WATCH: Former US gymnast Jeanette Antolin, who was assaulted by Larry Nassar, tells @KatyTurNBC that the Olympic committee “fed us to the wolves.” pic.twitter.com/Xa9tZZF9sS
— MSNBC (@MSNBC) January 26, 2018
The U.S. Olympic Committee is forcing USA Gymnastics to drop its entire board of directors because of how the organization handled the Larry Nassar case. Is that enough?
“It’s a start,” said former gymnast Jeanette Antolin during an MSNBC interview on Friday. She used to be on the U.S. national team, and said that Nassar abused her during what were supposed to be medical procedures.
Host Katy Tur asked how USA Gymnastics allowed this to happen. Antolin, who gave a victim impact statement at the disgraced doctor’s sentencing hearing on January 17, said the organization had other priorities.
“Honestly, their focus wasn’t the well-being of their athletes,” Antolin said. “It was money and medals. They had policies and procedures in place that were supposed to protect us, but no one followed those policies and procedures, and basically fed us to the wolves.”
USA Gymnastic is publicly offering no resistance to the USOC’s demand.
“We understand that the requirements imposed by the letter will help us enhance our ability to build a culture of empowerment throughout the organization, with an increased focus on athlete safety and well-being,” they said in a statement. The Board of Directors page on the USA Gymnastics website is down as of Friday afternoon.
[Screengrab via MSNBC]
