The Rush: Gymnasts deliver damning testimony about sex abuse, institutional negligence
World class gymnasts Simone Biles, Aly Raisman, McKayla Maroney and Maggie Nichols testified in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee on Wednesday, detailing the horrific sex abuse they suffered at the hands of former USA Gymnastics doctor Larry Nassar and how the negligence of the USOPC and FBI enabled him to continue abusing more girls and young women long after his crimes were reported. Plus, The Rush tackles other headlines from the sports world from Urban Meyer’s USC denial to Dennis Schröder’s birthday burn, to a big bet on the Bucs and Milwaukee bucking a trend to make history.
Video Transcript
SIMONE BILES: I don't want another young gymnast, Olympic athlete, or any individual to experience the horror that I and hundreds of others have endured before, during, and continuing to this day in the wake of the Larry Nassar abuse.
JARED QUAY: We'll talk more about one of the worst sports scandals in history later in the show. But first, we'll keep it light and fluffy. Someone bet $2,500 at BetMGM that the Tampa Bay Buccaneers will go 20-0 and win the Super Bowl.
- That's a lot of money.
JARED QUAY: Yeah. This ain't 2007 Patriots. And even they didn't win the Super Bowl--
- What is Tom Brady's favorite wine? I can't beat the Giants.
JARED QUAY: Only one team has ever gone undefeated. That's the 72 Dolphins. And even then, that was only a 14-game season. But hey, Tom Brady is a unicorn. Anything's possible. So if Tampa Bay goes 20-0, that bettor will win over $300,000. That's a heavy bag.
NBA guard Dennis Schroder is now infamous for bag fumbling a gigantic contract extension with the Lakers. The dude's pretty self-deprecating, too. Dennis posted this picture of himself surrounded by bags and invited the Insta users to make fun of him on his birthday.
One lucky guy is going to get the gift of becoming USC's next head football coach. And it won't be Urban Meyer. The Jaguars [INAUDIBLE] season opener timed up precisely with the firing of Todd Hilton in LA. So of course, the birds were chirping about Meyer [INAUDIBLE] for one of the top jobs in college. Irving's reply was short and sweet.
- No chance.
JARED QUAY: I don't blame him. Being an NFL coach as hard as hell. But the pressure of coaching USC football is much more than coaching the Jaguars because everybody expects the Jags to suck.
- Yeah, they do. They do suck.
JARED QUAY: In Milwaukee, expectations of being defied in a good way. The Bucks hired Lisa Byington to call their games, making her the first female play-by-play announcer for any major US men's sports team.
- It's about damn time.
JARED QUAY: It's past time that we genuinely care about women in sport, that we acknowledge their talents, and that we listen when they speak.
MCKAYLA MARONEY: As most of you are probably aware, I was molested by the US gymnastics national team and Olympic team doctor Larry Nassar. In an actuality, he turned out to be more of a pedophile than he was a doctor.
JARED QUAY: McKayla Maroney, Simone Biles, Aly Raisman, and Maggie Nichols testified in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee about being molested by former US gymnastics team doctor Larry Nassar. These world class athletes detailed how USA Gymnastics, the USOPC, and even the FBI enabled a serial pedophile to continue assaulting girls despite knowledge of the abuse.
ALY RAISMAN: They quietly allowed Nassar to slip out the side door, knowingly allowing him to continue his work. It's horrible to meet them and to know that over 100 victims could have been spared the abuse if all we needed was one adult to do the right thing.
JARED QUAY: So much is sports culture is focused on athletes behavior, discipline, and respect. It's high time that we expect that in more from the adults in positions of power.
MCKAYLA MARONEY: I am tired of waiting for people to do the right thing because my abuse was enough. And we deserve justice.
