Ok. So I'm finally going to throw in my 2 cents about all of the disgust toward USAG.
Warning: I have SO many thoughts on this subject. It would take me hours and pages to express them all, so this abbreviated version of my thoughts and opinions may be long and choppy at best.
Let me start by saying that I believe child sexual abuse to be the most evil, unforgivable, most disgusting act imaginable. I can't even fathom what these girls or their parents have been through. I do feel, however, that Nassar and the other perpetrators are solely responsible for those horrific acts of abuse. I feel that blaming USAG is akin to blaming the family of a victim who was abused by a trusted family member or friend. Nassar wormed his way into so many hearts under the guise of being a good and caring medical professional and friend. Literally hundreds of people (or more) jumped to his defense when his victims started coming forward. He had been able to earn such deep trust from numerous people in the midst of committing horrible crimes against little girls. It's still all so unbelievable.
But I digress...
Because there are countless evil, deceptive people who have the ability to pass themselves off as trustworthy, abuse has happened and always will happen in every organization and in every walk of life, regardless of safeguards. Certainly, there is always room for improvement. And in a perfect world, the improvements and added safeguards would be enough to protect every child from any future abuse. But the reality is: snakes will be snakes and they will find a way to get to their prey.
And what complicates the matter tremendously is that a few of those snakes might actually be angry, vindictive, false accusers. Think Tonya Harding or Wanda Holloway for a minute. In the highest levels of an extremely competitive sport, there will be crazies who are vindictive enough to literally murder or severely injure another human being. I've seen some crazy, furious, vindictive gymnastics parents in my day. Sometimes that fury is directed at a coach who didn't achieve enough with their daughter. I don't think the idea of a false accusation with the intention of ruining a coach's career would be out of the question in the world of high level gymnastics.
So there sits USAG achieving the highest levels of the sport they represent while navigating through the mess of rumors and snakes. Maybe they could've handled things better. There are victims whose lives are forever altered. Maybe they should've been quicker to act. But then again what if many of the accusations were false? It wouldn't matter. Once word got out--even if it turned out to be false--the accused coach's career would be over. His life forever altered.
Maybe parents shouldn't allow their child to travel with their coach. Perhaps parents shouldn't allow their children to go to sleepovers or church camp or spend summers with their aunts and uncles. Predators are very often trusted family members or friends. They're generally sneaky and hard to recognize, and they can be literally anywhere. From public restrooms to school classrooms to a best friend's house. Predators have preyed on victims in churches, homes, schools, malls, restaurants, gyms, sporting good stores, doctor's offices, camps, etc.
I just kind of wanted to throw out another perspective. I have so much more say, but I'll close for now.
