USA Gymnastics: Larry Nassar sexual abuse charges mount

[SisNancy]

On 2/1/2018 at 12:44 PM, Spartan89 said:

I’m making a statement (by letter, not in person) at the Eaton County hearing. It feels weird to be so public about everything that happened, but if I can help women be more comfortable talking about their experiences going forward, it will be worth it.

 We are all so proud of your bravery, despite how difficult this is.  Sharing your story is changing this sport for the better and putting this asshole behind bars.  

 

I have friends who's kids are still attending twistars and I just don't get it.  While all the coaches there aren't abusive everyone who has been there for a length of time is well aware of the behaviors by geddert and don't report it. Some continue the culture of verbal abuse and emotional abuse and it breaks my heart to see parents defending it.  

 I thank my lucky stars and we pulled our daughter.  My gut instinct screamed a lot of what went on there wasn't right but there was just no proof.  I think we are just scratching the surface on the allegations against Geddert and that gym it will be interesting to see what happens.  

[Briefly]

On 2/2/2018 at 10:35 AM, Mela99 said:

Oh my god, a dad was testifying, asked for five minutes alone in a room with him, and PROCEEDED TO ATTACK NASSAR.

http://wlns.com/2018/02/02/nassar-attacked-in-courtroom/

I shouldn't say I love this, but my god. Respect, dad. 

As a parent, I completely understand his actions. I would have done the same thing in his situation and I know my husband would have also.  The news report we saw included him apologizing to the judge and I think he was basically told to behave and won't face any charges.

[VVV]

On 2/1/2018 at 7:08 AM, Rowan said:

I am - dropped out of following gymnastics for a lot of the last quad, and am desperately searching for a new forum/board

I read gymtruthteller.wordpress.com

She is not a fan of the old GGMB, to put it mildly. Some of the commenters on her posts are extremely knowledgeable.

Editing to add that gymtruthteller is a blog, not a forum.

Edited February 4, 2018 by VVV
clarification

[ViolaSebastian]

37 minutes ago, Briefly said:

As a parent, I completely understand his actions. I would have done the same thing in his situation and I know my husband would have also.  The news report we saw included him apologizing to the judge and I think he was basically told to behave and won't face any charges.

You can even see the baliffs patting him on the shoulder and saying “I understand” while holding him down. I just can’t imagine having one daughter who was a victim of this pervert, let alone three. No one can say his anger isn’t justified. 

[Howl]

On 2/3/2018 at 3:55 PM, mirele said:

Mahaney should have been sat down a long time before this, but no, he's a plenary speaker on the subject of "The Heartache and Heartbreak of Pastoral Ministry (2 Tim 4:9-18)" and leading a seminar on "Criticism: A Pastor’s All-too-Common Companion".

Damn, does this EVER chap my grits and chafe my chaps. 

Rachel has fired back: 

Quote

“I am asking SGC to support their recent claim that I am making “false accusation”, “mischaracterizing” and communicating things that “are not true and have never been true”, and instead show true care for the victims by finally dealing transparently with these concerns, through taking one specific step:

Allowing GRACE, an Christian organization whose expertise is sexual assault and institutional dynamics, to do a thorough independent investigation of the organization’s historical and current handling of abuse complaints, which will be released to the public.”

Go, Rachel! 

Edited February 6, 2018 by Howl

[hoipolloi]

Thanks, @Howl - just coming here too to post about Rachel's magnificent rebuttal to SGM's shite.

[hoipolloi]

It's interesting to see all of the fundies who quickly linked to or tweeted about The Gospel Coalition's (TGC) article on Rachael Denhollander's testimony on Nasser's 2nd trial.

It's even more interesting to see how they are now saying NOTHING about her ouster from an SGM-affiliated church over her insistence that SGM be brought to justice over the child sex abuse it tolerated & perpetuated. They are equally silent on TGC's continual shielding of C.J. Mahaney.

[Antipatriarch]

@hoipolloi: Yes; it's exactly like she has been saying: They'll praise her for her "gospel testimony" in court to Nassar -- i.e. they're perfectly happy with her criticizing an abuser outside their fold. But when she researches and takes up the cause of abuse within their network of churches -- no, no, no, they're not OK with that. "She wasn't there, what she's saying about SGM isn't accurate, yadda yadda yadda (but we're still so very sorry for the abuse she suffered at Nassar's hands)."

Bollocks!

[Spartan89]

Can I just vent for a second on how much it sucks being a victim in such a publicized case? The reason I’ve chosen to remain anonymous is basically because of my extended family. They are all very attention seeking and dramatic, so I wanted to avoid the gossip and questions. Well, it seems they’re suspecting I could be a victim and are determined to get me to “talk to them”. My parents and husband are the only ones that know I’m involved with the case. Last week my aunt called my mom and started questioning her about “wasn’t he Spartan’s Dr? Did he ever touch her? Was he ever alone with her?” My Mom told her I didn’t want to talk about it and she said, “Mmhmmmm. Guess I’ll just have to ask her myself.”

My mom is telling me that they don’t mean any harm, are just concerned about me, want to support me and just don’t know how, etc. I don’t buy it. I’m sure there’s a small part of them that’s concerned, but mostly I think they just want to feel important by telling people their family is involved in the case and get attention from all of their friends. Plus talk amongst themselves about how “awful, just horrible” the whole situation is.

Now I’m put in the position of having to avoid them, because I know I’ll be questioned next time they talk to me. And I’ll either have to lie and say I wasn’t a victim, or say I don’t want to talk about it and they’ll just assume yes. Is it just me, or is this completely socially unacceptable behavior? I would never, ever ask somebody if they were a victim of sexual assault. The most I’d say is that I heard about the case, know that they knew the perpetrator, and I’m available if they ever want to talk. My mom was like, “well, not everybody has the communication skills you do!” But I really feel like that’s basic knowledge...

[47of74]

38 minutes ago, Spartan89 said:

Can I just vent for a second on how much it sucks being a victim in such a publicized case? The reason I’ve chosen to remain anonymous is basically because of my extended family. They are all very attention seeking and dramatic, so I wanted to avoid the gossip and questions. Well, it seems they’re suspecting I could be a victim and are determined to get me to “talk to them”. My parents and husband are the only ones that know I’m involved with the case. Last week my aunt called my mom and started questioning her about “wasn’t he Spartan’s Dr? Did he ever touch her? Was he ever alone with her?” My Mom told her I didn’t want to talk about it and she said, “Mmhmmmm. Guess I’ll just have to ask her myself.”

My mom is telling me that they don’t mean any harm, are just concerned about me, want to support me and just don’t know how, etc. I don’t buy it. I’m sure there’s a small part of them that’s concerned, but mostly I think they just want to feel important by telling people their family is involved in the case and get attention from all of their friends. Plus talk amongst themselves about how “awful, just horrible” the whole situation is.

Now I’m put in the position of having to avoid them, because I know I’ll be questioned next time they talk to me. And I’ll either have to lie and say I wasn’t a victim, or say I don’t want to talk about it and they’ll just assume yes. Is it just me, or is this completely socially unacceptable behavior? I would never, ever ask somebody if they were a victim of sexual assault. The most I’d say is that I heard about the case, know that they knew the perpetrator, and I’m available if they ever want to talk. My mom was like, “well, not everybody has the communication skills you do!” But I really feel like that’s basic knowledge...

I'm very sorry you went through that @Spartan89  Nassar deserves every minute of his prison sentence, and I hope he has a very, very long life behind bars.

That said your aunt should mind her own damn business.  Since she doesn't apparently have the maturity to do so I'd say whatever you decide to do is not socially unacceptable and if your aunt doesn't like it she should find the nearest large body of water and hop in.  

[Ais]

@Spartan89 I am so sorry that you’re dealing with this, and that other people feel that it’s ok to violate your privacy in this way. 

I’m not sure if it’s true in your family’s case but speaking from my own experience there are definitely people who delight in any sort of attention. If they can retell your story they get some sort of second hand celebrity (awful choice of words I’m sorry) for themselves and sadly for those sorts of people that will always be more important than being sensitive to other people’s pain. 

 

[Briefly]

3 hours ago, Ais said:

@Spartan89 I am so sorry that you’re dealing with this, and that other people feel that it’s ok to violate your privacy in this way. 

I’m not sure if it’s true in your family’s case but speaking from my own experience there are definitely people who delight in any sort of attention. If they can retell your story they get some sort of second hand celebrity (awful choice of words I’m sorry) for themselves and sadly for those sorts of people that will always be more important than being sensitive to other people’s pain. 

 

Which is why I do not discuss my experience with just about everyone, just my husband and my daughter because it was in my childhood and we wanted her to be as aware of things that could happen as she could be.

[Spartan89]

[mention=11532]Spartan89[/mention] I am so sorry that you’re dealing with this, and that other people feel that it’s ok to violate your privacy in this way. 
I’m not sure if it’s true in your family’s case but speaking from my own experience there are definitely people who delight in any sort of attention. If they can retell your story they get some sort of second hand celebrity (awful choice of words I’m sorry) for themselves and sadly for those sorts of people that will always be more important than being sensitive to other people’s pain. 
 

Absolutely, that’s a perfect way of putting it. I feel like they’re more interested in getting the attention and claiming personal involvement in the case than they actually are in my well being.

[VelociRapture]

10 hours ago, Spartan89 said:

 

Absolutely, that’s a perfect way of putting it. I feel like they’re more interested in getting the attention and claiming personal involvement in the case than they actually are in my well being.

 

I agree with everyone else. If your Aunt (and other family members) truly cared she’d be far more discreet about the entire matter. As it stands, it sounds like she just wants the attention and I fully support however you want to handle them - whether you want to avoid them or lie to them or bitch them out completely. They’ll deserve any treatment you send their way. You’re the survivor here, not them. Their feelings mean exactly nothing. You don’t deserve to be treated like an animal on exhibit at the zoo. 

[Mela99]

I think it's lovely that the dad refused the donations and offered them to charity. That says a lot I think.
@spartan89 hugs. Anyone who acts that way towards you should go suck a dead gladiola. I'm proud of you - keep doing what's right for you.

[Spartan89]

Thanks for the support everyone. This has been a crazy ride for sure. When I filed a police report over a year ago I believe I was around the 40th woman to do so. I never dreamed the case would draw this much public attention so that’s been overwhelming. When the abuse first came to light it was pretty much only gymnastics people that were following the limited news.

[SuperSluth]

@Spartan89 Thank you for speaking up.  It must be very, very strange for all this to be hitting the national news as a top story.

I know Gym Truth Teller is not a fan of GGMB. Her setup is more of a Blog and she let people register to make comments for the first few months and then cut it off.  I think that keeps things manageable for her and adds some really great discussion. 

[hoipolloi]

There's a new profile of Rachel Denhollander in World Magazine.

Also, she has recently posted a lengthy response to the bullshit SGM posted 2-3 weeks ago. It is well worth reading.

Quote

Sovereign Grace is widely held out within broadly Reformed evangelical circles as a model for churches, with leaders who are placed in significant roles of authority and prominence. Thus, what has happened at SGM matters far beyond their own churches. It reflects on the broadly Reformed evangelical community. Our response to it reflects on the Reformed evangelical community. When it is not important enough to listen, to find out the facts, to require accountability and transparency, that sends a message about how much Reformed evangelicals care about sexual assault. It sends a message about what the Gospel says about sexual assault. [Emphasis in original]

One hopes that those Reformed Evangelicals who were cheering her on when she spoke at Nassar's sentencing will be equally supportive of her in this effort.

Not holding my breath, though.

 

[WhatWouldJohnCrichtonDo?]

@hoipolloi, thank you for the links. I read the profile and Rachel's Facebook response to SGM. I am so impressed with her. She seems to have a very good intellect and a very big heart.

[hoipolloi]

@WhatWouldJohnCrichtonDo? - you're welcome. 

I also admire Rachel Denhollander for speaking out. I really hope that her fellow Christians -- especially males -- will listen & take action. 

Also gotta say that her husband seems like a great person:

 

[Leftitinmysnood]

Thanks, @hoipolloi. I hope Rachel and Jacob's story is only beginning. Their consistent application of their convictions is admirable.

[gustava]

More on Rachel and SGM

 

https://slate.com/human-interest/2018/03/larry-nassars-first-accuser-rachael-denhollander-is-now-taking-on-a-big-target-within-her-evangelical-community.html

[apple1]

Beth Moore is publicly supporting Rachel.

I personally was never a big Beth Moore fan - partly because of her mannerisms (yes, I know that is a shallow reason) and partly because of the person-worship that seemed to be the case with many of Beth's followers. But Beth is seeming to turn out to have the courage of her convictions, regardless of personal cost, and I applaud her for that.

[hoipolloi]

1 hour ago, apple1 said:

But Beth is seeming to turn out to have the courage of her convictions, regardless of personal cost, and I applaud her for that.

Which is more than can be said for many, many other prominent fundies, both male & female.

They don't seem to get how vile they & their so-called "faith" look when they support the likes of SGM or CJ Mahaney, even with their silence.

[hoipolloi]

Rachael is neither giving up nor shutting up: