on their distaste for the stigmatization of speaking about sexual assault.
“This is an issue that thrives in darkness,” Chris Newlin of the National Children’s Advocacy Center said during one session.
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