# Go to Hell Larry Nassar, Michigan State University and the US Olympic Gymnastics Program. **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [January 23, 2018, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/go-to-hell-larry-nassar-michigan-state-university-and-the-us-olympic-gymnastics-program/807266 "2018-01-23T02:05:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2018, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/go-to-hell-larry-nassar-michigan-state-university-and-the-us-olympic-gymnastics-program/807266/62 "2018-01-25T15:03:30Z")
> [@kaylasdad99](#): > > Didn’t the example of Ben Carson demonstrate that clearly enough? So far as I know, Ben Carson never molested any of his patients at any time, much less under the guise of medical treatment. I’m not a fan of Carson (except as a neurosurgeon, which he was indisputably good at performing) but he’s nowhere near the same league as Nassar. ---
**Author:** ![lost4life](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c4cdca/32.png) [@lost4life](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lost4life)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2018, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/go-to-hell-larry-nassar-michigan-state-university-and-the-us-olympic-gymnastics-program/807266/63 "2018-01-25T15:14:03Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > …Obviously, the University of Michigan should be chopping off a lot of heads, too… Whoa, whoa, whoa. Let’s back up here. Unless I’m missing part of the story, we’re talking about Michigan STATE, not the University of Michigan. Carry on. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2018, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/go-to-hell-larry-nassar-michigan-state-university-and-the-us-olympic-gymnastics-program/807266/64 "2018-01-25T15:55:02Z")
Oops, sorry. ---
**Author:** ![TroutMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troutman/32/6721_2.png) [@TroutMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TroutMan)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2018, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/go-to-hell-larry-nassar-michigan-state-university-and-the-us-olympic-gymnastics-program/807266/65 "2018-01-25T16:02:02Z")
> [@BobLibDem](#): > > To nobody’s surprise, President Simon resigned last night. I don’t know what she knew or when she knew it, but the system that was supposed to protect these women failed them and she was at the top of that system. While it’s good she resigned, it would have been better if she accepted even one iota of responsibility for what happened. Instead, she portrayed herself as the victim of politics. Her only apology was “that a trusted, renowned physician was really such an evil, evil person who inflicted such harm under the guise of medical treatment.” No apology to them for the years when reports were ignored. > [@Lou Anna Simon](#): > > As tragedies are politicized, blame is inevitable. As president, it is only natural that I am the focus of this anger. Boo fuckin’ hoo. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2018, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/go-to-hell-larry-nassar-michigan-state-university-and-the-us-olympic-gymnastics-program/807266/66 "2018-01-25T16:44:14Z")
Yeah, well, if you want to get the privileges and money of high position you need to take responsibility for what happens on your watch. This used to be understood, but apparently it’s no longer part of getting an MBA (if it ever was). ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2018, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/go-to-hell-larry-nassar-michigan-state-university-and-the-us-olympic-gymnastics-program/807266/67 "2018-01-25T16:44:48Z")
> [@kaylasdad99](#): > > Didn’t the example of Ben Carson demonstrate that clearly enough? I’m sure Josef Mengele cured a patient or two in his time, too. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2018, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/go-to-hell-larry-nassar-michigan-state-university-and-the-us-olympic-gymnastics-program/807266/68 "2018-01-25T17:04:55Z")
> [@kaylasdad99](#): > > Didn’t the example of Ben Carson demonstrate that clearly enough? > [@Broomstick](#): > > So far as I know, Ben Carson never molested any of his patients at any time, much less under the guise of medical treatment. I’m not a fan of Carson (except as a neurosurgeon, which he was indisputably good at performing) but he’s nowhere near the same league as Nassar. Sorry; I was focusing on “loathesome,” and had not yet read the entire thread. While I see no reason to back away from my assessment of him, I regret flippancy of the impulse that inspired me to put him forward as an example. I’ll endeavor to do better in the future. ---
**Author:** ![StusBlues](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dc4da7/32.png) [@StusBlues](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StusBlues)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2018, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/go-to-hell-larry-nassar-michigan-state-university-and-the-us-olympic-gymnastics-program/807266/69 "2018-01-25T17:33:05Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#): > > Well said. > > For over the top, it’s hard to beat [this](https://www.si.com/olympics/2018/01/24/larry-nassar-sentencing-usa-gymnastics-abuse-victims-michigan-state). > > _“…a rogue’s gallery of coaches and bureaucrats, all of whom should be driven from polite society by howling mobs. > Burn it all down. That is the calm and reasoned conclusion to which I have come as one horror story after another unspooled in the courtroom. Nobody employed in the upper echelons at USA Gymnastics, or at the United States Olympic Committee, or at Michigan State University should still have a job…Those people should come out of civil courts wearing barrels. Their descendants should be answering motions in the 22nd Century. In fact, I can argue convincingly that none of those three institutions should continue to exist in its current form.”_ > > “Howling mobs”? Harass their descendants? I’m down with everything but the descendants. What the hell did they do? I’ve got no problem with howling mobs in this case. They’re clearly called for. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2018, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/go-to-hell-larry-nassar-michigan-state-university-and-the-us-olympic-gymnastics-program/807266/70 "2018-01-25T18:34:26Z")
> [@StusBlues](#): > > I’m down with everything but the descendants. What the hell did they do? We can compromise: we can only harass the descendants by constantly asking them “do you want whale sperm with that?” ---
**Author:** ![Folacin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/folacin/32/3195_2.png) [@Folacin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Folacin)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2018, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/go-to-hell-larry-nassar-michigan-state-university-and-the-us-olympic-gymnastics-program/807266/71 "2018-01-25T18:34:46Z")
> [@StusBlues](#): > > I’m down with everything but the descendants. What the hell did they do? I’m assuming ongoing civil suits, making sure every dime associated with the complicit folks goes to the survivors (and not the heirs of the complicit). ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2018, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/go-to-hell-larry-nassar-michigan-state-university-and-the-us-olympic-gymnastics-program/807266/72 "2018-01-25T18:37:06Z")
Sorry, I can’t justify punishing innocent descendants of criminal for the crimes committed by their relatives - who are we, North Korea? I agree, we should remove any profit from the families of the guilty, but the innocent members should be left untouched and able to make a living. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2018, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/go-to-hell-larry-nassar-michigan-state-university-and-the-us-olympic-gymnastics-program/807266/73 "2018-01-25T19:02:54Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > Sorry, I can’t justify punishing innocent descendants of criminal for the crimes committed by their relatives - who are we, North Korea? Nah, we’re just Old Testament. ---
**Author:** ![MandaJo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ac91a4/32.png) [@MandaJo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MandaJo)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2018, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/go-to-hell-larry-nassar-michigan-state-university-and-the-us-olympic-gymnastics-program/807266/74 "2018-01-25T19:27:37Z")
Does anyone really think the judge was advocating for on-going punishment of the descendants? She was being hyperbolic, and meant to convey that at no point should civil suits against the estate stop simply because it’s been a long time, in the same way we don’t let Nazi thefts discovered today stand because their descendants weren’t the ones that did the thieving. She meant we shouldn’t just cover this up after a few years because it’s so hard to look at and we’d like it to go away. And, honestly, she just sat through how many full days of those victim statements–4? 6?. I could not have done that. I might have understood that those girls deserved the chance to speak, that they were entitled to do it, and that it wasn’t about me, it was about them, but I am honestly not sure I could have sat at rapt attention, making sure my body language and facial expressions conveyed my focus and my support for day after day after day. She didn’t get to take a break, plug her ears, close her eyes to the horror. She couldn’t cry or smash anything. I would have been a blubbering mess on the floor after the second day. I would not have been strong enough to give those girls what they needed. So I am sure as fuck not going to micromanage how she handled it, or the small measure of emotional release she took from telling him what she thought. ---
**Author:** ![wolfman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/a8b319/32.png) [@wolfman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfman)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2018, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/go-to-hell-larry-nassar-michigan-state-university-and-the-us-olympic-gymnastics-program/807266/75 "2018-01-25T19:34:59Z")
I have been pretty surprised at the MSU reaction since the scandal got national notice. It seemed like a coordinated effort by everybody in their leadership of “not our responsibility, we’re all just victims too, and it’s overblown anyway”. I was more shocked they seemed to be getting away with it. It’s only been in the last week or so the attention turned that way, and escalated to the appropriate levels. ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Lendervedder](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/happy_lendervedder/32/8488_2.png) [@Happy\_Lendervedder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Lendervedder)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2018, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/go-to-hell-larry-nassar-michigan-state-university-and-the-us-olympic-gymnastics-program/807266/76 "2018-01-25T19:50:21Z")
> [@MandaJo](#): > > Does anyone really think the judge was advocating for on-going punishment of the descendants? She was being hyperbolic, and meant to convey that at no point should civil suits against the estate stop simply because it’s been a long time, in the same way we don’t let Nazi thefts discovered today stand because their descendants weren’t the ones that did the thieving. She meant we shouldn’t just cover this up after a few years because it’s so hard to look at and we’d like it to go away. I don’t think the judge was advocating for Old Testiment-style descendant punishment. It was a writer for Sports Illustrated. ---
**Author:** ![muldoonthief](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muldoonthief/32/3188_2.png) [@muldoonthief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/muldoonthief)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2018, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/go-to-hell-larry-nassar-michigan-state-university-and-the-us-olympic-gymnastics-program/807266/77 "2018-01-25T19:50:24Z")
> [@MandaJo](#): > > Does anyone really think the judge was advocating for on-going punishment of the descendants? She was being hyperbolic, and meant to convey that at no point should civil suits against the estate stop simply because it’s been a long time, in the same way we don’t let Nazi thefts discovered today stand because their descendants weren’t the ones that did the thieving. She meant we shouldn’t just cover this up after a few years because it’s so hard to look at and we’d like it to go away. > > And, honestly, she just sat through how many full days of those victim statements–4? 6?. I could not have done that. I might have understood that those girls deserved the chance to speak, that they were entitled to do it, and that it wasn’t about me, it was about them, but I am honestly not sure I could have sat at rapt attention, making sure my body language and facial expressions conveyed my focus and my support for day after day after day. She didn’t get to take a break, plug her ears, close her eyes to the horror. She couldn’t cry or smash anything. I would have been a blubbering mess on the floor after the second day. I would not have been strong enough to give those girls what they needed. So I am sure as fuck not going to micromanage how she handled it, or the small measure of emotional release she took from telling him what she thought. The “descendants should be answering motions in the 22nd century” line was from a Sports Illustrated writer, not the judge. The judge didn’t say anything about anyone’s descendants. ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Lendervedder](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/happy_lendervedder/32/8488_2.png) [@Happy\_Lendervedder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Lendervedder)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2018, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/go-to-hell-larry-nassar-michigan-state-university-and-the-us-olympic-gymnastics-program/807266/78 "2018-01-25T19:51:48Z")
> [@wolfman](#): > > I have been pretty surprised at the MSU reaction since the scandal got national notice. It seemed like a coordinated effort by everybody in their leadership of “not our responsibility, we’re all just victims too, and it’s overblown anyway”. I was more shocked they seemed to be getting away with it. It’s only been in the last week or so the attention turned that way, and escalated to the appropriate levels. Having the Michigan legislature and both U.S. Senators calling for her head probably didn’t help. It was no longer a quiet little Ingham County court case (which it oddly felt like for much of the trial; very little national coverage, IMO). ---
**Author:** ![wolfman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/a8b319/32.png) [@wolfman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfman)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2018, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/go-to-hell-larry-nassar-michigan-state-university-and-the-us-olympic-gymnastics-program/807266/79 "2018-01-25T20:12:06Z")
> [@TroutMan](#): > > While it’s good she resigned, it would have been better if she accepted even one iota of responsibility for what happened. Instead, she portrayed herself as the victim of politics. Her only apology was “that a trusted, renowned physician was really such an evil, evil person who inflicted such harm under the guise of medical treatment.” No apology to them for the years when reports were ignored. > > Boo fuckin’ hoo. Perhaps she will learn about responsibility when it hits home that enabling sexual abuse and being a travesty of a human being will cost her… > **[Simon unlocks lifetime perks with resignation](https://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/local/michigan/2018/01/25/msu-simon-resignation-contract-perks/109803500/)** > > Resigned MSU President Lou Anna Simon could return as paid faculty and will get free football game tickets for life …apparently not a fucking thing. ---
**Author:** ![Typo\_Negative](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/typo_negative/32/484_2.png) [@Typo\_Negative](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Typo_Negative)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2018, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/go-to-hell-larry-nassar-michigan-state-university-and-the-us-olympic-gymnastics-program/807266/80 "2018-01-25T20:21:01Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > “Burn it all down” is correct. ALL should be fired. Not a single person should remain. If that means some people who were not consciously complicit, but were just dopes, lose their jobs, then you know what? That’s just too fucking bad. You lose your job 'cause you’re a dope. Get out. Frankly, anyone who’d want to be associated with that organization now would make me very suspicious. What? The secretaries? The janitors? The Football coach? I think we getting a bit ahead of ourselves here. Just because someone was unaware of something doesn’t make them a dope and certainly does not make them evil, or bad at their jobs. ---
**Author:** ![MandaJo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ac91a4/32.png) [@MandaJo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MandaJo)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2018, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/go-to-hell-larry-nassar-michigan-state-university-and-the-us-olympic-gymnastics-program/807266/81 "2018-01-25T20:27:01Z")
> [@muldoonthief](#): > > The “descendants should be answering motions in the 22nd century” line was from a Sports Illustrated writer, not the judge. The judge didn’t say anything about anyone’s descendants. Well, then, it’s just sound and fury. Lord. But I stand by my claim that the judge was an amazing human being for letting the girls have the chance to speak after having gone unheard. That’s had to be a trauma all it’s own, and she took that on herself. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/go-to-hell-larry-nassar-michigan-state-university-and-the-us-olympic-gymnastics-program/807266.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/go-to-hell-larry-nassar-michigan-state-university-and-the-us-olympic-gymnastics-program/807266.md?page=5)