Nassar victims agree $520m settlement

NEW YORK • Hundreds of female gymnasts who were sexually abused by Larry Nassar, the former team doctor of the United States gymnastics team, have agreed to a US$380 million (S$520 million) settlement with USA Gymnastics and the US Olympic & Paralympic Committee (USOPC).

After five years, this ends the latest dark chapter in one of the biggest child-molestation cases in history.

The settlement, announced on Monday during USA Gymnastics' bankruptcy proceedings in the US Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Indiana, is among the largest for a sexual abuse case.

The funds would seek to compensate more than 500 abuse victims of Nassar, including Olympic gold medallists such as Simone Biles, McKayla Maroney and Aly Raisman.

A small number of those victims were also abused by their coaches or others in the sport.

"No amount of money will ever repair the damage that has been done and what these women have been through," said Rachael Denhollander, a Nassar survivor and former gymnast turned lawyer.

"But at some point, the negotiations have to end because these women need help - and they need it right now."

Many of the girls and women abused by Nassar have battled mental health issues, including anxiety, depression and post-traumatic stress disorder.

Some have attempted suicide because of the abuse, which the 58-year-old, who is serving multiple life sentences, perpetrated under the guise of medical treatment.

Denhollander said it was unclear how much money each survivor would receive from the settlement because an independent mediator would consider many factors.

They include the length of time and the severity of the abuse, when calculating amount per victim.

USA Gymnastics and USOPC officials applauded the settlement, which, along with the gymnastics federation's reorganisation plan, was approved on Monday by Judge Robyn Moberly.

That approval means that USA Gymnastics should emerge from bankruptcy by the end of the year after years of uncertainty.

Under an avalanche of lawsuits, the federation lost all of its major sponsors and filed for bankruptcy protection in 2018.

The Olympic officials commended the survivors for their bravery and apologised to them.

"USA Gymnastics is deeply sorry for the trauma and pain that survivors have endured as a result of this organisation's actions and inactions," Li Li Leung, the federation's president and chief executive said, adding the reorganisation plan reflected its "accountability to the past and our commitment to the future".

Sarah Hirshland, chief executive of the USOPC, also said her committee had made many changes to protect athletes going forward.

"We recognise our role in failing to protect these athletes, and we are sorry for the profound hurt they have endured," she added.

The Nassar case, which forced a spotlight on the vulnerability of young athletes in gymnastics and other sports, revealed how organisations such as USA Gymnastics and the USOPC had failed to protect their athletes and appeared to prize medals over the safety of their charges.

There have been numerous congressional hearings about the scandal and lawmakers have now strengthened protections for athletes in Olympic sports.

One legacy of the case will be how it empowered victims to speak about their sexual abuse and face their accusers.

Because of the Nassar case, sports bodies also became aware of their culpability when athletes were abused on their watch.

Other non-monetary provisions include at least one Nassar survivor serving on USA Gymnastics' board of directors and an independent accounting of what went wrong in the Nassar case and how it went wrong.

Denhollander said: "To move forward, we have to make sure that this never happens again - on the Olympic team or at the lowest-level gyms.

"I think we owe it to the survivors, but also to the future gymnasts, to do the best that we can do to protect them."

NYTIMES