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Susan Brooks meets with head of USA Gymnastics organization day before Larry Nassar sentencing

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If there's one thing that's been a constant in the Donald Trump era of American politics, it's that Republicans are willing to associate themselves with disgusting perverts and organizations that enable disgusting perverts.

The latest example of this is the incredibly tone-deaf U.S. Rep. Susan Brooks (R-IN), who bragged on Twitter yesterday about meeting with the head of USA Gymnastics (USAG), Kerry Perry, to discuss "fostering a culture of athlete safety (and) empowerment":
In case you've been living in a cave for the last several months, I remind everyone that USAG was the organization that enabled sexual predator Larry Nassar for many years. Nassar, who was the team physician for the U.S. national gymnastics team, pleaded guilty to federal child pornography charges late last year, and Nassar was sentenced to 60 years in federal prison. Nassar is currently awaiting sentencing by a Michigan state circuit court after pleading guilty to sexual assault charges; Nassar is scheduled to be sentenced today.

Nassar is a disgrace to Team USA, and he, as well as a USAG administration that did nothing to stop Nassar's disgusting behavior and a culture at USAG that enabled Nassar's disgusting behavior, destroyed the reputation of the sport of gymnastics in America permanently. The list of women who were sexually abused at the hands of Nassar is extremely long and includes Olympic gold medalists and some of the greatest athletes to compete for Team USA at the Olympics, including McKayla Maroney, Simone Biles, Gabby Douglas, and Aly Raisman, among many others. To give you a general idea of the scope of how disgraceful Nassar's behavior was, here are a couple of facts:
  • Over 150 people have accused Nassar of sexual abuse.
  • As of December 2017, Michigan State University, where Nassar was a faculty member, has faced 144 lawsuits over Nassar's behavior.
It is extremely sickening to see a Member of Congress openly talk about meeting with the head of USAG about "fostering a culture of athlete safety", when USAG enabled a sexual predator for many years. Susan Brooks is incredibly tone-deaf, and Brooks has been rightfully criticized by Aly Raisman and her mother, Lynn Raisman, on Twitter:


We, as Americans, need to advocate for public policy and institutional reform so that no athlete or any other person is subjected to the horrific crime of sexual assault. Time's up!
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