WAG Federal Child Pornography Charges Filed Against Dr. Nassar

[Deleted member D3987]

Legally I think it would be difficult for there to be a report system which would revoke certifications for coaches without there being some real evidence.....this is where it is sketchy for USAG....imagine revoking someone who did nothing wrong?
I'm not saying Penny is good or bad, and I certainly would feel differently if I had a child who was molested. Perhaps a change and some fresh blood is needed.

Back to the article- Nasser should be hung. The other article from Indystar is a great ice breaker. I hope USAG can implement some easy fixes like background checks for ALL coaches....(heck, my son is coaching at 16 and he had a background check!!)
I think training is so critical! I think parents should take a mandatory class if they have a child member......coaches must have annual training, and there must be some kind of anonymous hotline where reports can be made.

I don't know- it's all so horrible. I feel so terrible for all the families affected. I am sure there are people in the organization who have knowledge of these scumbags, but I just don't know how much USAG can do.....maybe they need more power? Club owners also need to be careful who they hire.

they did not. and it depends which scumbags you're speaking of...when...where...what state...and the circumstances. if you have questions just ask them. the article was too convoluted. no context. they say things like "368" cases of sex abuse in 20 years. well guess what...it's 5 times that in the school system nationally in 20 years.

as i have also stated before...this problem is Biblical. when i'm dead and gone this problem will still be here...everywhere. yes, EVERYONE can put in place metrics for prevention but at the end of the day some of these predators are VERY SOPHISTICATED.

and just when you think you got a handle on how all this **** happens along comes another one with different and unique predatory methods. and what to do about any predator that threatens the child? "i will kill your parents if you tell anyone!" how many times have you all read this kind of thing?

each case in our industry has a context and a story. how it all went down depends on what decade we were all in. state laws...vary state to state and vary from decade to decade. if you want to accuse USAG for anything? then accuse them of the very same thing that ALL of us can be blamed for. none of us are seers and none of us can predict. even if you think someone is "creepy" they may be not. everyone will always be chasing this problem.

and then i read those that say "killem". well, they used to do that. we don't do that anymore. it's not a deterrent...if you're sick you're sick. nothing will deter the child predator. everyone is entitled to their idealistic opinions in their approach to all this...but it's been around since the Torah.

 

[Deleted member D3987]

Legally I think it would be difficult for there to be a report system which would revoke certifications for coaches without there being some real evidence.....this is where it is sketchy for USAG....imagine revoking someone who did nothing wrong?
I'm not saying Penny is good or bad, and I certainly would feel differently if I had a child who was molested. Perhaps a change and some fresh blood is needed.

Back to the article- Nasser should be hung. The other article from Indystar is a great ice breaker. I hope USAG can implement some easy fixes like background checks for ALL coaches....(heck, my son is coaching at 16 and he had a background check!!)
I think training is so critical! I think parents should take a mandatory class if they have a child member......coaches must have annual training, and there must be some kind of anonymous hotline where reports can be made.

I don't know- it's all so horrible. I feel so terrible for all the families affected. I am sure there are people in the organization who have knowledge of these scumbags, but I just don't know how much USAG can do.....maybe they need more power? Club owners also need to be careful who they hire.

nope. many of us out here stand by Penny. we understand the problem. USA Gymnastics has had 5 Executive Directors in it's history. all of these issues have evolved over time. but the one thing that has NOT evolved is child predators...only the sophistication in how they do it.

 

[Deleted member D3987]

I don't know where to place the blame. Some of it absolutely belongs to USAG. But I don't see how USAG can stop member clubs from hiring a coach. I don't see how anyone can stop one of these scummy coaches (or doctors or whatever) from being hired somewhere else in gymnastics. Without some sort of proof or without some sort of charges/conviction, the scummy person could sue for libel and/or slander. It's not as simple as some (including the Indy Star on occasion) make it out to be.

1. none of it.
2. they can't.
3. you're correct

and the rest of your narrative is spot on.

 

[Deleted member D3987]

This x 1000.

folks, much of what has taken place was well before Penny became ED.

 

[Deleted member D3987]

Disgusting stuff - wonder if he and Sharp collected this stuff together. They did know each other, right? Wouldn't they have traveled together a lot for team USA events?

don't know. they did. yes, they did.

i want everyone to ponder this for a moment. has "FBI" gone unnoticed by any of you? how about "investigation"?

wouldn't it be wonderful in a perfect world if this type of information could be public the moment if happens? unfortunately, this is not how our system works. and then you have to ask how many more kids fell victim while these things were being investigated.

so with that said...if anyone knew an investigation was taking place...and then spilled the beans...who's *** would be in a sling? you open your mouth...when you want to scream to the mountain tops that "so and so" is a POS...and then YOU get arrested for compromising an investigation or obstruction.

so...can you all read between the lines? everything isn't always what it appears. and guess what? the Indy Star hasn't reported anything that wasn't already common knowledge...and in some cases for years. just go LOOK at the banned list. you still think USAG has not been proactive as it could be?

 

[Deleted member D3987]

or this. you fire a coach. you got a bad feeling. you don't like the way he is with the kids. you hear "rumors". you fire him/her.
next thing you know you have unemployment and dept of labor at your door. the coach filed for unemployment and he filed a complaint...cause it got out that he got fired cause he was "creepy".

unemployment is not a problem. they say being "creepy" is not a dis-chargeable cause. so the coach gets unemployment.

now...what do you think the dept of labor in your state is going to say? you have no witnesses to anything. just talk.

see one of the problems??

 

[QueenBee]

or this. you fire a coach. you got a bad feeling. you don't like the way he is with the kids. you hear "rumors". you fire him/her.
next thing you know you have unemployment and dept of labor at your door. the coach filed for unemployment and he filed a complaint...cause it got out that he got fired cause he was "creepy".

unemployment is not a problem. they say being "creepy" is not a dis-chargeable cause. so the coach gets unemployment.

now...what do you think the dept of labor in your state is going to say? you have no witnesses to anything. just talk.

see one of the problems??

While I agree with much of what you've written, this I disagree with. You can fire someone who you "have a bad feeling about". You can't fire someone because of a protected class (race, gender, age) or as retaliation for whistleblowing. Creepy is not a protected class. Parental complaints and/or coaches sharing info ("rumors") and/or not liking how someone is around kids is definitely room to be fired. Hey, you can get legally fired for not getting along with your boss. Department of Labor isn't going to require you to keep someone at the job who doesn't fall into a protected class and whose complaints have nothing to do with being in a protected class.

We've seen people get fired for being caught on camera yelling at fast food employees (fired person working at entirely different company). Employers have wide latitude to fire employees.

 

[suebee]

Employers have wide latitude to fire employees.

My dh owns a small business. While the above is true, it is also true that a fired employee can sue their former employer for discrimination - sex discrimination, age discrimination, racial discrimination, or whatever. None of that may be true and the fired employee may have been fired for being a bad employee, but the fired employee can claim any of these things and that is a huge headache for the employer to have to defend these accusations and it is costly to hire a lawyer to defend them.

I know my dh has kept on a lot of sub-par employees to not have to deal with all of that, and he often hopes that bad employees will move on to another job so he doesn't have to fire them, but they leave.

It is all very complicated.

 

[samadams]

or this. you fire a coach. you got a bad feeling. you don't like the way he is with the kids. you hear "rumors". you fire him/her.
next thing you know you have unemployment and dept of labor at your door. the coach filed for unemployment and he filed a complaint...cause it got out that he got fired cause he was "creepy".

unemployment is not a problem. they say being "creepy" is not a dis-chargeable cause. so the coach gets unemployment.

now...what do you think the dept of labor in your state is going to say? you have no witnesses to anything. just talk.

see one of the problems??

Some states are at will employment, companies or businesses do not need a reason to fire somebody. They can be fired anytime.

 

[munchkin3]

Really? We have a problem employee, and the boss has been gathering 6 months of 'incidents' to fire her properly, and even then, he has to be prepared for a lawsuit.......
Cray cray.

 

[GymmieC]

All I can say about this is parents, trust your gutt instinct. Knowing what I know, I would yes report to owner of gym, but I would go Straight to the authorities. I would not rest until perpetrator was arrested and push for more. These people do not stop at one victim. Some of the parents that reported actions to their child's gym did not inform authorities. This sure may not be easy to solve, but trust your gut and go to the police. You will protect your child and any future, young victims.

 

[bogwoppit]

folks, much of what has taken place was well before Penny became ED.

When is USAG going to come forward and state to their members, and their parents, exactly what it did and did not know? When is it going to state what it has done, and what will be done in the future.

For sure some of this happened before Penny took over, but some of it took place after.

 

[Faith]

I've said this before but I also think the national osteopathic society or whoever you have over there has to take some responsibility.

This licensed "treatment" should have very strict rules on when and who should be allowed to practice it and when.

In an ob/gyn office for birth injuries, yes. For a sports dr treating teenage girls? No way in hell should he have been licensed or permitted to use that treatment protocol.

 

[samadams]

Really? We have a problem employee, and the boss has been gathering 6 months of 'incidents' to fire her properly, and even then, he has to be prepared for a lawsuit.......
Cray cray.

It depends on the state you live in. Not every state is like that. Or if work for the federal government there is no way possible to get fired.

 

[munchkin3]

So, anyone have an opinion on the famous ranch? And why it has to be in the middle of no where, void of parents? Why does this seem to be such a red flag to me? I have friends that have literally gone nuts when it comes to the ranch......go ahead, take my kid!
Maybe I'm just NEVER going to be face with that decision.....my kids' not ever going, but.......shouldn't it be more accessible to parents at least?

 

[Gymmommy71]

So, anyone have an opinion on the famous ranch? And why it has to be in the middle of no where, void of parents? Why does this seem to be such a red flag to me? I have friends that have literally gone nuts when it comes to the ranch......go ahead, take my kid!
Maybe I'm just NEVER going to be face with that decision.....my kids' not ever going, but.......shouldn't it be more accessible to parents at least?

^^^THIS! And still after all this stuff coming out about went down there, parents still send their kids there alone w/o a second thought as though none of this even happened because they want their kids to be elites. I think it's a huge red flag, but our selection system for high level atheletes is set up so that all the power belongs to a handful of individuals who hold all the cards and have the power to blacklist anyone who doesn't play by the rules. How deep our talent level is in this country, where no one gymnast is irreplaceable when it comes to us still being dominant internationally, doesn't help either.

 

[Deleted member D3987]

While I agree with much of what you've written, this I disagree with. You can fire someone who you "have a bad feeling about". You can't fire someone because of a protected class (race, gender, age) or as retaliation for whistleblowing. Creepy is not a protected class. Parental complaints and/or coaches sharing info ("rumors") and/or not liking how someone is around kids is definitely room to be fired. Hey, you can get legally fired for not getting along with your boss. Department of Labor isn't going to require you to keep someone at the job who doesn't fall into a protected class and whose complaints have nothing to do with being in a protected class.

We've seen people get fired for being caught on camera yelling at fast food employees (fired person working at entirely different company). Employers have wide latitude to fire employees.

unless you've been thru it with a gym you can't understand. it's happened. we get sued. we are not covered under our policies for defense costs. a business decision is made and we settle. so...we agree to disagree.

 

[Deleted member D3987]

My dh owns a small business. While the above is true, it is also true that a fired employee can sue their former employer for discrimination - sex discrimination, age discrimination, racial discrimination, or whatever. None of that may be true and the fired employee may have been fired for being a bad employee, but the fired employee can claim any of these things and that is a huge headache for the employer to have to defend these accusations and it is costly to hire a lawyer to defend them.

I know my dh has kept on a lot of sub-par employees to not have to deal with all of that, and he often hopes that bad employees will move on to another job so he doesn't have to fire them, but they leave.

It is all very complicated.

this is correct.

 

[Deleted member D3987]

Some states are at will employment, companies or businesses do not need a reason to fire somebody. They can be fired anytime.

and we still get sued...

 

[Deleted member D3987]

Really? We have a problem employee, and the boss has been gathering 6 months of 'incidents' to fire her properly, and even then, he has to be prepared for a lawsuit.......
Cray cray.

this is correct.