Thursday, January 18, 2018

Nassar-Weinstein; how it happened

It strikes me that some of the reasons for the crimes of Larry Nassar and Harvey Weinstein remaining hidden for so long have to do with the nature of acting and gymnastics.  For my sports--cross country and track--my interactions with the coaches were limited, as I would go out, warm up, do a workout, and go home.  As long as I was running to my ability, feedback was limited.


Contrast that with gymnastics and acting, where of course the entire scoring system is on how things look, and where the interaction is constant and intensive.  Add to that the pressure to excel, and you have a recipe for a degree of submission to heinous acts that I can not imagine. 


That noted, it's not the only thing going on.  I just watched the impact testimony of a non-gymnast abused by Nassar, and it turns out she told at least half a dozen people, all of whom dropped the ball.  In the same way, my alma mater had 14 people tell....and dropped the ball.  (#NotProudToBeASpartanRightNow)


Lesson to be had; even if your group is doing an activity that can lead to extreme submission by participants, you can limit damage if only you make sure you don't drop the ball.  Also investigate whether your activity really needs that degree of submission.