Even if the Karolyis didn't know, they built an environment where athletes did not feel safe speaking up or raising concerns because they might be punished or isolated for complaining.
Yeah well I mean shouldn’t they have known Nassar was in the rooms alone? Yes. Shouldn’t they have known that was against policies and forgot that doctors are not supposed to see children alone in rooms whether it was policy or not? Yes. Did they care? No.
@@justcogitating Ik I think that’s what made it even worse for the girls to them they were losing their innocence in front of their parents. So for many it made them distrust their parents.
Some of the victims said that Larry “listened” to them when they voiced their frustration about the coaches. That’s incredibly sad that he was the one they could trust in this.
They can't convince me they didn't know. Not for a second. They were with these girls every second. I would be surprised if not one of those girls showed a single sign.
Is it me or does Savanna seem like she kind of has disbelief or not fully believing or empathetic of the young women. Don’t like her at all. She sounds to be making some excuses while talking about him. I don’t know.
The parents weren't allowed on the ranch. So the parents wouldn't have known. I'm all for personal responsibility but the parents trusted them to care for the kids.
I have been a gymnastics coach for 40 years. From that vantage point, I steadfastly say that any parent who allows their child to participate in a program that disallows parents from readily and easily seeing and hearing EVERYTHING surrounding their child’s gymnastics career should immediately reconsider, and leave said program. There’s far too much history and the stories of abuse are far too familiar for any responsible gym owner to manage a learning environment that isn’t clearly and publicly set up to acknowledge their policies on not allowing ANY kind of abuse to happen.
@@yagirltones8748 they knew an adult was alone with minors in private rooms which is suspicious. A third party would had been needed. It is awful no one intervined
Agree. It's the culture to ignore it and the Karolyi's did what USAG and the USOC wanted...they won medals and made money. Until the culture changes nothing changes.
Who made the rules at that Ranch? Who made it a place of fear, where parents were not allowed, where talking between the girls was discouraged? Who made the rule that seeing Nassar was compulsory and would not let the gymnasts use the medical facilities at the Olympic Village? Who allowed gymnasts to compete injured without proper treatment? Who chose a place so far from a hospital or any other civilisation?
Emmy Johnson wait on that one! As a former gymnast and mother of a gymnast, it's every young gymnasts dream to make it elite and get to the ranch. Meets, especially international, are high intensity and high pressure situations. The ranch simulating these situations is what brought the USA to the top of WAG. The personal coaches were REQUIRED to be there with their gymnast every 4-6 weeks when they got together at the ranch. Remember the KAROLYIS are old school Romanian and did their best to adjust to American cultures and training. Go to Russia , Round Lake, same scenario...gymnasts and coaches only. This is nothing out of the ordinary it ELITE GYMNASTICS. HOWEVER, Yes they feared martha, but if you listen to the girls testimony, they feared if they said the wrong thing they would lose their national team spot bevause at that time THEY WEREN'T AWARE THEY WERE EVEN BEING MOLESTED. I BELIEVE THE KAROKYIS ARE GUILTY OF BEING VERY TOUGH COACHES, AND THAT MADE OLYMPIC WINNING GYMNASTS....BUT I DO NOT BELUEVE THEY HAD ANY KNOWLEDGE OF THE MONSTER NASSAR WAS UNTIL 2015, AND I BELUEVE BELLA NEVER LIKED HIM. BUT HE WASN'T BELLA 'S EMPLOYEE. HE WAS EMPLOYED JUST AS THEY WERE BY USAG
Ps. Parents were allowed at certain times. It wasn't a 24/7 365 day without parents training and their personal coaches were right there. None of them knew. Camp was held an average of every 6 weeks for 4-6 DAYS.
A coach that is nice and sweet won't make a champion. Getting to the ranch was a dream that every gymnast had. Marta had to be tough. These athletes are such babies. How long have they been going to the ranch? They know exactly what to expect. They know the environment
Simone Biles had a very nice coach and limited contact with Marta, guess who is the best in the world? Shawn Johnson went to school, trained fewer hours and was coached by The Chows. Nastia Liukin would not have been bullied either as her coach was her father. Morgan Hurd has managed to be a more beautiful gymnast without Marta's influence. As for being babies...You try competing with the whole world watching, your country expects you to win gold, when a man standing with your coach sexually assaulted you the night before. I am not someone that even supports American gymnasts, and I was pleased to see Izbasa win.. I .but I still care about the abuse they suffered. Russia must do something right because Mustafina is back after having a baby and looks great. The US has no requirement for qualifications for gymnastic coaching, no nutritionists, and only one doctor, with access to specialists or hospital. in the UK it is mandatory to be trained and fully qualified, so is a detailed police check for anyone employed by British Gymnastics, Gymnasts in the UK finish their education, Amy Tinkler is doing A''Level's, Beth Tweddle did a degree when she was competing. The Romanians have compulsory schooling for their gymnasts. The US seems to neglect education unless they want a scholorship,
Emmy Johnson Some of these comments are confusing me, so far out in left field. You "do" realize SIMONE had just as much contact with Martha, Bella, and Larry Nassar as Every other NATIONAL SENIOR TEAM MEMBER DID! The entire team went to the ranch together for those few days every month. Larry abused Simone just as he did every other of his victims. Once Simone spoke up and said she wasn't comfortable going back to where she was molested, that's when USAG pulled the plug on the ranch. Please explain why your Bringing up Aimee, her coach, as opposed to anyone else's coach?? Makes no sense. She was also molested!! And just about everyone's "personal" coaches are awesome (john Geddert the exception of course) and why Morgan? Was a (maybe, barely) a JUNIOR and I'm not even sure she was a national team member at the time so again, why morgan? Keep in mind Larry was out as of late 2014, early 2015!! As far as coaches, USAG has THOUSANDS of licensed, registered coaches across the country. OF COURSE there are "requirements" which include not only the safety aspects of coaching (that is very rigorous) but everything that goes with it. They have to be licensed, bonded, insured and educated. And Nutrition ? There was PLENTY OF FOOD at the ranch. They were there just a few days a month, MOST DAYS THEY GO TO THEIR OWN GYM, EAT WHAT THEY WANT OR BRING AND GO HOME AFTER TRAINING. Sounds as if you think they all live together like in Russia or Romania, THEY DON'T!. But at the ranch the food was out for the team, it was (some) of the girls who felt they were being watched and didn't eat properly. Where do people get their info from? Even mckayla says herself there was food, but "you feel like your coach is watching and want you to stay skinny" I was there many many years ago. But I have a friends whose daughter is a competitive cheerleader and spent 8 days there 3 years ago and loved it. I just asked about the food and her response was "mostly healthy, good, but there were snacks too"! "USA neglects education unless they want a scholarship"? Seriously? These girls are home schooled , usually in their gyms together, many scholastically ahead of the average American child in the same grade. They don't need great grades to get a scholarship, they just need to not go pro and be the gymnast the college wants. ( THAT is a problem in the USA). But again, most of these kids are smarter than the average. WHERE DOES THIS INFO COME FROM????
I've been involved in usag since the late 80's and not all coaches are abusive. But the culture in the sport is exactly as the gymnasts say it is. Ive left and come back to the sport ive since I was 3. Its shameful that any abuse happened. Choosing medals and money over safety is just wrong. I was one of the strong kids. I was very outspoken as a kid naturally. So When coaches would try and make me feel bad for gaining a tiny bit during off time. And I spoke out against it. Told them when i was around 13 that i do this sport for love. I wasn't dreaming of the olympics. I was just a super excited kid happy to be in the gym. Learning stuff and life lessons. Yet seeing follow gym mates crying in locker rooms and not fully understanding what was actually going on. Then me leaving the gym for a year. Moving to a new gym. Seeing the same behaviour from adults in the gym. Me being around 16 at the time and even more outspoken. I went toe to toe with the new coaching staff. Being punished for speaking up for not only me but other's who were afraid to. Finally 1 day I remember telling the coaches that were unkind to us kids. That they should remember that because of our parents enrolling us in these gyms and paying is the reason they have these gyms. So they should appreciate us a bit more. So the culture is and has been an issues since i started the sport in the 80's
Oh I believe you 100%, I mean if you look at Dance Moms who are on the television you see the Dance Moms just sitting by while Abby verbally abuses their kids in and saying a lot of mean things to the girls just because of the name, so I believe that the parents didn't know, or they had a Superstition, but again like you said the stakes are too high, so I find it hard to believe that parents don't know what's going on.
I think both Marisa's and Jess' comments can be true. Yes, Nassar gained the trust of parents and athletes. But I do think they had suspicions. Merely because of his position and authority, they were in denial and let it go on. It comes back to conforming. You think, "this is weird, is this really treatment?", but then tell yourself, "oh, he's an Olympic doctor, I shouldn't question what he's doing". People didn't trust their gut feeling. In their gut, THEY KNEW.
@@tiffanykuo4256 Since you felt the need to bring up an ethnic group, Larry Nassar is an Arabic origin. Every ethnicity has its share of Sociopaths and Psychopaths.
@@vkrgfan it isnt new information that Russian gymnastics has had questionable tactics in regard to how they train their gymnasts. In the 80s a Russian gymnast became a quadriplegic and the spokesman lied about what happened.
They're eastern European...that's the mentality. I just wonder about other teams...like Russia and China and they probably have horrible experiences too but they can't speak up and media is controlled in both countries. I know how hard they train and how unhappy they usually look.
Bela and Marta Karolyi were irresponsible by not having any oversight or audit of their facility's medical practitioners. They didn't make sure Nassar routinely logged visits, wrote up diagnosis and treatment plans and followed up with evaluations of each athlete's progress or else the need for a new treatment plan. This was their gym. Nassar worked for them. They failed the athletes.
I don't know exactly who was legally responsible for exactly what. Indeed part of the problem may be that NO ONE AT ALL was overseeing Mr. Nassar. Nonetheless this was the Karolyi Ranch and Nassar was part of the operation there. I was a preschool teacher for 10 years. Officially I was responsible only for teaching my class. But when the children of my class interacted with children of other classes or when specialists of various kinds would come for a school wide event or to address a particular need of one or more children in my class and I had a concern I would without hesitation go the school director or the teacher of another class to get advice or form a plan together with the appropriate specialists and of course including the child's parents to address that need. I was always glad to have input from other teachers, parents and specialists. We didn't always agree but we felt secure knowing what each other expected and knowing where everyone stood on matters. A program involving various people interacting with various responsibilities cannot function properly without communication and trust between the professionals who are part of the operation. True trust requires communication. I actually feel terrible for Marta and Bela. What they are going through must be horrible. I do not believe they knew Nassar was abusing gymnasts. However, it sounds to me like the Karolyi Ranch involved a lot of prohibitions on communication instituted by the Karolyis . Don't complain about pain. Don't say anything if you're so weak from hunger you feel about to pass out. Never contradict a coach. This is not an ok method to produce tough gymnasts. Oversight was so lax that Nassar often neglected to write out diagnoses, treatments and the results of treatments. That is entirely unprofessional. Looking forward it is obvious now that any doctor in a sports program needs a medical audit. A medical team not involved in any other way with the program needs to look over the doctor's records for each athlete to make sure they appear in order and to give to each athlete a copy of the report the team doctor gave them to make sure she/he was not falsifying the report. MSU, USAG, and the Karolyis all were part of the problem. This is such a tragedy. It has hurt so many basically decent people so badly and I'd like to think the Karolyis are among those basically decent people. But Aly Raisman was right to say a thorough investigation needs to be done because no professional involved with the program can be completely trusted at this point. Holding professionals accountable for their poor decisions will make sure those following them know they can't get away with similar behavior. Its not about torturing people like the Karolyis although they are no doubt experiencing torment. It simply what has to be done.
Nassar was so brazen I dont think it mattered if he was supervised or not. @ 1 point a girls mother was in the room during the treatment but he positioned himself between the mother & the gymnast. Then put a towel over her, his hands underneath & was like fingering her. Bela nor his wife were ever in the treatment room during any of that
He very often wasn't alone with them when abusing them. There was many times he abused them secretly in front of the parents. He was doing "adjustments" of the pelvic area, which can be a legitimate treatment, but he was inserting his fingers into their vaginas and anuses. This is also apparently a legitimate treatment. But he did it as a form of sexual gratification. And he was so secretive about his hand movements, and the fact rhat he was adjusting the pelvis meany that his hands were around their genitals. You could supposedly be in the room with him, watching him, and not know that he had his fingers inside of the patient. He did much more than this of course. But the fact that he abused these girls in front of their parents led to the girls believing that it was indeed normal, and that their parents were aware of everything going on. And the fact that he did procedures in front of the parents at first if they wanted, meant that they would have more trust in him to continue to help their daughters even when they weren't present.
AcousticSong - Guitar & Co That’s BS. The Karolyis had already their glory with the Romanian National team, when they were consistently beating not only the american team but also the Russion and Chinese teams
JESSE B They defected for the $$$ and the whole deal that US offered them. But to say that they exploited these girls for their glory is a bit much... US was begging them to defect. Let’s face it: Without the Karolys there would’ve been absolutely no US gymnastics
The Karolyis had nothing to do with the abuse the athletes endured. Stop blaming them, when in fact it was Nassar and others behind it like Steve penny who were the only ones who knew about it...
JESSE B Romanian gymnastics was not dead. Karoly left in ‘81. And the Romanian team got the team gold in the Olympic games in ‘82 (ha!!), 2000, and 2004... and that’s not a small feat for a country the size of Michigan... competing with China, Russia, USA, countries with a lot of resources etc..
@ChristianBitz-Nielsen-eo2xb Why? How? How dare any of them accuse the Karolyi's of abuse? Does anyone realize when an atty composes a law suit, they have to incorporate other major names in the suit for various reasons, ie: the Karolyi's were the coaches, this was their gymnastics school.
I always found Megyn one who is against victims. Just last week she came out against Prince Andrew’s victim and was on Andrew’s side on her TH-cam show. Of course her viewers agree with her.
I know this is an article about Bela and Marta Karolyi coming clean about what happened at Karolyi camp. (I don’t believe a word they say BTW.) But I’m now getting sick of hearing the words “breaking their silence” when it comes to these girls. These girls were ANYTHING but silent about the abuse they were suffering. Nobody listened, nobody reported.
I get that but women can also abuse women too! I think it’s more the ignorance, where were the checks, why didn’t no one see what was happening right in front of them
I agree and disagree, Nassar doesn't represent all male doctors and gives his profession a bad name, some females don't want a female docs handling them. Unfortunately I think the general idea is that doctors are held to this "Holier than Thou" can do no wrong and why should anyone worry...you know. this is horrible
@@karenrao9526 or if they prefer a male doctor, have a female nurse chaperone in the room too. Im a Gymnastics coach (female) and i can not be in a room on my own with any child (even girls).
Yeah, I read “Little girls in pretty boxes”. I never liked them much afterwards, and I don’t believe them even now one bit. All they cared about was medals, not the girls.
To be fair it was their job to care about medals. It was their job to create elite, medal winning athletes. And they did. Gymnasts from all over the world aspired to be at that ranch, and it was because Marta and Bela did their job. It's just too bad they didn't have anyone on staff to balance out their harshness with kindness. I mean, someone other than a groomer.
It wasn’t JUST the Karolyis who were supposed to be supervising these girls at The Ranch. The girl’s personal coaches from home were there the the whole time as well.
A man that I was friends with (He and his wife) was sentenced to 10 years in prison this week for molesting girls. I NEVER would have believed it if there wasn't proof. He always showed me that he was a good dad and a good husband. My daughter never complained about things that were going on and she never said anything negative about the way he parented his kids. After hearing the detectives describe the evidence I was shocked!!! I trusted my own daughter in his home for years. She was friends with his daughters an I always taught her that if someone touched her that she had to tell. Come to find out little girls had been telling, parents had been reporting this to the police for 5 years with NO investigation! Finally in July he was arrested because there was evidence presented by a parent. The detectives spent months investigating and there was evidence that he touched 14 girls. We are all sure that there were more, just no evidence to proove it. This man wasn't as invasive as Nassir, but parents trusted he and his wife with their children. I can't imagine that the Karolyi's knew or that they "let" this happen. I watched the gymnasts say that they went to his home alone and that the parents were in the treatment rooms when the girls were hurt. I am NOT saying the parents should have known better and I'm not saying anything negative about the gymnasts. I am only saying that the Karolyi's trusted their friend, a doctor with a great reputation for helping gymnasts. Just as the parents trusted Nassir and I trusted my former friend. Sometimes people are wolves in sheep's clothing.
Wow. Thank you for your transparency and vulnerability in sharing this - I pray that your daughter wasn’t a victim of this evil, demonic, wicked couple. This is horrible.
These monsters hide in plain sight. They are often friendly, charismatic, and reliable. How could you have known? They are so plausible. Pleased he was caught.
Thank you for sharing. So important people understand the complexity of sexual abuse. Especially as survivor's parents often blame themselves and feel guilty for not knowing something that they couldn't have known. Paedophiles are very clever and manipulative. That's why it's called grooming
My wife worked there years ago. There are so many gymnasts running around that you'd have a hard time knowing anything unless you hung out with the coaches. The Karolyi's are hardly in the gym because they trust their coaches to run the gym. You can't blame them for everything but I do feel like they probably knew something even if they didn't witness it.
Karolyi's are the owners of gym in their post retirement years as coaches. So they have coaches that worked there. If so many gymnasts of young girls and women there at gymnastics camp, there's no way for them to know what is happening or going on. Especially if they're not in the gym as much especially in 2010 to 2018. Perhaps little kids or girls as young as 4 to 8 could still been there kinda playing about. As you know some gyms are jungle gyms and inside developmental for the little children. The Karolyi's should've been aware Larry Nassar's wrongdoing to the little girls, adolescents, teens, and young who definitely females. They should've been notified, and alerted of when the accusations of wrongdoing were going on so police could contacted. However Nassar probably threatened the girls or young not tell or they he would've harmed them to them silent. If were I a gymnast, I probably would've jujitsu. I would've kicked him in the privates. Female gymnastic-martial art's.
@@LittleMissV Yes. According to Dominique Moceanu who was forced basically by her dad to live at the ranch most the time, ‘Marta loved Larry’ lol says it all. He gave the ok for injured gymnasts to compete, and they’ve all said his ‘treatments’ never helped them.
Strange.y, nobody brings up that Simone only went to the Ranch with her Coach who would stop the Karoly’s from overtraining her or putting her down. Which is probably the major secret to Simone’s success.
So are the parents to a degree. I have an elite gymnast. It is my ultimately my responsibility to allow my daughter to do or not do what is expected of her since she is a minor. Lot's of parents will do anything, including over look emotional and physical abuse as part of the sport, just to get their kids to the Olympics. We must be the advocates for our children and speak for them when they can't. We are the ones who can stop the behaviors and cultures that our children are to young or naïve to stop. We have to be honest and not so hungry for our children's success that even we will overlook the obvious sometimes. (meaning the culture)
read GOLD FEVER by a repentant gymnastics mom she asked how could I do that the my own daughter one of the Chelles' mom she tried to retract it but it is all over the internet and Bela Karolyi's crimes and near crimes are outlined.Someone else wrote that this Chelle was asked about karoyi at a competition think it was the olympics and spoke of the deep fear in her eyes as she whitewashed karoyi
as a former elite gymnast i can understand what they went through. there are many many aspects that are all part of gymnastics that lots of people dont see. An example is the focus on being small and skinny. I never had my coach tell me that i was fat, but there was always the strong focus on our bodies and what we eat. we were also sent to a dietician and were weighed monthly. I think this was a main trigger to how i developped an eating disorder than partly lead up to me quitting gymnasstics. I also know other gymnasts that struggle with an eating disorder. The coaches are not blind, i'm sure they can see what is going on, but they choose to ignore it because at the end of the day as long as you have the body the surrounding problems don't matter. I am very grateful to say that i haven never experienced any kind of sexual assault. But mental abuse i think is a very very common thing that happens in gymnastics. Many many of my fellow teammates struggle with the mental side of the sport, often caused my the pressure as you meantioned in the video, but also because of the things coaches say. Of course there are also many other things that contribute to gymnastics. I think it is a very very compicated world, and you don't know exactly how it works untill you are part of it yourself.
Thank you for testifying to your experience. You are SOMEONE! Some of the commenters on a gymn listserve said USGF had to ban Kerri Strug from competing before she became famous in the one foot vault because her body fat level was so far below medical normalicy and the USGF were still trying to defend themselves from some of the gymnasts like Christina Hench who had DIED from ANOREXIA. The commenters were very cynical about the USGF good intensions or the hotline for gymnast to report abuse or starvation from coachs or parents.
Re: The Karolyi's intensity/pressure defense: If you study modern sports psychology it is all about taking away that intensity and pressure, not focusing on outcomes/wins/medals, and training yourself to only focus on the process. THEY & USAG created that extreme high pressure environment. Read up on elite athletes from other sports & their coaches - like Michael Phelps. He wasn't focused on winning or pleasing other people - he was focused on swimming as fast as he possibly could from one end of the pool to the other.
The Karolyis became known for their coaching in the 70s. They are very far from the modern techniques of moder sports technology. I would like to believe there was no malicious intent.
most intl sports institutes do things the way the Karyolis did so we shouldn't single them out on that basis alone. Modern sports psychology might say one thing but it'll take years to convince coaches to change.
I've always told myself before I had children..that no matter how uncomfortable it is...to explain everything that should and shouldn't be expected in any medical environment, school, gym, friends house etc. I've always told my niece when she started gymnastics that not at any time is it normal for anyone to see or touch your privates.. if anyone does....scream!!! Tell tell tell..right away!
The coaches just wanted all the gold. But they didn’t care about the girls mental and physical health like at all. It’s very sad they had to go through this also had to retire at a very young age😞
karenKristal no, because the investigation into them and USAG and the USOC is over. So NOW they can break their silence. Of course they were instructed to keep silent until the investigation was over. That's standard procedure
If one girl is abused at your house by someone else, you might be “innocent.” If dozens of girls are abused at your house by someone else, you are as guilty as the perpetrator whether you knew about it or not. It would have never happened at a hotel, because the guests know they could report a safety problem to management and management would call the police. These people should be in jail.
If the parents didn’t know and they were in the room then there is a possibility they didn’t know. Coaches don’t attend medical appointment or treatments. They coach. All they want to know is when you are cleared and if you have restrictions. Period.
If the parents didn't know....as harsh as it sounds I agree. Parents should accept more responsibility. If your children are exceptional and require to live out of the home extra parental protections are needed.
The Karolys have a responsibility in this for 3 reasons: 1.) They were in charge of the ranch. 2.) All youth organizations have rules and safeguards against abuse and train staff on this. Clearly, none of that was done. And 3.) The first police report was made 20 years ago about Nasser, but they continued to employ him. Also, I used to work in Int'l adoptions and I know that abuse is prevalent in orphanages in Russia and Eastern Europe. Adults routinely look past it. It is not a part of the culture to be as alarmed about it as we are here. The Karolys come from that culture. I think they knew and turned a blind eye.
bluedance lilly You NEED TO GET YOUR FACTS STRAIGHT! The first report from 1997 was made to Michicgan State!! MSU never notified anyone. Not USAG. Not the KAROLYIS (who, btw, they wouldn't have notified as the karolyi s were employees of USAG as wad Nassar. The KAROLYIS didn't hire him. Bella didn't like him. And the USAG and USOC oversaw the gymnasts training at the ranch! You seem to have very little facts! Are you aware that 90% if the victims weren't under the karolyi s training? Like the MSU gymnasts? Rhythmic gymnasts? GEDDERTS gymnasts? Trampoline and tumbling gymnasts?? THE MEDIA IS ALL OVER THE RANCH BECAUSE THESE ARE THE BEST WELL KNOWN NAMES. AND I DISAGREE. THEY DID NOT KNOW. THEY WERE TOUGH AND THEY WERE OLD SCHOOL, BUT I DON'T BELIEVE THEY TURNED A BLIND EYE. HE WAS NOT THEIR EMPLOYEE AND THEY HAD NO SAY IN HIS TREATMENTS. AND AGAIN. MOST WEREN'T EVEN FROM THE RANCH, WHICH, BTW, THE GIRLS ONLY WENT EVERY 6 WEEKS FOR 6 DAYS AND IT WAS MANDATORY THEY COME WITH THEIR PERSONAL COACHES,
Also, where is this police report from 20 years ago? MSU is SCREWED for neber reporting the MANY allegations they received. They had older gymnasts who were well aware it wasn't a medical procedure (unlike the young elites who believes that's what it was). THE MONSTER IS LARRY NASSAR. THE CULTURE NEEDS TO CHANGE BUT THE BLAME SHOULD BE FITTING. AND MOLESTATION IS NOT TO BE BLAMED ON MARTHA AND BELLA
Regardless, there were quite a number of USA gymnasts who were victims of Nasser and much of it happened at the ranch. Girls say they dreaded returning to the ranch and also didn't like the whole culture there in other respects too. Several women have testified to that. This is why USA has severed ties with them. Those who have investigated this do believe the Karolys hold some responsibility. Sorry, but I don't see why we need to defend them.
bluedance lilly : I' m glad to know abuse is prevalent in Russia & Eastern country's orphanages only. I will sleep well thinking and blessing highly ethic & transparent american...culture. BTW, if I could have 1$ for each abused child in USA, I'm pretty sure my bank acount...would be different.
I've not heard one gymnast say they told the Karolyis about the abuse and they did nothing about it. They never even told each other. Why would the Karolyis allow this if they knew. I blame USA gymnastics cause I myself have heard for years that they would not report allegations about coaches.
I do wonder how some of the parents who were present at these "exams" didn't realize what was going on. One gymnast was complaining of an injured shin, why would Larry Nassir need to be in their pelvic area?
Megyn that's the second time I've witnessed you turn an innocent statement into chum for the sharks. You aren't on Fox anymore. The woman made a valid point. If the mother in the room didn't catch a wiff of inappropriate behavior how could we expect the coach to. The food deprivation is another matter.
He was reported multiple times to the police before this scandal. How could they possibly still hire him after that? An investigation was carried out...
How long ago was he reported to the police BEFORE the scandal? I hear this went on for DECADES, so if the first report happened like 3 years ago, it is not difficult to imagine that he would get hire again because he already had an extremely good reputation. I don't know if the Karolyi's are telling the truth or not, but their point is a valid one. Not even the VICTIMS realised they were being abused, because everything happened under the disguise of MEDICAL PROCEDURES which creates a VERY VERY THIN LINE between what is appropriate and what is not.
They didn’t give a single straight forward honest answer to the questions. They just deflected the questions by turning to another issue. Ultimately they are responsible for their employees and they got what they wanted in Nassar - the gymnasts continued competing with injuries.
They're liars. They knew. Several complaints were made which they knew about and still ignored them. They're equally culpable for covering up for Nassar
Megan misconstrued Martha Karolyi’s statement about how could she had known what was happening in the exam room if the gymnasts own parents who were present in the exam room in some of the instances of abuse didn’t even know what was going on. That was the point she was trying to make. Which is a valid one. Megyn just spun it for sensationalism. Still doesn’t excuse what happened at the facility. There are many accounts of people knowing and not saying anything in this scandal.
I'm so dumb founded. . ..I was a young gymnast, myself!!! But because, of what happened in my life, I couldn't even look at that every again as a dream... . (I did at 1 time). ...Im devastated for the PEOPLE, who were involved in this!!! It really brings tears to my eyes!! Plus. . I was 5'5". . Apparently I was to tall!!!
Like all the girls said Larry was always their friend, he was the nice one sneaking snacks and being on their side! The ladies also said that they didn’t know at the time they were being abused, so let’s not blame people who were around gymnastics let’s blame the man who did this and the other people who did know. Finger pointing isn’t the answer because we know who the bad guy is, but the people who did know need to be punished.
Nassar taking photographs all the time should have been a clue. Especially if he was focused on only one or two gymnasts. Not allowing other specialists in and going to their hotel rooms should also have rung alarm bells.
How do you think Romania was taking gold for years? And Nadia Comãneci perfect score?? It was hard work and spartan training atmosphere!! Bela Karoly was the Romanian National Gymnastics Team Coach before he defected to US to become the US Coach.. Gymnastics is not easy... you need this spartan approach to succeed in gymnastics. My prediction is that, based on these latest “metoo” type challenges that plagued US gymnastics, the US will no longer have success in this field.
h. I’ll never forget one of my teammates got a toothbrush stuck down her throat during winter training camp. And she had to go to the emergency room. She was trying to make herself throw up. Remember in college getting weighed and our body fat tested every month and if you went up and buy it you had to do something about it. You are forced to see the nutritionist and be put on a diet as well. One of my former teammates the college is actually writing a book on the abuse in our support. Crazy. Thanks for sharing.
I agree with you. We are talking about YEARS of abuse. I do not believe that every gymnast through the years thought it was part of the training. Unfortunately it is like show business. If you wanted the fame and money, you 'shut up'. Too bad these parents did not care enough for their kids to come forward. ( and for the person who said it was swept under the rug........one parent out of hundreds?????)
henchy held Actually they were very naive... And he was such a manipulator. He became their friend, he listened to them and he practiced that disgusting "procedure" in front of their parents and their fellow gymnasts. They believed he was a good person, they trusted him. And yes, it sounds unbelievable! But many of them say that they are struggling to forget themselves because they didn't notice that on time.
I have loved gymnastics for 36 years. I’m 39. I’m so heartbroken by this. I thought they were wonderful. Why wouldn’t they protect their girls? That’s their most sacred job.
Unfortunately this is the norm in many sports especially gymnastics, competitive cheerleading, dance. Something like this happened at my cheerleading gym except it was a coach sexually abusing multiple of my teammates. No one knew but there were signs looking back. After our gym he moved onto two others. He is now in prison for life.
Two years later and we now know there were emails from Steve Penny to the Károlyis saying Larry had allegations against him and he wanted to exit unceremoniously. They knew This is why Maggie Nichols was left off the Olympic team. She reported her assault
Maggie Nichol's father is a doctor here in Minnesota. He was my dad's MD. It's probably why Maggie reported her assault, because she freaking knew this was not part of medical evaluation and care... So sad, how she was kicked off and silenced.
That's not the only reason she was left off the team. She was also injured. Mykayla skinner was also left off the team, scored higher than Maggie and wasn't abused. Also, Gabbie Douglas was chosen despite lower scores because she was strong on bars and she was generally favored because she fit the slim, graceful ideal of a gymnast. What happened was a tragedy but athlete a definitely misrepresented the Olympic team decision for dramatic effect.
@@kailaleegibbons6143 Well if you watch the Olympic trials you'll notice that they weren't even watching Maggie perform. They never gave her a chance to earn a spot. I'm not saying that her report was the sole reason she was left off the team but it was the main one for not even being considered.
What i keep coming back to is this, what motive would the Karolyis have to keep a man who is abusing their elite gymnasts? Their emotional stability is paramount to their ultimate goal of producing winners. The same for the " starving" allegation. You cannot perform at that level on no food. I am sure they were not getting the food that any normal teen would want...elite athletes dont eat junk, but being starved? I think the Karolyis are guilty of tunnel vision so intense that all they saw was the training. To my knowledge, none of the victims ever said they told the Karolyis about the abuse. MSU on the other hand absolutely knew and ignored the girls claims of abuse. The whole thing is sad beyond belief and I hope that US gymnastics finds a way to be sure this never happens again. Thank god Nassar is behind bara for life where he can damage no more young girls.
No matter how one feels about the me-too movement and there were parts of it that felt a bit of a witch hunt for some, they're was good parts of the movement that exposed so many things. People had complained about Nassair for years but it was the me-too movement combined with McKayla Maroney's tweet that finally got attention.
This reminds me of McKayla's interview with, I believe, Gymcastic. There she really elaborated on the culture in the system as well with her specific coach.
They were head coaches is Romania where as Nadia Commenci said the girls were prostituted out and they were probably still head coaches in 1980 when the Romanian coaches were warned to feed their gymnasts because one of them in particular was looking skeletal. Nadia Commenci also quoted in a book that the young girls were crying at night because they were hungry. Did the Karoly's not notice that either because their parents didnt
Marta is making excuses... she may not have known the gymnasts were being sexually abused by Nassar but she definitely knew something was going on and purposely chose to ignore it because she didn’t want her precious legacy to be tainted all at the downfall of innocent children for money
I was abused as a child. My parents had no idea until I told them. It happened in my room at their house with someone they trusted. If Martha says she didn't know, I believe her. Bela and Martha certainly created an environment run by fear, but they're not responsible for Nassar's abuse. My parents aren't responsible for mine, either.
In Romania acești doi monștri,le-au abuzat fizic pe toate gimnastele,zi de zi.Inainte de orice concurs,le spunea dinainte,că dacă greșesc, să se prezinte după executarea exercițiului la toaleta,unde erau așteptare de cei 2 monștri Karoly,și le băteau cu pumnii și picioarele,le trăgeau de păr,și le spuneau că următorul aparat trebuie făcut perfect,astfel așa li se va întâmpla din nou. Pe o gimnastă a batut-o o jumătate de oră,până gimnastă a făcut pipi pe ea. Amândoi sunt niste Monștri!!!!
How could the Karolyes and everyone on the coaching staff not know that they were teaching those children to accept abuse? It wasn't only their athletic careers at stake, it was the rest of their lives and every adult must have known that. How could those girls have grown up to have safe, healthy relationships? This kind of abuse goes on for generations.
I too, come from an elite sport background and can relate to the training at the ranch. Won’t say any more, just that when you start training so young (I was 6), you ARE brainwashed, and that’s ALL YOU KNOW. That level of intensity every single day is ingrained in you. It becomes your life, defiance you and is your identity. You just OK I can do as you’re told. If they need to skinnier you get skinnier if they made you stronger you can’t start etc. It’s sick and it’s twisted but if you want to be the best you just do as you’re told. No questions asked.
I am sure the Karolies did not know. Not one woman testified that they reported the abuse to Marta or Bella and said it was ignored. Marta is right. The abuse happened under sheet with mom watching on.
the Karolyi are totally accountable for what happened, even if, as they say, they didn't know. they are accountable for the psichological abuse they inflicted to this children, they are accountable for creating the perfect enviromet for a molester to abuse. they are not the only one though, it is the whole system to be unhealthy. Such a shame for a big and powerfull country...
That’s total baloney because Nasser abused victims in front of their parents and not 1 of the girls went to any Karolyi and told them they were being molested.
it's one thing to do intense training and mimic competition ...it's another thing entirely to verbally and physically and sexually abuse your gymnasts. There are so many other olympic athletes that train intensely and they're not abused.
If you want to know how Nassar did it with the parents in the room and they didn’t know, it’s not that simple. Larry Nassar claimed he was doing pelvic floor physical therapy or PFPT. Larry Nassar WAS NOT trained on PFPT nor did he document that he was doing it. PFPT is a procedure with a very small list of things it’s meant to treat. Most often it’s used for postpartum women who haven’t healed from childbirth. It’s NOT for Nassar claimed it was for. It has NOTHING to do with knee pain or ankle pain or whatever. When the parents were there he’d put his fingers up inside these girls for a minute or two claiming it was legitimate and therapeutic. The NEXT time when the girl was alone his fingers wound up inside of her for as long as an hour. He did this to EVERY SINGLE GIRL regardless of what her problem was. No matter what these girls came in for; (wrist problems, shoulder problems, ankle problems, knee problems, neck problems) they wound up with Nassar’s fingers in their snatch. THATS how he got away with it for so long.
Notice though - not one survivor has accused the Karolyis? Communist Romania was horrific, and it takes one to know one for many types of abuse (as someone who's been there). I honestly think their brains were so busy with training these kids and ensuring the future of the sport they wouldn't know - I also think they're so ashamed that these kids were abused by someone they're hired. Lets not forget - they're also parents and have suffered unspeakable atrocities at the hands of communist thugs. I seriously doubt they would knowingly bring Lassar in if they knew what he was really like.
The fact that there was no cell phone service is irrelevant because prior to about 2000, it was essentially non-existent. Most of us survived without being constantly on the phone. I am not excusing what happened but I went away to camp as a child and our only communication with our parents was through letters. I think that there was a pervasive culture at USA gymnastics and was disappointed that they didn't remove EVERYONE that was involved during that time.
People don’t understand that until the last few years parents dropped their kids off for days and weeks at the time.And the Karolyis knew. Nassar was the only doctor that would allow gymnasts to return injured, which was the Karolyis mandate. So letting him commit the abuse was worth it to them. If they had to get a new doctor, the new doctor would blow the whistle on the Karolyis physical and emotional abuse. The Karolyis only wanted to win, which meant gymnasts training and competing injured. Read Dominique M’s book or watch the video of Mary Lou as an adult unable to walk while she waited for knee and hip replacements from her body taking the abuse.
Bela and Martha: You knew. There is nothing you can say that will make me believe otherwise and the worst part is USAG was so afraid of you, they waited until you retired for the story to break. It is NO coincidence that the year you retire is the year everything breaks. You make me sick.
They despised NASSAR! Never liked him. These girls spent 1 weekend a MONTH at the camps WITH THEIR PERSONAL COACHES!! How could they know? Believe me if they had any cause to petition USAG to get rid of him they would have. Sad, imagine how awful the parents who where right there in the room while it happened and didn't even know ...they must feel awful too. But I disagree. They couldn't have known, just as the personal coaches and parents didn't know. MOST GYMNASTS DIDN'T EVEN KNOW THEY HAD BEEN MOLESTED TIL ONE BY ONE THE OLDER GIRLS REALIZED IT WAS NOT A MEDICAL PROCEDURE! (which many claim it "Is" a sports medicine procedure with GLOVED hands, but I don't believe that)
They knew how much protein they ate! And how much water they drank! And Marta was LAUGHING all through that interview! Hundreds of girls sexually abused right under her nose and she was laughing!! Saying “no no that never happened” laughing every time she was asked about how those girls were treated!
tripper1224 omg seriously? SHE was not LAUGHING!! and these interviewers don't even seem to understand these girls spent ONE WEEKEND A MONTH THERE!! THEY WEREN'T LAUGHING ABOUT THE MOLESTATION, TAKE IT FOR THE CONTEXT IT IS PLEASE. ALSO, THEY KEEP SAYING "DECADES " THE ONLY WHO KNEW FOR DECADES IS MSU. BUT EVERYONE SEEMS TO LEAVE THEM OUT. THAT IS DISGUSTINGLY SICK
tripper1224 btw they SHOULD know what they are eating and drinking. Eating disorders are too common in sports, especially gymnastics, but of course it would be again taken out of context.... there is a nutritionist at the ranch (was) and healthy food was provided every time they were there. And Martha was laughing at some of the ridiculous "rumors. She was VERY serious when they were discussing the girls and Nassar
Im sorry but the Karoliys friggin knew exactly what was going on. They just turned a blind eye to all that abuse of these girls most of them or maybe all of them minors all in the name of Olympic glory and gold medals. These girls got their gold and they represented their country and all but at what price? I often wonder if things like this ever happened to the gymnasts in Romania under their watch and im sure if someone goes to really dig up their past, they might find something. My heart goes out to the families and these athletes who suffered at the hands of all these vultures around them.
Yes they can. Unfortunately there are still people out there who believe that every female is sugar and spice and everything nice. Then they get into trouble and play the Babe In The Woods Role.
Predators are very cunning. If they fail at their cover-ups then their”fun” stops, whether they are pedophiles or serial killers. Neighbors have no idea, and families and even wives don’t know ( Castro, BTK, Jerry Sandusky etc). I am not totally sure the Karoly’s knew nothing, but why should they? The perpetrator is amazing at gaining everybody’s trust. Parents in the same treatment room with their daughters while the abuse was going on didn’t know. And that fact alone reaffirmed to the gymnasts that if Nasser was doing anything wrong, he certainly wouldn’t do it in front of a parent! How horrible! The blame lies with the perpetrator and with anyone who had knowledge and did nothing. Everyone else are victims who fell like dominoes as a result of his destruction and became collateral damage......forever included in the scandal and held under suspicion regardless of their lack of involvement. Just put yourself in the situation, and maybe you won’t be so quick to point fingers.
You are correct. Cunning and manipulative...that's all predators. And a young girl shooting for an Olympic dream is prime prey. It's all very sad for everyone.
I agree with what u sed about predatorz , but that duzznt absolve the karoliz uv setting uppa toxxxic atmosphere...food restriction,practicing & competing thru n-jureez & broken bonez, not allowing tearz & na2ral x-preshunz... an atmosphere uv fear & n-timid8shun... I don’t havv 2 abuze ppl 4 them 2 succeed
Mahal Kita ok very very hard to follow your lingo, but the KAROLYIS are not the only ones at these camps (3-4 days out of a MONTH) any elite sport encourages healthy eating. There WAS a nutritionist on site as well as PERSONAL COACHES AT ALL TIMES. The KAROLYIS in modern era never restricted the girls eating, as even mckayla stated it was "their own personal feelings like they were being watched " the fear at Camp stemmed from knowing you have ONE eoman there who can make or break your dreams. She was not the monster "some" have made her out to be. Most acknowledge she issued constructive criticism, again ALWAYS with personal coached in attendance and as Martha stated she preferred to mention it to the coaches instead of the gymnasts. She genuinely cares for these girls. They are taking a lot of blame that should be all over MSU SINCE 1997!!!
I always thought Béla and Marta were phony people. Always smiling and being happy when behind closed doors they are known for their questionable coaching techniques such as starvation, isolation punishment, beatings and slaps. I believe the stories many former gymnasts who went through all the pain of training under Karolyis.
So glad USA Gymnastics is being put down. It's a putrid organization that completely failed the gymnasts it was supposed to serve. The Karolis should be permanently banned from any participation with gymnastics.
Nassar is the child molester/abuser, NOT the Karolyi's. Why would anyone allow themselves to be "abused?" Because then they wouldn't make the team? BS! Gymnasts this age wouldn't tolerate abuse from the Karolyi's, that's ridiculous. And they sure had the BEST of training, didn't they? When you're in the level of a sports category like they were, yes, it's all work, hard work. Isn't that why they WON? Done. Dispute that. Also, why didn't gymnasts speak up immediately for the safety of younger girls who wouldn't understand? I guess it's more important to keep it secret so you can stay on the team.
The Karolyi's are not responsible for the sexual abuse. I honestly don't believe they knew about it. They have always been known to be strict and relentless with their training. I have no doubt that any food the girls brought to their camp was confiscated, but keep in mind, these girls are on a specific diet their entire lives while training. They are not meant to eat junk food, that comes with the dream. NO one was forcing them to have this life. If they did not want to be Olympic champions, all they had to do was say, I'm done, this is not for me. But when you are top level and trying to become better, it's just naturally understood that you are going to do everything you can to better yourself. Including eating right. Those girls were not "starved". They had completely nutritious and rationed/proportional meals made for them while at that camp. I know most of America thinks they are being starved if they are not receiving extra large portions at every meal, but that is not the case. None of them looked emaciated. They had plenty of muscle, which would not be there if you were starving to death.
Exactly! Every sport requires discipline. "Omg they confiscated food"...as any coach anywhere would've done. Martha always talked about needing them to have a strong mental game so she would not want something like this to happen to them because even if she didn't care about them beyond their gymnastics, being abused leads to trauma which leads to insecure gymnastics so she had nothing to benefit by keeping a secret. And for the last time, she did not hire the man. USAG did.
Have you not seen videos of Bela's emaciated soviet teams competing in decades past? They were allegedly not even permitted more than a few sips of water, and would "have to be watched" in the bathroom stalls at the training center because they would drink the water from the toilets in desperation. Even at the Olympics, other teams recall leaving cups hidden in the toilet tanks for the gymnasts. This is just the tip of the iceberg of accusations against him. A coach capable of this type of behavior at all, even in a different decade, different country, different circumstance, does not have the benefit of the doubt from me. Their are numerous articles quoting gymnasts, coaches, athletes, choreographers, etc, floating around out there to give you a fuller picture of what "non-Americans" think starvation and abuse looks like.
Emilia Eberle's and Nadia's sickening anorexic look at the 78 Worlds Nadia Comanici had a hugely infected hand but was forced to perform an exercise so the roumanians could keep her score with an amubulance waiting outside which took nadia to the hospital.it is impossible to deescribe how anorexic they looked and Rewriting Russian Gymnastics asked why the judges awarded the gold to Eberle and in International Gymnastics they even said the American coaches complained during the exhibition tour that the roumanians were only allowed salads.Read Alexandra Moceanu books A Gymnast's Secrets
I disagree. It was their ranch and their responsibility. The best case scenario here is that they didn't know but if that is the case then their negligence allowed these girls to become victims. In my opinion they heard whispers about it and turned a blind eye.
Im not sure but I agree they were training 30 girls in private elite camps and then had open camps of 1000 + people. They were busy what were they gonna say about it anyway? they were team coodinators anyway. it was the olympic committee and usag who enabled him to continue. IF they were guilty to knowledge Aly Raisman or one of the gymnasts would've called them out by now
Even if the Karolyis didn't know, they built an environment where athletes did not feel safe speaking up or raising concerns because they might be punished or isolated for complaining.
Yeah well I mean shouldn’t they have known Nassar was in the rooms alone? Yes. Shouldn’t they have known that was against policies and forgot that doctors are not supposed to see children alone in rooms whether it was policy or not? Yes. Did they care? No.
@@IsmaelGarcia-qe6ub Nassar was so brazen, he even molested girls while their parents were in the room with them.
@@justcogitating Ik I think that’s what made it even worse for the girls to them they were losing their innocence in front of their parents. So for many it made them distrust their parents.
Exactly!
Some of the victims said that Larry “listened” to them when they voiced their frustration about the coaches. That’s incredibly sad that he was the one they could trust in this.
They can't convince me they didn't know. Not for a second. They were with these girls every second. I would be surprised if not one of those girls showed a single sign.
Is it me or does Savanna seem like she kind of has disbelief or not fully believing or empathetic of the young women. Don’t like her at all. She sounds to be making some excuses while talking about him. I don’t know.
No they were not supervised every second
Larry Nasser abused them in front of their parents with them in the room during treatment how on earth would the Karolys know
@@NickyRikki Exactly. I don't get why people want so much put the blame on them too.
They did know. In 2015 they did.
The parents weren't allowed on the ranch. So the parents wouldn't have known. I'm all for personal responsibility but the parents trusted them to care for the kids.
Your right the parents we're not allowed on the ranch BUT they WERE in rooms, places where this monster sexually abused their children.
The staff is accountable
The parents are guilty as well!!!! Who drops their child off at a ranch that doesn't give you access to your child!!!!
I have been a gymnastics coach for 40 years. From that vantage point, I steadfastly say that any parent who allows their child to participate in a program that disallows parents from readily and easily seeing and hearing EVERYTHING surrounding their child’s gymnastics career should
immediately reconsider, and leave said program. There’s far too much history and the stories of abuse are far too familiar for any responsible gym owner to manage a learning environment that isn’t clearly and publicly set up
to acknowledge their policies on not allowing ANY kind of abuse to
happen.
Parents who want Olympic champions.
The answer to the real question was never answered: why did it go on for so long?
Inez Ojeda nobody listening
Medals, fame and money. Just horrible.
@@yagirltones8748 they knew an adult was alone with minors in private rooms which is suspicious. A third party would had been needed. It is awful no one intervined
No one listened the girls weren't taken seriously. The first ones to speak up were made a joke of in front of their teammates
The committe knew because some gymnasts reportesd it but were silenced Some even were left out of competición because of that...
Bottom line the abuse was systematic. It was the culture like they say. Turning the heads, passing the buck etc.
Agree. It's the culture to ignore it and the Karolyi's did what USAG and the USOC wanted...they won medals and made money. Until the culture changes nothing changes.
Yes. Sociology on a smaller scale.
American culture and moral values have greatly diminished.
Obie drierit
especially because the ranch is in the middle of a forest without any cell service. You had to take a dirt road for 30 minutes to get there
Who made the rules at that Ranch? Who made it a place of fear, where parents were not allowed, where talking between the girls was discouraged? Who made the rule that seeing Nassar was compulsory and would not let the gymnasts use the medical facilities at the Olympic Village? Who allowed gymnasts to compete injured without proper treatment? Who chose a place so far from a hospital or any other civilisation?
Emmy Johnson wait on that one! As a former gymnast and mother of a gymnast, it's every young gymnasts dream to make it elite and get to the ranch. Meets, especially international, are high intensity and high pressure situations. The ranch simulating these situations is what brought the USA to the top of WAG. The personal coaches were REQUIRED to be there with their gymnast every 4-6 weeks when they got together at the ranch. Remember the KAROLYIS are old school Romanian and did their best to adjust to American cultures and training. Go to Russia , Round Lake, same scenario...gymnasts and coaches only. This is nothing out of the ordinary it ELITE GYMNASTICS. HOWEVER, Yes they feared martha, but if you listen to the girls testimony, they feared if they said the wrong thing they would lose their national team spot bevause at that time THEY WEREN'T AWARE THEY WERE EVEN BEING MOLESTED. I BELIEVE THE KAROKYIS ARE GUILTY OF BEING VERY TOUGH COACHES, AND THAT MADE OLYMPIC WINNING GYMNASTS....BUT I DO NOT BELUEVE THEY HAD ANY KNOWLEDGE OF THE MONSTER NASSAR WAS UNTIL 2015, AND I BELUEVE BELLA NEVER LIKED HIM. BUT HE WASN'T BELLA 'S EMPLOYEE. HE WAS EMPLOYED JUST AS THEY WERE BY USAG
Ps. Parents were allowed at certain times. It wasn't a 24/7 365 day without parents training and their personal coaches were right there. None of them knew. Camp was held an average of every 6 weeks for 4-6 DAYS.
A coach that is nice and sweet won't make a champion. Getting to the ranch was a dream that every gymnast had. Marta had to be tough. These athletes are such babies. How long have they been going to the ranch? They know exactly what to expect. They know the environment
Simone Biles had a very nice coach and limited contact with Marta, guess who is the best in the world? Shawn Johnson went to school, trained fewer hours and was coached by The Chows. Nastia Liukin would not have been bullied either as her coach was her father. Morgan Hurd has managed to be a more beautiful gymnast without Marta's influence. As for being babies...You try competing with the whole world watching, your country expects you to win gold, when a man standing with your coach sexually assaulted you the night before. I am not someone that even supports American gymnasts, and I was pleased to see Izbasa win.. I .but I still care about the abuse they suffered. Russia must do something right because Mustafina is back after having a baby and looks great. The US has no requirement for qualifications for gymnastic coaching, no nutritionists, and only one doctor, with access to specialists or hospital. in the UK it is mandatory to be trained and fully qualified, so is a detailed police check for anyone employed by British Gymnastics, Gymnasts in the UK finish their education, Amy Tinkler is doing A''Level's, Beth Tweddle did a degree when she was competing. The Romanians have compulsory schooling for their gymnasts. The US seems to neglect education unless they want a scholorship,
Emmy Johnson Some of these comments are confusing me, so far out in left field. You "do" realize SIMONE had just as much contact with Martha, Bella, and Larry Nassar as Every other NATIONAL SENIOR TEAM MEMBER DID! The entire team went to the ranch together for those few days every month. Larry abused Simone just as he did every other of his victims. Once Simone spoke up and said she wasn't comfortable going back to where she was molested, that's when USAG pulled the plug on the ranch. Please explain why your Bringing up Aimee, her coach, as opposed to anyone else's coach?? Makes no sense. She was also molested!! And just about everyone's "personal" coaches are awesome (john Geddert the exception of course) and why Morgan? Was a (maybe, barely) a JUNIOR and I'm not even sure she was a national team member at the time so again, why morgan? Keep in mind Larry was out as of late 2014, early 2015!!
As far as coaches, USAG has THOUSANDS of licensed, registered coaches across the country. OF COURSE there are "requirements" which include not only the safety aspects of coaching (that is very rigorous) but everything that goes with it. They have to be licensed, bonded, insured and educated. And Nutrition ? There was PLENTY OF FOOD at the ranch. They were there just a few days a month, MOST DAYS THEY GO TO THEIR OWN GYM, EAT WHAT THEY WANT OR BRING AND GO HOME AFTER TRAINING. Sounds as if you think they all live together like in Russia or Romania, THEY DON'T!. But at the ranch the food was out for the team, it was (some) of the girls who felt they were being watched and didn't eat properly. Where do people get their info from? Even mckayla says herself there was food, but "you feel like your coach is watching and want you to stay skinny" I was there many many years ago. But I have a friends whose daughter is a competitive cheerleader and spent 8 days there 3 years ago and loved it. I just asked about the food and her response was "mostly healthy, good, but there were snacks too"!
"USA neglects education unless they want a scholarship"? Seriously? These girls are home schooled , usually in their gyms together, many scholastically ahead of the average American child in the same grade. They don't need great grades to get a scholarship, they just need to not go pro and be the gymnast the college wants. ( THAT is a problem in the USA). But again, most of these kids are smarter than the average. WHERE DOES THIS INFO COME FROM????
I've been involved in usag since the late 80's and not all coaches are abusive. But the culture in the sport is exactly as the gymnasts say it is. Ive left and come back to the sport ive since I was 3. Its shameful that any abuse happened. Choosing medals and money over safety is just wrong. I was one of the strong kids. I was very outspoken as a kid naturally. So When coaches would try and make me feel bad for gaining a tiny bit during off time. And I spoke out against it. Told them when i was around 13 that i do this sport for love. I wasn't dreaming of the olympics. I was just a super excited kid happy to be in the gym. Learning stuff and life lessons. Yet seeing follow gym mates crying in locker rooms and not fully understanding what was actually going on. Then me leaving the gym for a year. Moving to a new gym. Seeing the same behaviour from adults in the gym. Me being around 16 at the time and even more outspoken. I went toe to toe with the new coaching staff. Being punished for speaking up for not only me but other's who were afraid to. Finally 1 day I remember telling the coaches that were unkind to us kids. That they should remember that because of our parents enrolling us in these gyms and paying is the reason they have these gyms. So they should appreciate us a bit more. So the culture is and has been an issues since i started the sport in the 80's
I never liked sports or gyms or coaches. I watched them bench kids too young to care.
Truth
Exactly. 99.99% of all gymnasts will not make it to the Olympics so most just do it for fun and exercise.
I think they knew, I think everyone knew but they were in denial because the stakes were high - medals and million dollar deals
incorrect, read Jess85's comment. he gained their trust, it's what abusers do.
Oh I believe you 100%, I mean if you look at Dance Moms who are on the television you see the Dance Moms just sitting by while Abby verbally abuses their kids in and saying a lot of mean things to the girls just because of the name, so I believe that the parents didn't know, or they had a Superstition, but again like you said the stakes are too high, so I find it hard to believe that parents don't know what's going on.
Exactly! They knew something. You know when something isn't right. Even when they complained they were ignored.
Marisa G exactly
I think both Marisa's and Jess' comments can be true. Yes, Nassar gained the trust of parents and athletes. But I do think they had suspicions. Merely because of his position and authority, they were in denial and let it go on.
It comes back to conforming. You think, "this is weird, is this really treatment?", but then tell yourself, "oh, he's an Olympic doctor, I shouldn't question what he's doing". People didn't trust their gut feeling. In their gut, THEY KNEW.
they don't care; they probably justified it as "character building"...like training with broken bones and through extreme pain.
Russian rhythmic gymnastics...
@@tiffanykuo4256 Since you felt the need to bring up an ethnic group, Larry Nassar is an Arabic origin. Every ethnicity has its share of Sociopaths and Psychopaths.
@@vkrgfan it isnt new information that Russian gymnastics has had questionable tactics in regard to how they train their gymnasts. In the 80s a Russian gymnast became a quadriplegic and the spokesman lied about what happened.
Simone recently quit. Speaks volumes. They have gone soft.
They're eastern European...that's the mentality. I just wonder about other teams...like Russia and China and they probably have horrible experiences too but they can't speak up and media is controlled in both countries. I know how hard they train and how unhappy they usually look.
I don't trust those two, not for a second...
She already admitted she new , it was reported to her and she didn’t report it . The ex ceo needs to go to prison
Bela and Marta Karolyi were irresponsible by not having any oversight or audit of their facility's medical practitioners. They didn't make sure Nassar routinely logged visits, wrote up diagnosis and treatment plans and followed up with evaluations of each athlete's progress or else the need for a new treatment plan. This was their gym. Nassar worked for them. They failed the athletes.
Cheryl Stade but employed as Nasser was, by USAG who oversaw it all
I don't know exactly who was legally responsible for exactly what. Indeed part of the problem may be that NO ONE AT ALL was overseeing Mr. Nassar. Nonetheless this was the Karolyi Ranch and Nassar was part of the operation there. I was a preschool teacher for 10 years. Officially I was responsible only for teaching my class. But when the children of my class interacted with children of other classes or when specialists of various kinds would come for a school wide event or to address a particular need of one or more children in my class and I had a concern I would without hesitation go the school director or the teacher of another class to get advice or form a plan together with the appropriate specialists and of course including the child's parents to address that need. I was always glad to have input from other teachers, parents and specialists. We didn't always agree but we felt secure knowing what each other expected and knowing where everyone stood on matters. A program involving various people interacting with various responsibilities cannot function properly without communication and trust between the professionals who are part of the operation. True trust requires communication. I actually feel terrible for Marta and Bela. What they are going through must be horrible. I do not believe they knew Nassar was abusing gymnasts. However, it sounds to me like the Karolyi Ranch involved a lot of prohibitions on communication instituted by the Karolyis . Don't complain about pain. Don't say anything if you're so weak from hunger you feel about to pass out. Never contradict a coach. This is not an ok method to produce tough gymnasts. Oversight was so lax that Nassar often neglected to write out diagnoses, treatments and the results of treatments. That is entirely unprofessional. Looking forward it is obvious now that any doctor in a sports program needs a medical audit. A medical team not involved in any other way with the program needs to look over the doctor's records for each athlete to make sure they appear in order and to give to each athlete a copy of the report the team doctor gave them to make sure she/he was not falsifying the report. MSU, USAG, and the Karolyis all were part of the problem. This is such a tragedy. It has hurt so many basically decent people so badly and I'd like to think the Karolyis are among those basically decent people. But Aly Raisman was right to say a thorough investigation needs to be done because no professional involved with the program can be completely trusted at this point. Holding professionals accountable for their poor decisions will make sure those following them know they can't get away with similar behavior. Its not about torturing people like the Karolyis although they are no doubt experiencing torment. It simply what has to be done.
Nassar worked for USA Gymnastics.
The Kiroli's STRUCTURED their "so-called" RANCH FOR NASSAR!!! THEY KNEW!!
Nassar was so brazen I dont think it mattered if he was supervised or not. @ 1 point a girls mother was in the room during the treatment but he positioned himself between the mother & the gymnast. Then put a towel over her, his hands underneath & was like fingering her. Bela nor his wife were ever in the treatment room during any of that
How they let a doctor be alone with a child? Why a nurse wasn't there?
??? You mean the parents? A nurse would probably be complicit.
He very often wasn't alone with them when abusing them. There was many times he abused them secretly in front of the parents. He was doing "adjustments" of the pelvic area, which can be a legitimate treatment, but he was inserting his fingers into their vaginas and anuses. This is also apparently a legitimate treatment. But he did it as a form of sexual gratification. And he was so secretive about his hand movements, and the fact rhat he was adjusting the pelvis meany that his hands were around their genitals. You could supposedly be in the room with him, watching him, and not know that he had his fingers inside of the patient. He did much more than this of course. But the fact that he abused these girls in front of their parents led to the girls believing that it was indeed normal, and that their parents were aware of everything going on. And the fact that he did procedures in front of the parents at first if they wanted, meant that they would have more trust in him to continue to help their daughters even when they weren't present.
@@TuberoseKisser parents often were there, but couldn't see what was happening.
@@persephone2706 😱😰
When parents were in the room he used a towel over the girls so the parents had no clue he was violating them
The Karolyis should be in jail !!!
The Karolyis abused these children for their own glory
AcousticSong - Guitar & Co That’s BS. The Karolyis had already their glory with the Romanian National team, when they were consistently beating not only the american team but also the Russion and Chinese teams
JESSE B They defected for the $$$ and the whole deal that US offered them. But to say that they exploited these girls for their glory is a bit much... US was begging them to defect. Let’s face it: Without the Karolys there would’ve been absolutely no US gymnastics
The Karolyis had nothing to do with the abuse the athletes endured. Stop blaming them, when in fact it was Nassar and others behind it like Steve penny who were the only ones who knew about it...
AcousticSong - Guitar & Co you have no idea what your talking about
JESSE B Romanian gymnastics was not dead. Karoly left in ‘81. And the Romanian team got the team gold in the Olympic games in ‘82 (ha!!), 2000, and 2004... and that’s not a small feat for a country the size of Michigan... competing with China, Russia, USA, countries with a lot of resources etc..
They are just as culpable as Nasser is. They helped abuse them while the girls were at the ranch. Read Dominique Moceanu's book.
Read it
It’s nice to see that years later she’s vindicated
Read what?
They make me sick! They abused our gymnasts, they should be in prison!
I totally agree with you in prison for life they are just as evil and sick
@ChristianBitz-Nielsen-eo2xb
Why? How? How dare any of them accuse the Karolyi's of abuse? Does anyone realize when an atty composes a law suit, they have to incorporate other major names in the suit for various reasons, ie: the Karolyi's were the coaches, this was their gymnastics school.
I love the relationship I have with my mom! I tell her everything regardless of how bad it is
Me too and it’s a Blessing!
I wish i could have this
That's so nice 😁 mama ❤
Meghan always interrupts but this time not so much! Love Savannah and the way she gets her point across without saying a word!
I always found Megyn one who is against victims. Just last week she came out against Prince Andrew’s victim and was on Andrew’s side on her TH-cam show. Of course her viewers agree with her.
I know this is an article about Bela and Marta Karolyi coming clean about what happened at Karolyi camp. (I don’t believe a word they say BTW.) But I’m now getting sick of hearing the words “breaking their silence” when it comes to these girls. These girls were ANYTHING but silent about the abuse they were suffering. Nobody listened, nobody reported.
Most of the blame is USA gymnastics. Number 1 How can you have a Male as a team doctor for girls. This is where they went wrong.
I get that but women can also abuse women too! I think it’s more the ignorance, where were the checks, why didn’t no one see what was happening right in front of them
I agree and disagree, Nassar doesn't represent all male doctors and gives his profession a bad name, some females don't want a female docs handling them. Unfortunately I think the general idea is that doctors are held to this "Holier than Thou" can do no wrong and why should anyone worry...you know. this is horrible
How very blatantly sexist of you
@@SaffySweety in this situation though, with most of the patients , fit females, i would agree to have a female dr, and of course women can abuse too,
@@karenrao9526 or if they prefer a male doctor, have a female nurse chaperone in the room too. Im a Gymnastics coach (female) and i can not be in a room on my own with any child (even girls).
Yeah, I read “Little girls in pretty boxes”. I never liked them much afterwards, and I don’t believe them even now one bit. All they cared about was medals, not the girls.
I agree. They wanted worldly gain at all costs.
Omg I started reading that book yesterday
To be fair it was their job to care about medals. It was their job to create elite, medal winning athletes. And they did. Gymnasts from all over the world aspired to be at that ranch, and it was because Marta and Bela did their job. It's just too bad they didn't have anyone on staff to balance out their harshness with kindness. I mean, someone other than a groomer.
Great coverage Megyan & you too Savannah. Your interview is passionate in speaking up for these ladies respectively.
It wasn’t JUST the Karolyis who were supposed to be supervising these girls at The Ranch. The girl’s personal coaches from home were there the the whole time as well.
No, it was actually in the rules for the ranch that the girls weren't allowed to see their parents or personal coaches.
@@9melissal Not true. Personal coaches are on the ranch.
A man that I was friends with (He and his wife) was sentenced to 10 years in prison this week for molesting girls. I NEVER would have believed it if there wasn't proof. He always showed me that he was a good dad and a good husband. My daughter never complained about things that were going on and she never said anything negative about the way he parented his kids. After hearing the detectives describe the evidence I was shocked!!! I trusted my own daughter in his home for years. She was friends with his daughters an I always taught her that if someone touched her that she had to tell. Come to find out little girls had been telling, parents had been reporting this to the police for 5 years with NO investigation! Finally in July he was arrested because there was evidence presented by a parent. The detectives spent months investigating and there was evidence that he touched 14 girls. We are all sure that there were more, just no evidence to proove it. This man wasn't as invasive as Nassir, but parents trusted he and his wife with their children. I can't imagine that the Karolyi's knew or that they "let" this happen. I watched the gymnasts say that they went to his home alone and that the parents were in the treatment rooms when the girls were hurt. I am NOT saying the parents should have known better and I'm not saying anything negative about the gymnasts. I am only saying that the Karolyi's trusted their friend, a doctor with a great reputation for helping gymnasts. Just as the parents trusted Nassir and I trusted my former friend. Sometimes people are wolves in sheep's clothing.
Christys BOWtique yea to think some call themselves the protector n attack the insecure.to be careful
Wow. Thank you for your transparency and vulnerability in sharing this - I pray that your daughter wasn’t a victim of this evil, demonic, wicked couple. This is horrible.
Wow
These monsters hide in plain sight. They are often friendly, charismatic, and reliable. How could you have known? They are so plausible. Pleased he was caught.
Thank you for sharing. So important people understand the complexity of sexual abuse. Especially as survivor's parents often blame themselves and feel guilty for not knowing something that they couldn't have known. Paedophiles are very clever and manipulative. That's why it's called grooming
My wife worked there years ago. There are so many gymnasts running around that you'd have a hard time knowing anything unless you hung out with the coaches. The Karolyi's are hardly in the gym because they trust their coaches to run the gym. You can't blame them for everything but I do feel like they probably knew something even if they didn't witness it.
It is their responsibility for the safety of these children. There is no excuse.
Karolyi's are the owners of gym in their post retirement years as coaches. So they have coaches that worked there. If so many gymnasts of young girls and women there at gymnastics camp, there's no way for them to know what is happening or going on. Especially if they're not in the gym as much especially in 2010 to 2018.
Perhaps little kids or girls as young as 4 to 8 could still been there kinda playing about. As you know some gyms are jungle gyms and inside developmental for the little children. The Karolyi's should've been aware Larry Nassar's wrongdoing to the little girls, adolescents, teens, and young who definitely females. They should've been notified, and alerted of when the accusations of wrongdoing were going on so police could contacted. However Nassar probably threatened the girls or young not tell or they he would've harmed them to them silent.
If were I a gymnast, I probably would've jujitsu. I would've kicked him in the privates. Female gymnastic-martial art's.
They retired from coaching back in the 2000s, but Nassar has been with them for longer than that.
@@LittleMissV Yes. According to Dominique Moceanu who was forced basically by her dad to live at the ranch most the time, ‘Marta loved Larry’ lol says it all. He gave the ok for injured gymnasts to compete, and they’ve all said his ‘treatments’ never helped them.
Strange.y, nobody brings up that Simone only went to the Ranch with her Coach who would stop the Karoly’s from overtraining her or putting her down. Which is probably the major secret to Simone’s success.
The coaches are just as much at fault. Athletes should be comfortable talking to them.
So are the parents to a degree. I have an elite gymnast. It is my ultimately my responsibility to allow my daughter to do or not do what is expected of her since she is a minor. Lot's of parents will do anything, including over look emotional and physical abuse as part of the sport, just to get their kids to the Olympics. We must be the advocates for our children and speak for them when they can't. We are the ones who can stop the behaviors and cultures that our children are to young or naïve to stop. We have to be honest and not so hungry for our children's success that even we will overlook the obvious sometimes. (meaning the culture)
THEY DIDN'T KNOW THEY WERE BEING MOLESTED!!
read GOLD FEVER by a repentant gymnastics mom she asked how could I do that the my own daughter one of the Chelles' mom she tried to retract it but it is all over the internet and Bela Karolyi's crimes and near crimes are outlined.Someone else wrote that this Chelle was asked about karoyi at a competition think it was the olympics and spoke of the deep fear in her eyes as she whitewashed karoyi
Linda do you mean chellsie? Whose dad is her coach?
They loved the karolys before all of this went down. they always spoke so highly of them. I am not blaming anybody, I'm just saying
as a former elite gymnast i can understand what they went through. there are many many aspects that are all part of gymnastics that lots of people dont see. An example is the focus on being small and skinny. I never had my coach tell me that i was fat, but there was always the strong focus on our bodies and what we eat. we were also sent to a dietician and were weighed monthly. I think this was a main trigger to how i developped an eating disorder than partly lead up to me quitting gymnasstics. I also know other gymnasts that struggle with an eating disorder. The coaches are not blind, i'm sure they can see what is going on, but they choose to ignore it because at the end of the day as long as you have the body the surrounding problems don't matter. I am very grateful to say that i haven never experienced any kind of sexual assault. But mental abuse i think is a very very common thing that happens in gymnastics. Many many of my fellow teammates struggle with the mental side of the sport, often caused my the pressure as you meantioned in the video, but also because of the things coaches say. Of course there are also many other things that contribute to gymnastics. I think it is a very very compicated world, and you don't know exactly how it works untill you are part of it yourself.
Thank you for testifying to your experience. You are SOMEONE! Some of the commenters on a gymn listserve said USGF had to ban Kerri Strug from competing before she became famous in the one foot vault because her body fat level was so far below medical normalicy and the USGF were still trying to defend themselves from some of the gymnasts like Christina Hench who had DIED from ANOREXIA. The commenters were very cynical about the USGF good intensions or the hotline for gymnast to report abuse or starvation from coachs or parents.
Don't let adults have alone time with the girls.
Re: The Karolyi's intensity/pressure defense:
If you study modern sports psychology it is all about taking away that intensity and pressure, not focusing on outcomes/wins/medals, and training yourself to only focus on the process.
THEY & USAG created that extreme high pressure environment. Read up on elite athletes from other sports & their coaches - like Michael Phelps. He wasn't focused on winning or pleasing other people - he was focused on swimming as fast as he possibly could from one end of the pool to the other.
That pressure makes them more likely to get injured. It is why US gymnasts rarely last beyond the Olympics, while other compete into their 20s.
YumYumOrYuck The success of USA gymnastics belies your claims.
Is it success? Mckayla Moroney is broken after being abused, and stalked as Nassar's favourite. It is success at a heavy price.
The Karolyis became known for their coaching in the 70s. They are very far from the modern techniques of moder sports technology. I would like to believe there was no malicious intent.
most intl sports institutes do things the way the Karyolis did so we shouldn't single them out on that basis alone. Modern sports psychology might say one thing but it'll take years to convince coaches to change.
I've always told myself before I had children..that no matter how uncomfortable it is...to explain everything that should and shouldn't be expected in any medical environment, school, gym, friends house etc. I've always told my niece when she started gymnastics that not at any time is it normal for anyone to see or touch your privates.. if anyone does....scream!!! Tell tell tell..right away!
The coaches just wanted all the gold. But they didn’t care about the girls mental and physical health like at all. It’s very sad they had to go through this also had to retire at a very young age😞
they're breaking their silence now because they've had legal advice and got their story straight.
karenKristal no, because the investigation into them and USAG and the USOC is over. So NOW they can break their silence. Of course they were instructed to keep silent until the investigation was over. That's standard procedure
Jhilton 70 and now their solicitor has told them what they can say that won't contradict their defence
karenKristal I practice law and I would tell them say NOTHING! But they chose to speak out.
JoJo 70 if you practice law I’ll take your word on it
Miss Moxie don’t have to practice law - it’s common knowledge
If one girl is abused at your house by someone else, you might be “innocent.” If dozens of girls are abused at your house by someone else, you are as guilty as the perpetrator whether you knew about it or not. It would have never happened at a hotel, because the guests know they could report a safety problem to management and management would call the police. These people should be in jail.
It definitely happened to the gymnasts in his hotel room, you are very misinformed
Does anyone not recognize that it is impossible-note Marta reaction. Always blame the VICTIM.
If the parents didn’t know and they were in the room then there is a possibility they didn’t know. Coaches don’t attend medical appointment or treatments. They coach. All they want to know is when you are cleared and if you have restrictions. Period.
Parents weren't allowed at the ranch.
If the parents didn't know....as harsh as it sounds I agree. Parents should accept more responsibility. If your children are exceptional and require to live out of the home extra parental protections are needed.
The Karolys have a responsibility in this for 3 reasons: 1.) They were in charge of the ranch. 2.) All youth organizations have rules and safeguards against abuse and train staff on this. Clearly, none of that was done. And 3.) The first police report was made 20 years ago about Nasser, but they continued to employ him. Also, I used to work in Int'l adoptions and I know that abuse is prevalent in orphanages in Russia and Eastern Europe. Adults routinely look past it. It is not a part of the culture to be as alarmed about it as we are here. The Karolys come from that culture. I think they knew and turned a blind eye.
bluedance lilly You NEED TO GET YOUR FACTS STRAIGHT! The first report from 1997 was made to Michicgan State!! MSU never notified anyone. Not USAG. Not the KAROLYIS (who, btw, they wouldn't have notified as the karolyi s were employees of USAG as wad Nassar. The KAROLYIS didn't hire him. Bella didn't like him. And the USAG and USOC oversaw the gymnasts training at the ranch! You seem to have very little facts! Are you aware that 90% if the victims weren't under the karolyi s training? Like the MSU gymnasts? Rhythmic gymnasts? GEDDERTS gymnasts? Trampoline and tumbling gymnasts?? THE MEDIA IS ALL OVER THE RANCH BECAUSE THESE ARE THE BEST WELL KNOWN NAMES. AND I DISAGREE. THEY DID NOT KNOW. THEY WERE TOUGH AND THEY WERE OLD SCHOOL, BUT I DON'T BELIEVE THEY TURNED A BLIND EYE. HE WAS NOT THEIR EMPLOYEE AND THEY HAD NO SAY IN HIS TREATMENTS. AND AGAIN. MOST WEREN'T EVEN FROM THE RANCH, WHICH, BTW, THE GIRLS ONLY WENT EVERY 6 WEEKS FOR 6 DAYS AND IT WAS MANDATORY THEY COME WITH THEIR PERSONAL COACHES,
Also, where is this police report from 20 years ago? MSU is SCREWED for neber reporting the MANY allegations they received. They had older gymnasts who were well aware it wasn't a medical procedure (unlike the young elites who believes that's what it was). THE MONSTER IS LARRY NASSAR. THE CULTURE NEEDS TO CHANGE BUT THE BLAME SHOULD BE FITTING. AND MOLESTATION IS NOT TO BE BLAMED ON MARTHA AND BELLA
Regardless, there were quite a number of USA gymnasts who were victims of Nasser and much of it happened at the ranch. Girls say they dreaded returning to the ranch and also didn't like the whole culture there in other respects too. Several women have testified to that. This is why USA has severed ties with them. Those who have investigated this do believe the Karolys hold some responsibility. Sorry, but I don't see why we need to defend them.
bluedance lilly Exactly and they should NOT be defended. They knew.
bluedance lilly : I' m glad to know abuse is prevalent in Russia & Eastern country's orphanages only. I will sleep well thinking and blessing highly ethic & transparent american...culture. BTW, if I could have 1$ for each abused child in USA, I'm pretty sure my bank acount...would be different.
I believe in Dominique Moceanu’s true stories about Martha and Bela done to girls.
I've not heard one gymnast say they told the Karolyis about the abuse and they did nothing about it. They never even told each other. Why would the Karolyis allow this if they knew. I blame USA gymnastics cause I myself have heard for years that they would not report allegations about coaches.
I do wonder how some of the parents who were present at these "exams" didn't realize what was going on. One gymnast was complaining of an injured shin, why would Larry Nassir need to be in their pelvic area?
Megyn that's the second time I've witnessed you turn an innocent statement into chum for the sharks. You aren't on Fox anymore. The woman made a valid point. If the mother in the room didn't catch a wiff of inappropriate behavior how could we expect the coach to. The food deprivation is another matter.
He was reported multiple times to the police before this scandal. How could they possibly still hire him after that? An investigation was carried out...
How long ago was he reported to the police BEFORE the scandal? I hear this went on for DECADES, so if the first report happened like 3 years ago, it is not difficult to imagine that he would get hire again because he already had an extremely good reputation. I don't know if the Karolyi's are telling the truth or not, but their point is a valid one. Not even the VICTIMS realised they were being abused, because everything happened under the disguise of MEDICAL PROCEDURES which creates a VERY VERY THIN LINE between what is appropriate and what is not.
They didn’t give a single straight forward honest answer to the questions. They just deflected the questions by turning to another issue. Ultimately they are responsible for their employees and they got what they wanted in Nassar - the gymnasts continued competing with injuries.
Walter Higo Actually, I read somewhere that the first report came out in 1997. So it's been much longer than that.
He also was NOT licensed to practice in Texas yet they hired him anyway
There is a reason that the Olympics did not feed the athletes; and allowed the Doctor to, so the girls could have to rely on him for food.
This is what I think too. A way to control them. It’s sick
They're liars. They knew. Several complaints were made which they knew about and still ignored them.
They're equally culpable for covering up for Nassar
Megan misconstrued Martha Karolyi’s statement about how could she had known what was happening in the exam room if the gymnasts own parents who were present in the exam room in some of the instances of abuse didn’t even know what was going on. That was the point she was trying to make. Which is a valid one. Megyn just spun it for sensationalism. Still doesn’t excuse what happened at the facility.
There are many accounts of people knowing and not saying anything in this scandal.
I'm so dumb founded. . ..I was a young gymnast, myself!!! But because, of what happened in my life, I couldn't even look at that every again as a dream... . (I did at 1 time). ...Im devastated for the PEOPLE, who were involved in this!!! It really brings tears to my eyes!! Plus. . I was 5'5". . Apparently I was to tall!!!
Like all the girls said Larry was always their friend, he was the nice one sneaking snacks and being on their side! The ladies also said that they didn’t know at the time they were being abused, so let’s not blame people who were around gymnastics let’s blame the man who did this and the other people who did know. Finger pointing isn’t the answer because we know who the bad guy is, but the people who did know need to be punished.
I think a lot of them knew exactly what that sick effer was doing and just didn't say anything.
I wonder if any of the girl's had told the Karolyi's about the sexual abuse?....
Nassar taking photographs all the time should have been a clue. Especially if he was focused on only one or two gymnasts. Not allowing other specialists in and going to their hotel rooms should also have rung alarm bells.
exactly, where are the welfare officers in US gymnastics. every club in the UK has to have one
Ok, this is hardcore training in USA. Now imagine what Chinese gymnasts have to go through
How do you think Romania was taking gold for years? And Nadia Comãneci perfect score?? It was hard work and spartan training atmosphere!! Bela Karoly was the Romanian National Gymnastics Team Coach before he defected to US to become the US Coach.. Gymnastics is not easy... you need this spartan approach to succeed in gymnastics. My prediction is that, based on these latest “metoo” type challenges that plagued US gymnastics, the US will no longer have success in this field.
And the Soviets gymnasts back in the 60s, 70s, 80s...
@@1969bogdi prioritize
The USAG now has to prove they can build a women's team without the Karolyi's.
@@1969bogdi There’s a difference between Spartan training/hard work and abuse.
h. I’ll never forget one of my teammates got a toothbrush stuck down her throat during winter training camp. And she had to go to the emergency room. She was trying to make herself throw up. Remember in college getting weighed and our body fat tested every month and if you went up and buy it you had to do something about it. You are forced to see the nutritionist and be put on a diet as well.
One of my former teammates the college is actually writing a book on the abuse in our support. Crazy. Thanks for sharing.
I find it hard to believe that not one parent knew about this. Like Come on!
some parents did know, and they did report it. problem was it was all brushed under the rug.
Some did but didn't believe their own children. It's disgusting
I agree with you. We are talking about YEARS of abuse. I do not believe that every gymnast through the years thought it was part of the training. Unfortunately it is like show business. If you wanted the fame and money, you 'shut up'. Too bad these parents did not care enough for their kids to come forward. ( and for the person who said it was swept under the rug........one parent out of hundreds?????)
A lot of parents left children at the ranch, living in other states
henchy held Actually they were very naive... And he was such a manipulator. He became their friend, he listened to them and he practiced that disgusting "procedure" in front of their parents and their fellow gymnasts. They believed he was a good person, they trusted him. And yes, it sounds unbelievable! But many of them say that they are struggling to forget themselves because they didn't notice that on time.
I have loved gymnastics for 36 years. I’m 39. I’m so heartbroken by this. I thought they were wonderful. Why wouldn’t they protect their girls? That’s their most sacred job.
Unfortunately this is the norm in many sports especially gymnastics, competitive cheerleading, dance. Something like this happened at my cheerleading gym except it was a coach sexually abusing multiple of my teammates. No one knew but there were signs looking back. After our gym he moved onto two others. He is now in prison for life.
Truly, Unbelievable. Im so sorry
Yes look at Dance Moms. They make me sick
When was the last time anyone heard Martha speak?
Marta not Martha
Two years later and we now know there were emails from Steve Penny to the Károlyis saying Larry had allegations against him and he wanted to exit unceremoniously. They knew
This is why Maggie Nichols was left off the Olympic team. She reported her assault
Maggie Nichol's father is a doctor here in Minnesota. He was my dad's MD. It's probably why Maggie reported her assault, because she freaking knew this was not part of medical evaluation and care...
So sad, how she was kicked off and silenced.
That's not the only reason she was left off the team. She was also injured. Mykayla skinner was also left off the team, scored higher than Maggie and wasn't abused. Also, Gabbie Douglas was chosen despite lower scores because she was strong on bars and she was generally favored because she fit the slim, graceful ideal of a gymnast.
What happened was a tragedy but athlete a definitely misrepresented the Olympic team decision for dramatic effect.
@@kailaleegibbons6143 Well if you watch the Olympic trials you'll notice that they weren't even watching Maggie perform. They never gave her a chance to earn a spot. I'm not saying that her report was the sole reason she was left off the team but it was the main one for not even being considered.
What i keep coming back to is this, what motive would the Karolyis have to keep a man who is abusing their elite gymnasts? Their emotional stability is paramount to their ultimate goal of producing winners. The same for the " starving" allegation. You cannot perform at that level on no food. I am sure they were not getting the food that any normal teen would want...elite athletes dont eat junk, but being starved? I think the Karolyis are guilty of tunnel vision so intense that all they saw was the training. To my knowledge, none of the victims ever said they told the Karolyis about the abuse. MSU on the other hand absolutely knew and ignored the girls claims of abuse. The whole thing is sad beyond belief and I hope that US gymnastics finds a way to be sure this never happens again. Thank god Nassar is behind bara for life where he can damage no more young girls.
No matter how one feels about the me-too movement and there were parts of it that felt a bit of a witch hunt for some, they're was good parts of the movement that exposed so many things. People had complained about Nassair for years but it was the me-too movement combined with McKayla Maroney's tweet that finally got attention.
This reminds me of McKayla's interview with, I believe, Gymcastic. There she really elaborated on the culture in the system as well with her specific coach.
Peregrination Yes! I watched that interview, it was astonishing.
Peregrination Jessica O'beirne must be screeching over the karoliys interview
Lets talk with martha and bella for 1 minute and then talk about them for 10 minutes... wow extreme jurnalism
Typical Megyn Kelly bias. Kelly to many is a nothing and she certainly is not a journalist.
I'm pretty sure that was a completely separate interview that they just "blurbed" here.
They hardly said anything!!
Thank you.
Journalism
I mean...I see where Martha is coming from when she says that if even the parents didn't suspect anything, why would she suspect anything?
Because they where there the parents werent
@@rmc2001 the parents were there, not all of them.
They were head coaches is Romania where as Nadia Commenci said the girls were prostituted out and they were probably still head coaches in 1980 when the Romanian coaches were warned to feed their gymnasts because one of them in particular was looking skeletal. Nadia Commenci also quoted in a book that the young girls were crying at night because they were hungry. Did the Karoly's not notice that either because their parents didnt
Marta is making excuses... she may not have known the gymnasts were being sexually abused by Nassar but she definitely knew something was going on and purposely chose to ignore it because she didn’t want her precious legacy to be tainted all at the downfall of innocent children for money
I was abused as a child. My parents had no idea until I told them. It happened in my room at their house with someone they trusted. If Martha says she didn't know, I believe her. Bela and Martha certainly created an environment run by fear, but they're not responsible for Nassar's abuse. My parents aren't responsible for mine, either.
Same here although I would say they were careless and naive (my parents and the Karolys)
In Romania acești doi monștri,le-au abuzat fizic pe toate gimnastele,zi de zi.Inainte de orice concurs,le spunea dinainte,că dacă greșesc, să se prezinte după executarea exercițiului la toaleta,unde erau așteptare de cei 2 monștri Karoly,și le băteau cu pumnii și picioarele,le trăgeau de păr,și le spuneau că următorul aparat trebuie făcut perfect,astfel așa li se va întâmpla din nou.
Pe o gimnastă a batut-o o jumătate de oră,până gimnastă a făcut pipi pe ea.
Amândoi sunt niste Monștri!!!!
@@mihaelaserdenciuc8833 Nu mai înghiți ce-ți prescrie psihiatrul...își bate joc de tine !
How could the Karolyes and everyone on the coaching staff not know that they were teaching those children to accept abuse? It wasn't only their athletic careers at stake, it was the rest of their lives and every adult must have known that. How could those girls have grown up to have safe, healthy relationships? This kind of abuse goes on for generations.
They had a responsibility to know and to protect these children.
I too, come from an elite sport background and can relate to the training at the ranch. Won’t say any more, just that when you start training so young (I was 6), you ARE brainwashed, and that’s ALL YOU KNOW. That level of intensity every single day is ingrained in you. It becomes your life, defiance you and is your identity. You just OK I can do as you’re told. If they need to skinnier you get skinnier if they made you stronger you can’t start etc. It’s sick and it’s twisted but if you want to be the best you just do as you’re told. No questions asked.
How quickly Marta said "BUT..."
They New, the should be accountable for
Well she does have a point that even parents didn't suspect while they were present with Larry Nassar during examination 😢😢😢
They knew what he was doing
Prove it.
I am sure the Karolies did not know.
Not one woman testified that they reported the abuse to Marta or Bella and said it was ignored. Marta is right. The abuse happened under sheet with mom watching on.
She was abusive as well
the Karolyi are totally accountable for what happened, even if, as they say, they didn't know. they are accountable for the psichological abuse they inflicted to this children, they are accountable for creating the perfect enviromet for a molester to abuse. they are not the only one though, it is the whole system to be unhealthy. Such a shame for a big and powerfull country...
That’s total baloney because Nasser abused victims in front of their parents and not 1 of the girls went to any Karolyi and told them they were being molested.
@@NickyRikki baloney what ??
Wow! Really? Dude you are so blind.
Karolyi didn't give a crap about any of these girls!
it's one thing to do intense training and mimic competition ...it's another thing entirely to verbally and physically and sexually abuse your gymnasts. There are so many other olympic athletes that train intensely and they're not abused.
Savannah should have Megan's show. Megan, muh.
Sally Coleman exactly. Megyn is so unlikeable and unprofessional.
yes yes yes
The hosts are incredible empathic ladies
Can't stand Megyn Kelly.
SuzieQ121 no one can
She woke witch wile
They both make me sick. Of course they knew. Martha was copied on emails about the allegations.
Thank god they retired
They knew..How could they not. The truth will come out, it always does
They need to be arrested immediately
If you want to know how Nassar did it with the parents in the room and they didn’t know, it’s not that simple.
Larry Nassar claimed he was doing pelvic floor physical therapy or PFPT. Larry Nassar WAS NOT trained on PFPT nor did he document that he was doing it. PFPT is a procedure with a very small list of things it’s meant to treat. Most often it’s used for postpartum women who haven’t healed from childbirth. It’s NOT for Nassar claimed it was for. It has NOTHING to do with knee pain or ankle pain or whatever.
When the parents were there he’d put his fingers up inside these girls for a minute or two claiming it was legitimate and therapeutic. The NEXT time when the girl was alone his fingers wound up inside of her for as long as an hour. He did this to EVERY SINGLE GIRL regardless of what her problem was. No matter what these girls came in for; (wrist problems, shoulder problems, ankle problems, knee problems, neck problems) they wound up with Nassar’s fingers in their snatch.
THATS how he got away with it for so long.
I agree with Marta. If the parents in the room with their kid and Nassar didn’t see him abusing them, how could have Marta known?
Oh my God! Really?
Theres a massive sexual problem in america.
repression. Puritanism.
People in Romania are pretty tough when raising children, that's why the gymnast say Bela and Martha were mean coaches.
Notice though - not one survivor has accused the Karolyis? Communist Romania was horrific, and it takes one to know one for many types of abuse (as someone who's been there). I honestly think their brains were so busy with training these kids and ensuring the future of the sport they wouldn't know - I also think they're so ashamed that these kids were abused by someone they're hired. Lets not forget - they're also parents and have suffered unspeakable atrocities at the hands of communist thugs. I seriously doubt they would knowingly bring Lassar in if they knew what he was really like.
They had to have known..they didn't care..it was about making money off of these young ladies.
The fact that there was no cell phone service is irrelevant because prior to about 2000, it was essentially non-existent. Most of us survived without being constantly on the phone. I am not excusing what happened but I went away to camp as a child and our only communication with our parents was through letters. I think that there was a pervasive culture at USA gymnastics and was disappointed that they didn't remove EVERYONE that was involved during that time.
Liars!!! Steve Penny is now facing obstruction after files were removed from their training "camp".
who's here after the news of Karolyi's death?
People don’t understand that until the last few years parents dropped their kids off for days and weeks at the time.And the Karolyis knew. Nassar was the only doctor that would allow gymnasts to return injured, which was the Karolyis mandate. So letting him commit the abuse was worth it to them. If they had to get a new doctor, the new doctor would blow the whistle on the Karolyis physical and emotional abuse. The Karolyis only wanted to win, which meant gymnasts training and competing injured. Read Dominique M’s book or watch the video of Mary Lou as an adult unable to walk while she waited for knee and hip replacements from her body taking the abuse.
Such a shame they destroyed not only their dynasty, not only their legacy but their integrity ,their respect and humility and their dignity
Bela and Martha: You knew. There is nothing you can say that will make me believe otherwise and the worst part is USAG was so afraid of you, they waited until you retired for the story to break. It is NO coincidence that the year you retire is the year everything breaks. You make me sick.
They despised NASSAR! Never liked him. These girls spent 1 weekend a MONTH at the camps WITH THEIR PERSONAL COACHES!! How could they know? Believe me if they had any cause to petition USAG to get rid of him they would have. Sad, imagine how awful the parents who where right there in the room while it happened and didn't even know ...they must feel awful too. But I disagree. They couldn't have known, just as the personal coaches and parents didn't know. MOST GYMNASTS DIDN'T EVEN KNOW THEY HAD BEEN MOLESTED TIL ONE BY ONE THE OLDER GIRLS REALIZED IT WAS NOT A MEDICAL PROCEDURE! (which many claim it "Is" a sports medicine procedure with GLOVED hands, but I don't believe that)
Remember, most of these girls slept in their own beds 2y or 27 nights out of 30 a month. They didn't live there or
They knew how much protein they ate! And how much water they drank! And Marta was LAUGHING all through that interview! Hundreds of girls sexually abused right under her nose and she was laughing!! Saying “no no that never happened” laughing every time she was asked about how those girls were treated!
tripper1224 omg seriously? SHE was not LAUGHING!! and these interviewers don't even seem to understand these girls spent ONE WEEKEND A MONTH THERE!! THEY WEREN'T LAUGHING ABOUT THE MOLESTATION, TAKE IT FOR THE CONTEXT IT IS PLEASE. ALSO, THEY KEEP SAYING "DECADES " THE ONLY WHO KNEW FOR DECADES IS MSU. BUT EVERYONE SEEMS TO LEAVE THEM OUT. THAT IS DISGUSTINGLY SICK
tripper1224 btw they SHOULD know what they are eating and drinking. Eating disorders are too common in sports, especially gymnastics, but of course it would be again taken out of context.... there is a nutritionist at the ranch (was) and healthy food was provided every time they were there. And Martha was laughing at some of the ridiculous "rumors. She was VERY serious when they were discussing the girls and Nassar
I absolutely do not believe they didn't know!!!!!!!!!
Them not knowing is just as bad...
Im sorry but the Karoliys friggin knew exactly what was going on. They just turned a blind eye to all that abuse of these girls most of them or maybe all of them minors all in the name of Olympic glory and gold medals. These girls got their gold and they represented their country and all but at what price? I often wonder if things like this ever happened to the gymnasts in Romania under their watch and im sure if someone goes to really dig up their past, they might find something. My heart goes out to the families and these athletes who suffered at the hands of all these vultures around them.
Why does she say a predator might find “ his “ way into your child’s life, woman can be predators too
Yes they can. Unfortunately there are still people out there who believe that every female is sugar and spice and everything nice. Then they get into trouble and play the Babe In The Woods Role.
@Ian Larson - Great observation. Because several of the accomplices involved in this scandal were women.
Predators are very cunning. If they fail at their cover-ups then their”fun” stops, whether they are pedophiles or serial killers. Neighbors have no idea, and families and even wives don’t know ( Castro, BTK, Jerry Sandusky etc). I am not totally sure the Karoly’s knew nothing, but why should they? The perpetrator is amazing at gaining everybody’s trust. Parents in the same treatment room with their daughters while the abuse was going on didn’t know. And that fact alone reaffirmed to the gymnasts that if Nasser was doing anything wrong, he certainly wouldn’t do it in front of a parent! How horrible! The blame lies with the perpetrator and with anyone who had knowledge and did nothing. Everyone else are victims who fell like dominoes as a result of his destruction and became collateral damage......forever included in the scandal and held under suspicion regardless of their lack of involvement. Just put yourself in the situation, and maybe you won’t be so quick to point fingers.
You are correct. Cunning and manipulative...that's all predators. And a young girl shooting for an Olympic dream is prime prey. It's all very sad for everyone.
This type of things happen more places they people know. And it's not just in US.
Agreed
I agree with what u sed about predatorz , but that duzznt absolve the karoliz uv setting uppa toxxxic atmosphere...food restriction,practicing & competing thru n-jureez & broken bonez, not allowing tearz & na2ral x-preshunz... an atmosphere uv fear & n-timid8shun... I don’t havv 2 abuze ppl 4 them 2 succeed
Mahal Kita ok very very hard to follow your lingo, but the KAROLYIS are not the only ones at these camps (3-4 days out of a MONTH) any elite sport encourages healthy eating. There WAS a nutritionist on site as well as PERSONAL COACHES AT ALL TIMES. The KAROLYIS in modern era never restricted the girls eating, as even mckayla stated it was "their own personal feelings like they were being watched " the fear at Camp stemmed from knowing you have ONE eoman there who can make or break your dreams. She was not the monster "some" have made her out to be. Most acknowledge she issued constructive criticism, again ALWAYS with personal coached in attendance and as Martha stated she preferred to mention it to the coaches instead of the gymnasts. She genuinely cares for these girls. They are taking a lot of blame that should be all over MSU SINCE 1997!!!
I always thought Béla and Marta were phony people. Always smiling and being happy when behind closed doors they are known for their questionable coaching techniques such as starvation, isolation punishment, beatings and slaps. I believe the stories many former gymnasts who went through all the pain of training under Karolyis.
So glad USA Gymnastics is being put down. It's a putrid organization that completely failed the gymnasts it was supposed to serve. The Karolis should be permanently banned from any participation with gymnastics.
So should simone biles for using peds and lying.
@@lilmissperfect8427 How do you know Simone used PED's? Do you have proof, or are you saying that for some other reason? Jealousy, perhaps?
Neal B they should be in jail!!
Nassar is the child molester/abuser, NOT the Karolyi's. Why would anyone allow themselves to be "abused?" Because then they wouldn't make the team? BS! Gymnasts this age wouldn't tolerate abuse from the Karolyi's, that's ridiculous. And they sure had the BEST of training, didn't they? When you're in the level of a sports category like they were, yes, it's all work, hard work. Isn't that why they WON?
Done. Dispute that. Also, why didn't gymnasts speak up immediately for the safety of younger girls who wouldn't understand? I guess it's more important to keep it secret so you can stay on the team.
The Karolyi's are not responsible for the sexual abuse. I honestly don't believe they knew about it. They have always been known to be strict and relentless with their training. I have no doubt that any food the girls brought to their camp was confiscated, but keep in mind, these girls are on a specific diet their entire lives while training. They are not meant to eat junk food, that comes with the dream. NO one was forcing them to have this life. If they did not want to be Olympic champions, all they had to do was say, I'm done, this is not for me. But when you are top level and trying to become better, it's just naturally understood that you are going to do everything you can to better yourself. Including eating right. Those girls were not "starved". They had completely nutritious and rationed/proportional meals made for them while at that camp. I know most of America thinks they are being starved if they are not receiving extra large portions at every meal, but that is not the case. None of them looked emaciated. They had plenty of muscle, which would not be there if you were starving to death.
Exactly! Every sport requires discipline. "Omg they confiscated food"...as any coach anywhere would've done. Martha always talked about needing them to have a strong mental game so she would not want something like this to happen to them because even if she didn't care about them beyond their gymnastics, being abused leads to trauma which leads to insecure gymnastics so she had nothing to benefit by keeping a secret. And for the last time, she did not hire the man. USAG did.
Have you not seen videos of Bela's emaciated soviet teams competing in decades past? They were allegedly not even permitted more than a few sips of water, and would "have to be watched" in the bathroom stalls at the training center because they would drink the water from the toilets in desperation. Even at the Olympics, other teams recall leaving cups hidden in the toilet tanks for the gymnasts. This is just the tip of the iceberg of accusations against him. A coach capable of this type of behavior at all, even in a different decade, different country, different circumstance, does not have the benefit of the doubt from me. Their are numerous articles quoting gymnasts, coaches, athletes, choreographers, etc, floating around out there to give you a fuller picture of what "non-Americans" think starvation and abuse looks like.
Emilia Eberle's and Nadia's sickening anorexic look at the 78 Worlds Nadia Comanici had a hugely infected hand but was forced to perform an exercise so the roumanians could keep her score with an amubulance waiting outside which took nadia to the hospital.it is impossible to deescribe how anorexic they looked and Rewriting Russian Gymnastics asked why the judges awarded the gold to Eberle and in International Gymnastics they even said the American coaches complained during the exhibition tour that the roumanians were only allowed salads.Read Alexandra Moceanu books A Gymnast's Secrets
I disagree. It was their ranch and their responsibility. The best case scenario here is that they didn't know but if that is the case then their negligence allowed these girls to become victims. In my opinion they heard whispers about it and turned a blind eye.
Im not sure but I agree they were training 30 girls in private elite camps and then had open camps of 1000 + people. They were busy what were they gonna say about it anyway? they were team coodinators anyway. it was the olympic committee and usag who enabled him to continue. IF they were guilty to knowledge Aly Raisman or one of the gymnasts would've called them out by now
I have a ton of issues with ANY thing concerning kids that says a parent or someone who is a guardian can't go is a HUGE FLAG...