The judge who sentenced USA Gymnastics doctor Larry Nassar to up to 175 years in prison for sexual abuse has said the sport is still failing athletes in “almost every way” a decade on from the case.
Judge Rosemarie Aquilina said reforms introduced since his prolific offending against more than 250 women and girls was exposed largely amounted to “window dressing” and said athletes remained afraid to speak out because of the possible consequences.
She told Reuters: “I think that what they've done across the world is window dressing to say, ‘Look at us, look what we've done so well’, and they're still not being accountable for the things that they're not doing.
“Safety is a human right and yet these athletes still feel that they don't have it because the sport they love will go away if they complain about anything and so we haven't come far enough at all.
“I don't think we're going to see a change in my lifetime. I think it's going to take decades.”
World Gymnastics and USA Gymnastics were not immediately available to comment.
Aquilina was speaking at an event organised by Gymnasts for Change International in Rotterdam, where the World Championships are being held this week, to assess progress made on athlete welfare since Nassar was sentenced in 2018.
Kim Shore of Gymnasts for Change Canada credited the sport’s governing body World Gymnastics for the positive progress made, but highlighted the wide variation in the sport around the world and the challenge of implementing reforms and safeguards at every level, including grassroots gymnastics.
She said: “What we still consistently hear is that there's very much a control dominance style of coaching that is pervasive in the sport, which means that gymnasts don't have a strong voice.
“There's still yelling, training on injuries, body shaming, preoccupation with thinness.”
Shore said one encouraging shift was that athletes were increasingly staying in the sport beyond their teenage years, with gymnasts competing into their late 20s and some returning after having children.
The discussion took place as World Gymnastics prepares to appoint a new secretary general in the coming months, with Swiss Nicolas Buompane stepping down at the end of 2026.
Minky Worden of Human Rights Watch said progress had been made in the processes for athletes to report abuse but said the new leadership should prioritise gymnasts’ health and welfare over silverware.
She said: “Now I think there are better, not perfect, reporting systems in place... I think there are whistleblower protections, and there is a more trauma-informed approach, but there's still a lot of work to do.
“The pursuit of medals over human rights or over safety is completely unacceptable, but we know it still happens.”
Reuters