Hundreds of gymnasts who were abused by former US national team doctor Larry Nassar reached a $380 million deal with the US Gymnastics Federation (USA Gymnastics) and the US Olympic Committee (Usoc) this Monday ( 13) to compensate victims.
The content of the agreement between the gymnasts, USA Gymnastics and Usoc, as well as their insurance companies, was revealed in a bankruptcy court session in the Southern District of Indiana.
The amount is one of the highest ever recorded under this type of deal to compensate victims of sexual abuse and will be handed over to hundreds of gymnasts, including sports stars Simone Biles, McKayla Maroney and Aly Raisman.
One of Nassar’s victims, Rachael Denhollander wrote on her Twitter account that the settlement finally ends the case. “Now the hard work of renovation and reconstruction can begin. Whether justice is done or not and whether the change is made depends on what happens next”, tweeted Denhollander, who expressed “pride” for the commitments made beyond the financial aspect of the agreement.
Under the deal, insurers USA Gymnastics and the Olympic and Paralympic Committee will pay most of the $380 million, although Usoc has agreed to pay $34 million of its coffers and will still borrow $6 million to the federation.
This is a marked change in the attitude of the committee, which had previously argued that it was not responsible for Nassar’s crimes and that it should not be named in lawsuits related to him, because the doctor was not employed by Usoc.
USA Gymnastics filed for bankruptcy in 2018, the same year that Nassar was sentenced to prison on a conviction that equates to an actual life sentence.
Nassar, who abused more than 330 gymnasts, is serving sentences ranging from 40 to 175 years in prison, in addition to a 60-year sentence for child pornography. The doctor received his sentences between December 2017 and February 2018, in decisions that coincided with the emergence of the #MeToo movement, reporting cases of sexual abuse.
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