U.S.A. Gymnastics, the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee and hundreds of sexual abuse victims of Lawrence G. Nassar, the former national team doctor, have agreed to a $380 million settlement, ending the latest dark chapter in one of the biggest molestation cases in sports history.
The settlement, announced on Monday during U.S.A. Gymnastics’ bankruptcy proceedings in U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Indiana, is among the largest ever for a sexual abuse case. The funds would compensate more than 500 gymnasts — including Olympic gold medalists like Simone Biles, McKayla Maroney and Aly Raisman — who were abused by Nassar or someone else in the sport.
“No amount of money will ever repair the damage that has been done and what these women have been through,” said Rachael Denhollander, a Nassar survivor and member of a survivors’ committee involved in the settlement negotiations. “But at some point, the negotiations have to end because these women need help — and they need it right now.”
Many Nassar survivors have been in mediation with the gymnastics federation for years and have been waiting for compensation to help pay for costly mental health treatment, Denhollander said. Gymnasts have battled anxiety, depression and post-traumatic stress disorder, and some girls and women have attempted suicide because of Nassar’s abuse, which he perpetrated under the guise of medical treatment.