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Monday Mini Updates: An Update on Women's Gymnastics · Stuff Mom Never Told You

• 0:05
  Speaker 1: Hey, this is Annie and Samantha and welcome to stuff
• 0:07
  Speaker 1: I've never told your production of iHeart Radio Quick Trigger Awarding.
• 0:19
  Speaker 1: Before we get into this episode, we are going to
• 0:21
  Speaker 1: be talking about issues of sexual assault and abuse. So
• 0:25
  Speaker 1: if that's not something that you're in a good place
• 0:27
  Speaker 1: for today, then let skip this one, come back to
• 0:30
  Speaker 1: it later. All good. Also, want to put the date
• 0:34
  Speaker 1: on this one because we are talking about an ongoing situation.
• 0:38
  Speaker 1: Today is October five one, so we wanted to do
• 0:44
  Speaker 1: a quick update on what's been going on with the
• 0:45
  Speaker 1: USA gymnastics and the female gymnast speaking out about the
• 0:49
  Speaker 1: FBI and how the FBI has handled the allegations that
• 0:54
  Speaker 1: these women made against Team USA. Dr Larry Nasser so
• 0:59
  Speaker 1: in NASA was charged with sexual abuse and child pornography
• 1:02
  Speaker 1: is now serving decades in prison. Some advocates believe he
• 1:06
  Speaker 1: may have abused up to one hundred and twenty athletes
• 1:10
  Speaker 1: during his time as doctor right so. In September of
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  Speaker 1: one this year, four of Team USA's top gymnast, Maggie Nichols, MICHAELA. Moroney,
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  Speaker 1: Ali Reisman, and Simone Biles testified to the Senate Judiciary
• 1:23
  Speaker 1: Committee about how the FBI really dropped the ball on
• 1:27
  Speaker 1: how they went about the investigation because there was very
• 1:30
  Speaker 1: little and it was really emotional. In heartbreaking testimony, Simone
• 1:34
  Speaker 1: Biles said she blamed Nasser and quote an entire system
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  Speaker 1: that allowed his abuse and that the scars of this
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  Speaker 1: horrific abuse continues. And Biles testified saying that the impact
• 1:47
  Speaker 1: of this man's abuse will never be over and I
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  Speaker 1: think that could be said for a lot of victims
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  Speaker 1: of sexual abuse when we know this to be true. Yeah, yeah,
• 1:56
  Speaker 1: for sure. And Maroney labeled Nasser as more of a
• 2:00
  Speaker 1: pedophile than a doctor and described recounting the abuse she'd
• 2:04
  Speaker 1: gone through a while with Team USA on the phone
• 2:06
  Speaker 1: with the FBI, and she said she gave them clear
• 2:09
  Speaker 1: details about the instances of abuse and molestation, including incidents
• 2:13
  Speaker 1: that happened right before the twenty twelve London Olympics. Um quote,
• 2:18
  Speaker 1: I cried and there was just silence after that, she
• 2:21
  Speaker 1: says the FBI falsified her statement. She argued that the
• 2:24
  Speaker 1: agents involved should be indicted and angrily pointed out that
• 2:27
  Speaker 1: Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco did not even appear at
• 2:31
  Speaker 1: the meeting, saying, I am tired of waiting for people
• 2:33
  Speaker 1: to do the right thing, and Ali Risman echoed the sentiments,
• 2:37
  Speaker 1: saying that the FBI treated her and other dimness like adversaries,
• 2:42
  Speaker 1: that they've been a victim shamed over and over, that
• 2:45
  Speaker 1: they made her feel like the abuse didn't count, that
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  Speaker 1: it wasn't that bad, that it took quote years of
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  Speaker 1: therapy to realize my abuse was bad. That it does matter,
• 2:54
  Speaker 1: going on to say all we needed was for one
• 2:57
  Speaker 1: adult to do the right thing. Um and FBI Director
• 3:01
  Speaker 1: Christopher Ray said that the mistakes made in this case
• 3:04
  Speaker 1: should never have happened and that he was deeply sorry
• 3:07
  Speaker 1: that so many repeatedly let down these women. The Senate
• 3:11
  Speaker 1: Judiciary Chairman Richard Durbin said in the fifteen month period
• 3:15
  Speaker 1: that the FBI officials assured their responsibility, NASA abused at
• 3:18
  Speaker 1: least seventy young athletes. For many of them, this was
• 3:21
  Speaker 1: a continuation, but for others, they were abused for the
• 3:24
  Speaker 1: first time while the FBI sat on the case. So far,
• 3:28
  Speaker 1: the FBI has impressoned charges. Special Agent Michael Langman was
• 3:32
  Speaker 1: fired in the weeks leading up to his hearing, and
• 3:34
  Speaker 1: his supervisor, Jay Abbott had earlier resigned. But that's where
• 3:38
  Speaker 1: we are now there's been a lot of like angry statements,
• 3:43
  Speaker 1: but not so much actions throughout I can see, and
• 3:48
  Speaker 1: that there was at one point the conversation that the
• 3:51
  Speaker 1: Bolence Against Women Act had been pretty much taken down,
• 3:54
  Speaker 1: pretty much rescinded by the previous administration when the investigation
• 3:58
  Speaker 1: was happening. Some of the arguments for the FBI, which no,
• 4:03
  Speaker 1: this does not you know, like it's not giving them
• 4:07
  Speaker 1: any excuses, but what they're saying is under that being
• 4:11
  Speaker 1: resented that they did not have actual any law in
• 4:14
  Speaker 1: order to proceed as a federal case. So what we
• 4:17
  Speaker 1: talked about, if you look at some of the charges,
• 4:19
  Speaker 1: they are directly linked to specific states instead of doing
• 4:23
  Speaker 1: federal level. Because of that and because of those statutes
• 4:27
  Speaker 1: being limited, it really really hurt the investigation. And of
• 4:30
  Speaker 1: course that could be a cause as to why this
• 4:33
  Speaker 1: act is so important um and the Biden administration has
• 4:37
  Speaker 1: brought it back. I don't know if it is fully
• 4:40
  Speaker 1: functioning as the entirety of the Act was intended to
• 4:43
  Speaker 1: begin with, but it has come back since the last administration.
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  Speaker 1: But that has cost a lot of conversation about why
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  Speaker 1: these things are not a part of the judicial process. Anyways,
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  Speaker 1: in any way, why a law enforcement would allow this
• 4:59
  Speaker 1: kind of gray area when obviously there's a lot of
• 5:03
  Speaker 1: victims and victimization that's been happening. But yeah, we don't
• 5:06
  Speaker 1: call him a predator. So the actual charges from what
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  Speaker 1: I remember, is because of the porn and not necessarily
• 5:12
  Speaker 1: actually because of the abuse, which is another just disgusting
• 5:16
  Speaker 1: back to this case. Yeah, I mean, there's a lot
• 5:18
  Speaker 1: of very heartbreaking things about all of this, and it
• 5:21
  Speaker 1: is a reminder of why laws like that matter and
• 5:25
  Speaker 1: why we need to keep an eye on them. And
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  Speaker 1: it just makes me so angry as someone as we
• 5:31
  Speaker 1: talked about, I was a young girl who wanted to
• 5:32
  Speaker 1: be a gymnast, and I was like love watching gymnastics,
• 5:35
  Speaker 1: that this was happening for so long, and that people
• 5:39
  Speaker 1: were speaking up about it and it was not being
• 5:41
  Speaker 1: treated with the urgency it deserved, or even outright dismissed
• 5:46
  Speaker 1: or even flipped that they weren't being abused at all
• 5:50
  Speaker 1: or it didn't matter, and then expecting them to perform
• 5:54
  Speaker 1: and like these high stakes athletics as if nothing is wrong,
• 5:59
  Speaker 1: like forget all of that, just shut up and go
• 6:01
  Speaker 1: do your gymnastics, like that's it. Makes me so angry, right,
• 6:05
  Speaker 1: and these young women who are supposed to be protected,
• 6:07
  Speaker 1: if they are truly representative of this country, they should
• 6:12
  Speaker 1: be one of the people who are actually protected, and
• 6:14
  Speaker 1: they weren't, and they're not um. And that's kind of
• 6:17
  Speaker 1: that conversation is even after the fact, even after so
• 6:20
  Speaker 1: many of these women have left that specific competition field,
• 6:25
  Speaker 1: they're still not being represented in any least way, They're
• 6:28
  Speaker 1: still not getting any type of justice, They're still not
• 6:30
  Speaker 1: being listened to. It's just such a heartbreaking situation all around.
• 6:34
  Speaker 1: And then that kind of comes back to the fact,
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  Speaker 1: you know, it speaks to other victims. If these women
• 6:40
  Speaker 1: who are famous, who are again supposed to be protected
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  Speaker 1: and guarded, are not getting any justice, are not being believed,
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  Speaker 1: and are being dismissed, why would they listen to me
• 6:49
  Speaker 1: an individual who is not a part of that world
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  Speaker 1: in any least way, or who may not quote unquote
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  Speaker 1: in their minds matter because they're not representing the U
• 6:57
  Speaker 1: S and Olympics. You know, it's kind of like, how
• 6:59
  Speaker 1: do it's normal person get any justice if they can't, Right,
• 7:04
  Speaker 1: It's a it's an awful dangerous message to send, and
• 7:08
  Speaker 1: it is I think very telling that it is representative
• 7:13
  Speaker 1: of the U S and like clearly a systemic problem
• 7:17
  Speaker 1: that we have and it's playing out on the stage
• 7:21
  Speaker 1: and it's just so infuriating. But I mean, it's it's
• 7:27
  Speaker 1: it's very I wish it wasn't the case and it
• 7:30
  Speaker 1: didn't have to be. But do you know the strength
• 7:33
  Speaker 1: of these women for speaking out and for continuing to say, like, no,
• 7:36
  Speaker 1: this was mishandled and we deserve justice and you need
• 7:40
  Speaker 1: to know what happened, does and fix it so it
• 7:42
  Speaker 1: doesn't happen to other people. That is inspiring and even
• 7:46
  Speaker 1: though it does break my heart that it is having
• 7:49
  Speaker 1: happened at all, But yeah, we're going to continue to
• 7:52
  Speaker 1: keep an eye on this and see see what happens
• 7:54
  Speaker 1: there in the meantime. Listeners, as always that we would
• 7:57
  Speaker 1: love to hear from you. If you would like to
• 7:58
  Speaker 1: email us our emails Stuff Media Mom Stuff at iHeart
• 8:01
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• 8:03
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• 8:05
  Speaker 1: Told You. Thanks. It's always to our super producer Christina,
• 8:08
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• 8:11
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