USA Gymnastics files bankruptcy. Here’s what it could mean for Larry Nassar survivors

INDIANAPOLIS (IN)
Indianapolis Star

December 5, 2018

By Tim Evans, Nancy Armour, Rachel Axon and Marisa Kwiatkowski

USA Gymnastics filed for bankruptcy protection Wednesday, a move it says will help resolve lawsuits stemming from Larry Nassar’s sexual abuse, but one it’s also counting on to hold off the U.S. Olympic Committee.

The filing, in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Indiana, stays all “pending actions” against the governing body. That includes lawsuits filed by hundreds of Nassar survivors as well as the USOC’s Section 8 complaint aimed at stripping USA Gymnastics of its status as the national governing body.

“Our board has been talking about this bankruptcy strategy for a while now — well before the Section 8 complaint was filed,” said Kathryn Carson, chair of the USA Gymnastics board. “Our primary reason to do this is to expedite those survivor claims.”

But John Manly, an attorney who represents many of the survivors, was skeptical.

“Today’s bankruptcy filing by USA Gymnastics was the inevitable result of the inability of this organization to meet its core responsibility of protecting its athlete members from abuse,” Manly said in a statement.

“The leadership of USA Gymnastics has proven itself to be both morally and financially bankrupt. They have inflicted and continue to inflict unimaginable pain on survivors and their families.”

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