Saturday, January 27, 2018
The Nassar fallout continues...
Larry Nassar, the Michigan State employee who also worked with US gymnasts, was sentenced on Thursday to 40-175 years in prison for sexual assault of athletes under his care as a doctor.
Now the structures that let him do this are under threat. At Michigan State, the President and the Athletic Director have resigned. Meanwhile, the US Olympic Committee forced--and received--the resignation of the board that governed USA Gymnastics.
It all came in a rush, but it was a long time coming. Michigan State was put on notice that there were problems as far back as the year 2000, and there was a steady stream of red flags after that according to a timeline at SB Nation. And the problems at MSU seem to have gone far beyond the actions of this one doctor.
Penn State.
Baylor.
Michigan State.
They are all different scandals, but they are tied together by one thing: ambitious sports programs. Did that play a role in what happened? It's an important question, and one that hopefully will be examined as this latest scandal continues to be unpacked.
Now the structures that let him do this are under threat. At Michigan State, the President and the Athletic Director have resigned. Meanwhile, the US Olympic Committee forced--and received--the resignation of the board that governed USA Gymnastics.
It all came in a rush, but it was a long time coming. Michigan State was put on notice that there were problems as far back as the year 2000, and there was a steady stream of red flags after that according to a timeline at SB Nation. And the problems at MSU seem to have gone far beyond the actions of this one doctor.
Penn State.
Baylor.
Michigan State.
They are all different scandals, but they are tied together by one thing: ambitious sports programs. Did that play a role in what happened? It's an important question, and one that hopefully will be examined as this latest scandal continues to be unpacked.
Comments:
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Whenever we see scandals like this, there were always early reports of the misdeeds. They were ignored, either by an individual or systematically.
Why? I can only imagine, but the logical answer is "for the good of he program." Only by thinking they were serving the "greater good", wrongly of course, could people protect a predator rather than defend a victim.
How to fix it? Make post-reporting steps mandatory, with severe penalties for those who fail to act. If people won't act in the interest of victims, create incentives to make them act in self interest.
In other words, make their interests align with those of the victim. Although we would hope the better angles of our nature would always lead us to do the right thing, sometimes people need a nudge. Or a shove.
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Why? I can only imagine, but the logical answer is "for the good of he program." Only by thinking they were serving the "greater good", wrongly of course, could people protect a predator rather than defend a victim.
How to fix it? Make post-reporting steps mandatory, with severe penalties for those who fail to act. If people won't act in the interest of victims, create incentives to make them act in self interest.
In other words, make their interests align with those of the victim. Although we would hope the better angles of our nature would always lead us to do the right thing, sometimes people need a nudge. Or a shove.
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