Exposing Decades Of Child Abuse Within Olympic-Winning USA Gymnastics
Athlete A was released today and is now available to watch on Netflix at the link below the review.
Netflix’s Athlete A deep dives into the shocking case of mental, physical and sexual abuse that went on for decades within USA Gymnastics (USAG), the USA’s elite gymnastics organisation and the sport’s dominant olympic force.
Benni Cohen and Jon Shenk’s finely crafted film strikes a perfect balance between true crime, journalistic investigation and therapeutic process for the brave women it portrays. Not only does it redeem them by emphatically condemning child-abuser Larry Nassar, it goes a step further, accusing USAG’s system of fear, manipulation and greed of fostering and protecting abusive behaviour towards girls.
Refreshingly, Athlete A centres around the survivors of Nassar’s abuse. It simultaneously portrays them as the vulnerable, ambitious young people they were, and the strong but ultimately damaged women they are today. While, unbelievably, over 900 survivors including Simone Biles have now come forward, the narrative focuses on former USA gymnasts Racheal Denhollander, Jamie Dantzcher and Maggie Nichols.
Maggie Nichols, now enjoying phenomenal success at college-level gymnastics, was the first athlete to file a complaint against Nassar in the case that ultimately brought his downfall, making her “Athelete A”. While her and her family reported Nassar for sexual abuse in 2015, it wasn’t until 15 months later that a police investigation was launched. Throughout that time, Steve Penny, the CEO of USAG, personally and forcefully assured them that the organisation was “taking care of Maggie”, including with the coordination of an FBI investigation.
Both Jamie Dantzcher and Racheal Denhollander, now a lawyer, went public in response to an article in the IndyStar, triggered by Nichols’ anonymous whistle-blow.
The film’s real quality comes from its measured pace. By consistently providing relevant context to every new revelation, it patiently builds a bigger picture for the viewer that unravels superbly in its final sequences. In fact, the final discoveries are so surprising that without such a meticulous buildup they would be hard to believe.
As team doctor, Larry Nassar used his coveted association with the olympics to impress young girls, convince them that his therapy “techniques” were legitimate and create a sense of complicity in their sporting success.
Maggie Nichols: Athlete A
Athlete A alleges that he was enabled by USAG’s wider coaching system, tyrannically ruled by Romanian duo Bela and Marta Karolyi, who were brought to the US after their success at home, namely with 14 year-old superstar Nadia Comaneci. They favoured working with children as it allowed them to control every aspect of their athletes’ behaviour, pushing them well beyond the threshold of a senior athlete. While at USAG, they aggressively encouraged weight-loss and frequently pushed girls to perform despite having multiple broken toes and carrying other extremely painful injuries. Back in Romania, they were said to regularly strike and throttle their athletes in training.
At the time, CEO Steve Penny was able to garner lucrative sponsorship deals for the organisation off the back of the gymnasts’ wins. He oversaw the instalment of policies that would automatically dismiss any complaints of abuse as “hearsay” unless they bore the signature of an athlete, their parents or of an eye-witness. Afraid of affecting their chances of featuring in the team, Nichols was unsurprisingly the first gymnast to do so in over two decades.
It’s within this toxic environment that sexual predator Larry Nassar was given free reign. He smuggled snacks in for the girls, made them laugh and encouraged them during the one-on-one physical therapy sessions in which he also sexually assaulted them. Internal suspicions, such as the one voiced by Nichols’ first coach, are routinely dismissed by Penny, who protects USAG’s lucrative image at any cost.
However, its the strength, dignity and honesty of the survivors that makes this film so captivating. They make Athlete A a human story, a facet often neglected by headline-chasing investigative documentaries. This is typified by the directors’ decision to make the in-person testimony of 156 women against Nassar, many of which chose to waive their anonymity, the film’s surprisingly emotional climax.
