Tuesday, December 14, 2021
Ex-team doctor abuse scandal
US gymnasts will receive 380 million in compensation
Former US gymnastics doctor Larry Nassar has been sentenced to 175 years in prison for sexually abusing hundreds of women athletes. After several years of legal dispute with the gymnastics association, the women concerned were awarded millions in compensation.
In the abuse scandal involving former US gymnastics doctor Larry Nassar, who has now been convicted, his victims were awarded compensation of 380 million US dollars (337 million euros). The decision in the multi-year legal dispute between the US Gymnastics Federation and the National Olympic and Paralympic Committee on the one hand and the victims on the other has now been made by a court in Indianapolis, as the US Gymnastics Federation announced.
The sum covers claims from “hundreds of women,” wrote ESPN, including Olympic champions Simone Biles, Alexandra Raisman and McKayla Maroney. The money must be transferred from the gymnastics association. The association was accused of suffering, and its President Li Li Leung apologized on behalf of the association for the pain it caused. “Alone and as a group, the survivors campaigned for sustainable change in this sport,” she said.
In addition to the financial compensation, the association has also committed itself to guaranteeing the safety of athletes in the future through various measures and the involvement of survivors in decision-making bodies.
A total of three judgments had been passed against Nassar since the summer of 2017, and he was sentenced to prison terms of up to 175 years for his criminal assaults, including against minors. He pleaded guilty to sexually abusing several girls in the trials. Hundreds of gymnasts and their parents had sued him.