The phone rings and when you answer the call, a person claiming to be with law enforcement tells you that he or she has discovered some naked pictures of you when you were a child on your trainer’s computer. Trinea Gonzcar recalls this exact event as the turning point in the way she saw one of her mentors.
“We can’t tell you if it’s you, but there were images of little girls in his bathtub,” said the official.1
Larry Nassar had been in Gonzcar’s life for over thirty-one years, and Gonzcar was a huge advocate of him and his treatment. She could not believe that the one person who she looked up to, who healed her from all of her injuries, and who was there to listen to her when she needed him, hurt her in an unimaginable way.2
The United States is known for having a culture that absolutely loves sports. From the World Series to March Madness and the Super Bowl, the United States has always made sports a huge spectacle. The Olympic Games are no different, as they are an opportunity for many athletes to represent their country in the sport they love the most. Among many other sports, competing in gymnastics is the dream of many little girls who want to showcase their skills on a stage this huge. Gonzcar, a little girl with colossal dreams, was among these special ladies seeking the opportunity. At the age of six she joined the gym Twistars and knew that gymnastics would be her new passion. In a family of five, Gonzcar was the most intense and competitive. Twistars soon became her second home as she spent most of her time training in the gym when she was not at school.3
Gonzcar proved to have strong potential at a young age and began to train with Larry Nassar at the age of nine, when she was selected to be on the team of John Geddert, the owner of Twistars gym. Gonzcar’s mother, Dawn Homer, recalled one of the coaches speaking out in a parent meeting about injuries, stating that, “One hundred percent of the girls would be injured but we have a trainer right here.” The coach was referring to Larry Nassar.4
Nassar was a graduate of the University of Michigan, and he began working for the USA Olympics in 1986 as an athletic trainer and later as a physician. Nassar was a well-known individual with medical degrees in kinesiology and osteopathic medicine. He worked his way up from being a high school trainer to a trainer at his alma mater before earning a spot in the big leagues as a national medical coordinator for United States of America Gymnastics (USAG). In other words, this man’s track record was squeaky clean and all those with whom he interacted loved him.5
Gonzcar was no different from anyone else. She loved spending time with Nassar because she knew that he was the best at what he did and would always heal her injuries quickly, which meant more training and a better opportunity for competition.
“We called it magic of Larry–he could fix you so you could compete. And I wanted to compete,” Gonzcar said.6
All of the girls that attended Twistars gym were truly scared of Geddert because of how cruel and strict his training could be. So Nassar became their escape. They completely and utterly trusted Nassar because he was encouraging and made sure that the girls knew their potential. In 1990, when Gonzcar was nine years old, she noticed that her hip began to pop out of its socket whenever she was on bars, an injury for which she would go to Nassar for treatment. Nassar decided that she was in need of more treatment than what he could provide her at the gym, so he asked to meet Gonzcar and her mother at his apartment. This was an honor for Gonzcar, who took a lot of pride in the invitation, and her relationship with Nassar began to grow.7
When she arrived at Nassar’s home, there was already an ice bath set up in his bathtub with a magazine and a 14-minute timer. After this bath, Gonzcar got dressed and followed him to his treatment table, where her mom was seated in a position where she was only able to see Gonzcar’s head and shoulders. Nassar made Gonzcar lay on her stomach and put one of her legs across her hip while having a conversation with her mother. Meanwhile, he penetrated Gonzcar with an ungloved hand. This same incident happened over 856 times, according to Gonzcar’s attorney.8
Sexual abuse can be defined as an individual forcing unwanted sexual contact or behavior onto another. There are many experts who believe that sexual abuse is the most under-reported type of child mistreatment, which usually occurs because children are most likely to be abused by those they trust or those who have some type of power over them.9 According to the NIS-1 data provided by the Children’s Bureau, 83% of sexual abuse victims are girls. In these same statistics, 32% are 15-17 years old, 28% range from 12-14 years old, and 21% are from 9-11 years old. Unfortunately, these types of situations are increasingly recognized as a cause, or moreover the trigger, for mental health problems.10
Unfortunately, Gonzcar was not the only one who experienced sexual abuse from Nassar. In the late 90’s another gymnast Gonzcar was acquainted with shared the same experience as her. The girl expressed that Nassar would penetrate her with his fingers, and Gonzcar began to realize that the same thing was happening to many of the other gymnasts. She was not alone, but she quickly expressed that Nassar’s treatment was normal, and that it was how they were going to get better. Nassar was Gonzcar’s hero and no one understood him like she did, so she would defend him until his name was cleared. If she could only talk to those girls who made those accusations, she could make them understand that it was not what they thought.11
Over the course of more than twenty years, there were multiple accusations against Nassar made to MSU and to other coaches at the Twistars gym, accusations that never made it to the police. No action was taken, as those who were in the position of confronting and possibly firing him believed that Nassar was a great man incapable of such morbid actions. Many reports were made, yet no voices were heard.
It was not until 2014, when gymnast Amanda Thomashow accused Nassar of assaulting her when she went in for a hip injury at MSU, that a problem was raised. Although the directors at MSU cleared Nassar of any possible wrongdoing, the incident got the attention of many other young girls who were experiencing the same thing. Similarly, it was a hip injury that landed Gonzcar in Larry’s arms over twenty years prior. Gonzcar’s opinion on Nassar did not reach its ultimate potential until she received that particular phone call about the investigation. Moreover, Nassar did plead guilty to sexual abuse of some of the girls in 2017.12 It all began to make sense, how even when Gonzcar went in for treatment for her wrists and ankles, she was somehow still getting her back and hip treatment–but she had always believed that he was fixing her and never suspected otherwise.13
Finally, after a rigorous investigation conducted by Detective Lieutenant Andrea Muford, Nassar was arrested. On May 12, 2017, he had to face about 200 of his victims in trial while each of them told their story in court. Among the many testimonies was that of Gonzcar, who referred to him directly when speaking.14 The pain in her voice grabbed the attention of everyone in the room. She was facing the man that, until a couple of months before, she had admired so dearly and defended. Now she felt offended that he betrayed her and her family and that he had committed such repulsive crimes over the course of three decades to hundreds of women.15
Nassar lost absolutely everything when he was sentenced to life in prison. Nassar’s wife divorced him, his medical license was revoked, and his name was tarnished. The squeaky clean reputation that he had maintained and that had kept him out of trouble for so long was no longer around. The USA Olympics and Michigan State University both issued statements apologizing to the girls who were mistreated by Nassar, and both parties are dealing with some lawsuits of their own. At the end of the day, justice was served and although the trauma that the girls have had to deal with will still be around for years to come, at least their abuser can no longer do any harm to them or any more innocent girls.
- Kerry Howley, “Everyone Believed Larry Nassar,” New York Magazine 51, no. 23 (2018): 24. ↵
- Kerry Howley, “Everyone Believed Larry Nassar,” New York Magazine 51, no. 23 (2018): 23. ↵
- Kerry Howley, “Everyone Believed Larry Nassar,” New York Magazine 51, no. 23 (2018): 23. ↵
- Kerry Howley, “Everyone Believed Larry Nassar,” New York Magazine 51, no. 23 (2018): 23. ↵
- Matt Mencarini, “Inside the investigation and prosecution of Larry Nassar,” Lansing State Journal (2018). ↵
- “Day 4 of Larry Nassar Sentencing,” YouTube video, 8:43, posted by ” Alexandra Ilitch,” January 20, 2018, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=63gVf1oUd4Q. ↵
- Kerry Howley, “Everyone Believed Larry Nassar,” New York Magazine 51, no. 23 (2018): 25. ↵
- Kerry Howley, “Everyone Believed Larry Nassar,” New York Magazine 51, no. 23 (2018): 26. ↵
- Kristen Key and Rebecca J. Frey, “Sexual Abuse,” The Gale Encyclopedia of Mental Health, 3rded. (Detroit, M.I.: Gale, 2012), 1391. ↵
- Heather Cecil, “Childhood Sexual Abuse,” in Encyclopedia of Sociology, 2nded. (New York, NY.: Macmilan Reference USA, 2001), 289. ↵
- Kerry Howley, “Everyone Believed Larry Nassar,” New YorkMagazine 51, no. 23 (2018): 27. ↵
- Matt Mencarini, “Inside the investigation and prosecution of Larry Nassar,” Lansing State Journal (2018). ↵
- “Day 4 of Larry Nassar Sentencing,” YouTube video, 8:43, posted by ” Alexandra Ilitch,” January 20, 2018, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=63gVf1oUd4Q ↵
- Matt Mencarini, “Inside the investigation and prosecution of Larry Nassar,” Lansing State Journal (2018). ↵
- “Day 4 of Larry Nassar Sentencing,” YouTube video, 14:50, posted by ” Alexandra Ilitch,” January 20, 2018, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=63gVf1oUd4Q ↵
100 comments
Cynthia Perez
What a horrible situation to even be apart of. 200 victims? That’s a lot of people who were manipulated and taken advantage of by one person. Nassar is a sick person who lost everything (thankfully) because of his disgusting behavior, and to think he could’ve lived a great life with his wife in a great business industry. However he ruined it for himself and yet that still doesn’t amount to anything in comparison as to what he had inflicted on all those people he hurt. They have to go on in life feeling violated while he just sits and rots behind bars. Considering how big of a problem he caused, it would be hard finding or seeing any way to help him. He’s just too far gone. I’m sure that others like Gonzcar probably have trouble trusting adults or instructors and that’s really tragic because people in Nassar’s former position or just a position of influence should be trusted. It’s a shame that there’s too many people out there that abuse it.
Nicole Ortiz
People like Larry Nassar are the reason why many parents fear leaving their children alone with instructors or any other kind of adult in reality because you never know what a person’s true intentions may be. Some people may seem innocent and wanting to help but in reality, they have some wickedness inside of them and you never know the harm that they could do. I bet it was especially hard for Gonzcar to deal with this due to the fact that she put all her trust into this man to help her pursue her passion as a gymnast. Sadly, many sexual abuse cases happen by the people that you often trust the most and I just hope that this didn’t make Gonzcar stray away from her passion.
Andrea Degollado
This story is completely horrifying and leaves me completely disgusted, but I can’t pretend it’s something new. Stories likes Gonzcar are very common. They put their trust in someone like their coach or teacher and they are betrayed and sexually abused. These are the types of stories that make a lot of parents paranoid to leave their children alone with the instructor because they are afraid of the intentions the instructor might have. For example, as a dancer I experiences a lot of long practices, weekend practices, and sometimes late practices. However my mom would never leave me alone with the instructor and she would always defend her actions with stories like these. This story is heartbreaking.
Kimberly Parker
This article was very well written, but the new information that I have gained today has me utterly disgusted at the actions of one single man, who had the audacity to do this kind of despicable thing to young girls. And to think that he’s probably not the only one out there that does this kind of indescribable thing to people and think that it’s ok to do it, just has me terrified of the way the world works. Having a niece and nephew, it makes me fear for them, because I know I don’t want something like this to happen to them, but it’s always someone close to you, that ends up betraying you. And people always find out about it when it’s too late. He had assaulted 499 young girls. It took 499 girls getting their childhood ruined by this perverse man, for action to finally be taken against him. That is wrong on so many levels that I just can’t begin to express myself.
Carly Jimenez
This article I think can have great impact on anyone who reads this. I have seen the documentary on Nassar and was completely disgusted by what he had done to many girls all these years he was their coach and a person they really looked up to. The saddest part is that these young girls had no idea what he was making them do and thought that this was completely normal. Come to find out that years later what he had been doing was was not only illegal but sickening. Getting life in prison is what he most deserved but it leaves an awful impact on the 200 and some females that he took advantage of. All in all this was a great article.
Saira Locke
Unfortunately, there are horrendous people in our society who do horrible things to innocent people. Larry Nassar is one of these people. He used his fantastic reputation for the worst and took advantage of young girls who trusted him with their lives. He is a truly evil human being. People like Nassar are the reason why parents are so worried these days to ever leave their children alone and become paranoid when they can’t be around them. I wish the people who were initially told these “rumors” many years ago would’ve took action and believed his victims. Maybe then Larry Nassar wouldn’t have been able to molest his 499 victims. They are at fault as well.
Vania Gonzalez
This is an unbelievable story and real life tragedy that happened to over 200 girls while they were in a place they felt safe at. This story is one of the reason why I would never go see anyone when I was injured after a game or practice. And that poor girl who defended him until it was her because most of his victims do not even know what is going on while they are going through treatment int must have been so devastating.
Carlos Alvear
I am yet again disgusted with the actions of some individuals who exist on this planet. Why does this man think it is ok to commit such actions. As an older brother with a sister entering her freshman year of high school I am terrified of the new things she will be exposed to. And if, God forbid, something does happen I would want her to know how to react. This man assaulted hundreds of women before any action was taken. That is wrong, that shouldn’t have happened.I blame this on the taboo nature of talking about anything inappropriate between parents. I feel that from when this took place to the present day parents are more willing to be open about conversations regarding sexual assault and things alike. Of course there is always room for improvement and we as a society can not slack off on building awareness for sexual assault. All I hope for is for people to speak up and for criminals like Nassar to be dealt with.
Charli Delmonico
I can’t believe that not until recently did Gonzcar realize what was really going on when Nassar was treating her. It is incredibly sad that so many girls had to endure this sexual abuse without being able to talk to anyone who could help the situation. The ones that did weren’t believed by these important people, therefore, Nassar went on completely protected by his institution and bosses. It terrifies me that Nassar was able to have conversations with the girls’ mothers while he was sexually abusing them! The amount of girls he hurt is also incredibly appalling.
Courtney Reeves
Larry Nassar is a great explanation of why I am afraid to have children. As a parent, he or she desperately wants to protect his or her child, but unfortunately, in some cases, it is beyond his or her control. It’s saddening to realize that the person that you trust to heal you could also hurt you. I’m glad Larry Nassar got what he deserved, especially having to hear every single one of his victims’ stories of his sexual misconduct in court on national television and his wife leaving him. I can’t imagine what his victims and his wife were feeling or thinking.