5 key takeaways from the NBC documentary on the Larry Nassar scandal 

Olympics Day 4 - Gymnastics - Artistic
From left: Kyla Ross, McKayla Maroney, Aly Raisman, Gabby Douglas and Jordyn Wieber at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, England
Hilton Announces Sponsorship With USA Gymnastics Team
Béla and Márta Károlyi

The Károlyi situation is complex

There were several things that Béla and Márta Károlyi (mostly Márta) said that made sense, but others still left viewers wondering, which we sort of expected coming into their interviews.

After all, they had not spoken up until now, and they technically did not have to speak up at all. In fact, it was somewhat of a surprise to some that every question that was asked of them, they answered, and their lawyer never had to interfere even once.

That said, there are still some uncertainties that make the situation revolving Béla and Márta Károlyi rather complex.

Even if they had no knowledge whatsoever of what Nassar was doing, which is definitely believable in that Nassar was even able to sexually assault his victims in front of their parents, as he positioned himself in a spot where they could not see exactly what he was doing to their children, Nassar's sexual assault still happened on their watch.

Plus, Nassar was allowed unfettered access to their gymnasts. He even had access to them at night in their cabins when they were alone with no other adults around.

Gina Nichols, the mother of gymnast Maggie Nichols could not believe this, according to NBC.

"My husband is a doctor. He has never seen a pediatric patient alone in a room ever in his entire career. That this man was allowed to see children all over the place everywhere, hotel rooms, all over the ranch...what are people thinking? These are children!"

There are some other claims that have been made by several gymnasts that Béla and Márta Károlyi have denied completely, which makes it a "your word against mine" kind of thing. There have been other claims that there is no way they were completely in the dark about it.

One thing that is also interesting is the fact that Béla and Márta Károlyi were told to stay silent about Nassar's sexual assault by USA Gymnastics once the institution was made aware about it, which is the same thing that they told to Aly Raisman, McKayla Maroney, Gina Nichols, and probably others.

Any way you slice it, this situation is tough to assess from an overall standpoint, and that will likely continue to be the case.

Quick Links

Edited by Asher Fair
Sportskeeda logo
Close menu
WWE
WWE
NBA
NBA
NFL
NFL
MMA
MMA
Tennis
Tennis
NHL
NHL
Golf
Golf
MLB
MLB
Soccer
Soccer
F1
F1
WNBA
WNBA
More
More
bell-icon Manage notifications