WAG Anyone following what is happening with USAG?!?! (Rhonda Faehn asked to resign)

[TumbleTimes4]

I liked the point that @AmandaLynn made. Rhonda was less than a month into her position when Maggie’s coach came to her. And when she reported it to Penny, he may have told her the same thing that he told Maggie’s parents: that he had contacted the FBI. Steve Penny lied to a lot of people about the investigation, he may have lied to Rhonda too for all we know. If he told her he was reporting it, then maybe she didn’t think she needed to report it a second time. There are just so many details that we don’t know. I’m not trying to defend her, just trying to throw out another possible scenario. I think I may agree with other posters that perhaps retraining on mandatory reporting may have been the best option depending on what she ultimately knew and did or didn’t do, and that we may never know. I would like to hear her side of the story.

I think it’s interesting and maybe telling that she has the support of even some of the coaches like Maggie Haney and Mary Lee Tracy, and those coaches aren’t controversial as far as I know. There is also a petition on change.org for the removal of Kerry Perry.

https://www.change.org/p/us-olympic-committee-the-resignation-of-kerry-j-perry

 

[Deleted member 14190]

yes penny lied to Rhonda and now she is fired . And penny got over a million dollars , wonder of Rhonda got anything

 

[wandrewsjr]

I always assumed Penny lied to Rhonda. That is why she has been allowed to stay there the last 3 years.

 

[Deleted member 14190]

I think its important to note that Rhonda reported to Penny, he did report it to the FBI (not sure how long that took) and then Rhonda was interviewed by the FBI, so in her mind she did what she was supposed to do and actually did eventually talk to the FBI about it. So she kind of got shafted on this. That is what i have learned.

 

[John]

My only question is after reporting to her superiors and time passes and Nassar is still out and about why wouldn' t at a minimum she report her concerns to athorities and begin to question what if any consequences were forthcoming?

 

[Seeker]

How do you know she didn’t?

My only question is after reporting to her superiors and time passes and Nassar is still out and about why wouldn' t at a minimum she report her concerns to athorities and begin to question what if any consequences were forthcoming?

 

[John]

@Seeker true! I guess I assumed her being asked to leave was based on her failing to do what Perry would have liked. I would hope she would. Defend herself or atleast make her side of the story known. It is possible that Perry just does not like her.

 

[Seeker]

@Seeker true! I guess I assumed her being asked to leave was based on her failing to do what Perry would have liked. I would hope she would. Defend herself or atleast make her side of the story known. It is possible that Perry just does not like her.

Her being asked to leave now is a direct result of USAG not having their act together and them trying to make it appear as if they’re “doing stuff”. IMO, this was prep for Kerry Perry to appear before Congress. If they wanted to send her packing for other reasons, it should have been done several months ago.

 

[momnipotent]

My only question is after reporting to her superiors and time passes and Nassar is still out and about why wouldn' t at a minimum she report her concerns to athorities and begin to question what if any consequences were forthcoming?

If she trusted that he had been reported to the FBI, I would think she assumed they investigated and found the accusations unfounded.

 

[John]

@momnipotent so you think she possibly felt he was investigated and the gymnasts were lying? I can not get behind this thought, sorry.

 

[momnipotent]

I’m saying that if there was uncertainty about whether or not it was a legitimate medical procedure or abuse, and the perception was that the FBI investigated and took no action, I can see how the thought might have been that they found no evidence of abuse. Not that the gymnasts were lying about what happened, but that abuse was not found by the authorities. I also don’t know what you would do as a next step if you truly thought the FBI investigated and closed the case. There’s not really a law enforcement agency ABOVE the FBI you can go to...

 

[Juniper311]

The gymnastic podcast has done extensive reporting on this subject. The most recent podcast covers the firings, Rhonda, Penny, etc. I highly suggest anyone wondering about what Rhonda did do, did not do, how long it was between when Penny learned of the abuse and reported it to the FBI... give it a listen.

https://gymcastic.com/305-kerry-perry-lights-dumpster-fire/

 

[tomtnt]

I think part of the problem when the initial reports first came to light was that no one was convinced that it was abuse. Nassar had done such a great job fooling all his enablers that almost everyone was willing to give him the benefit of the doubt over what the gymnasts were describing. They WANTED to believe there was some potential misunderstanding and didn't want to potentially ruin his reputation/career. Of course, in hindsight- it is VERY CLEAR what happened and what should have been reported.

 

[CLgym]

Not sure if this has been posted yet:

https://www.indystar.com/story/news...-abuse-usa-gymnastics-agreed-cover/599381002/

 

[bogwoppit]

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-new...-told-staff-keep-quiet-about-nassar-n880056##

Time for Penny to be charged?

 

[LindyHopper]

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-new...-told-staff-keep-quiet-about-nassar-n880056##

Time for Penny to be charged?

He pled the 5th!

www.nbcnews.com/news/amp/ncna880056

 

[amiandjim]

I must say I read Rhonda’s testimony, and maybe I am wrong, but I truly feel she had the best interests of the girls at heart and really thought she was doing the right thing.

 

[Flyaway]

I must say I read Rhonda’s testimony, and maybe I am wrong, but I truly feel she had the best interests of the girls at heart and really thought she was doing the right thing.

Some may argue that she needed to go regardless, but I do think that she was duped by Penny.

 

[TumbleTimes4]

After reading her congressional testimony, I have to agree that she thought she had done the right thing. Having only been in that position less than two months, she probably trusted her boss to do the right thing. It was the right move to immediately inform Penny. And I think most of us in a brand new position would have believed our boss when they said they would report it to the authorities. She had no reason not to believe him I think st that point.

 

[Flippin'A]

After reading her congressional testimony, I have to agree that she thought she had done the right thing. Having only been in that position less than two months, she probably trusted her boss to do the right thing. It was the right move to immediately inform Penny. And I think most of us in a brand new position would have believed our boss when they said they would report it to the authorities. She had no reason not to believe him I think st that point.

I tend to agree. It seems that Penny was playing her, Sarah Jantzi, the survivors, and the parents in an effort to do damage control instead of protecting the athletes. The revelation that he told Nassar about the investigation while simultaneously insisting to everyone else that they couldn't talk about it is pretty damning. Rhonda's biggest mistake seems to be trusting him, and it looks like many others were guilty of the same thing. The fact that he's now taking the 5th tells me he doesn't think that his own legal trouble is over, and I certainly hope that's the case. He deserves to face real consequences for his actions.