Maroney speaks out

[MaryClare]

It wouldn’t surprise me if Alicia was also a victim of at least grooming. She was very influential over several of the other girls for quite a long period, 2005-2012. Nassar will have noticed this

 

[rlayt]

Did Sharp molest boys or manipulate them into nude photos?

 

[MaryClare]

Not for very long. After Beijing until she went to college

 

[MaryClare]

I believe his victims were both male and female

 

[JaJa]

It wouldn’t surprise me if Alicia was also a victim of at least grooming. She was very influential over several of the other girls for quite a long period, 2005-2012. Nassar will have noticed this

Exactly. Using girls like Alicia to shield himself is an aspect of the overall scheme of abuse. Everyone plays whatever role he needs them to play.

 

[RedBirdie]

Predators can get aggressive as time goes on. Go years and years of not getting caught (and when you are accused, you successfully talk your way out of trouble) and you start feeling invincible.

As to Alicia and Nastia’s reactions…grooming. Period. Nassar positioned himself as a confidant, someone who would sneak them candy, a person you could spill all your frustrations and secrets to. Of course so many people reflexively defended him. We see it all the time. Abusers don’t just groom their victims, they groom everyone around them.

 

[JaJa]

What I am deeply deeply upset about is that when the predators are revealed everyone is shocked and appalled and asks how this could have gone on for so long. Yet, I know child sex abuse continues in all of the usual venues – including churches, schools, youth sports. And people continue to ignore all the , what to me should be, obvious signs. I’m sorry, but i had to say this.

 

[MaryClare]

Another theory that’s been mentioned is number of Chinese coaches on the scene- Chow, Zhao, Jiani Wu (who also falls into the parent category although as Anna would have been at college, she’d have been there with Mackenzie and Bridget). Apparently there was a tendency towards Chinese medicine and techniques rather than traditional sports medicine. And it was allowed rather than pushing them towards Nassar basically because it was “weird” and Chinese and no one really understood.

 

[MaryClare]

It is ignored and it manifests in different ways in different places. I know of rhythmic gymnastics schools in Russia where the girls who don’t make it become escorts in China.

 

[choclatechip45]

Interesting did not know that.

 

[JaJa]

It is ignored and it manifests in different ways in different places.

Yes. We set up these “safe” protocols etc etc but frankly we learn nothing from any of this and I think its because we never get at the real core issues.

 

[MaryClare]

I haven’t played close attention but it’s been commented on that gymnasts with Chinese coaches haven’t been the ones to go public, so perhaps were not abused.

 

[JaJa]

Gabby had Chow and she was abused.

 

[choclatechip45]

Gabby (could have been when she was at Excalibur or Buckeye), Kyla and Anna Li have all gone public.

 

[choclatechip45]

When she first started to go to the ranch she was with Excalibur.

 

[gymskatefan]

In case anyone didn’t want to watch a full video, here’s a transcript of McKayla’s IG story (4 photos/slides):

 

[irichluck21]

IIRC,
Nassar was not really around that quad and was absent for most of 2005-2007. He was there with USAG on a volunteer basis.
He came back for 2008 Olympics, but earlier he was busy with his school board stuff, his special needs daughter, and MSU where he was a professor and working with the MSU team. It was also a period, as mentioned, with high profile athletes being coached by parents (Memmel, Bieger, Liukin), involved with USAG (Peszek/Worley) athletes that were outspoken (Sacramone, Priess) and coaches (Armine) that were in the room (Hong).

 

[Dex]

Oke don’t kill me but what I would like to know from her is ; did she want to forego her Olympic experience if she could do it all over again?
It is all about the bad things, with reason…,however she also experienced some great things at and after the Olympics.

I wonder if she had a choice if she would choose to not go to London but also not get the advantages she has enjoyed since, and is still enjoying.

Again not displaying the bad, I just wonder if, in the end SHE thinks it was worth the pain and misery she is now so focussing on.

As for me, it would NOT be worth getting Olympic gold and silver and afterward, short fame, endorsements, tours for all she went through…

 

[JaJa]

He was there with USAG on a volunteer basis.

He was always with USAG on a volunteer basis. His only salary came from MSU

 

[rue_des_plantes]

Oke don’t kill me but what I would like to know from her is ; did she want to forego her Olympic experience if she could do it all over again?
It is all about the bad things, with reason…,however she also experienced some great things at and after the Olympics.

I wonder if she had a choice if she would choose to not go to London but also not get the advantages she has enjoyed since, and is still enjoying.

Again not displaying the bad, I just wonder if, in the end SHE thinks it was worth the pain and misery she is now so focussing on.

As for me, it would NOT be worth getting Olympic gold and silver and afterward, short fame, endorsements, tours for all she went through…

I guess the question could be posed academically or privately somehow. But, no, it is neither helpful nor reasonable to ask trauma victims to gauge the point where they’d “trade in” their experiences and make trauma or abuse hypothetically go away. Regardless of what anybody thinks about them, at the end of the day, such thought exercises don’t reflect or help the victim’s material reality.

Ditto for if they have any regrets and if so what are they, or for others to say what they would have done in their position instead.