Three Larry Nassar survivors deliver speeches at ESPY Awards

Highlighting the 2018 ESPY (Excellence in Sports Performance Yearly) Awards show on the evening of Wednesday, July 18 at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles, California was the presentation of the Arthur Ashe Courage Award.

The 2018 Arthur Ashe Courage Award was awarded to the survivors of the Larry Nassar sexual assault scandal, of which there are more than 300. On Wednesday evening, 141 of those survivors took the stage at the Microsoft Theater to receive this award, and three of them delivered speeches.

Those three were Sarah Klein, who is the first known victim of Nassar, Tiffany Thomas Lopez, who is a former Michigan State University softball player, and Aly Raisman, who is a two-time Olympic gymnast and a three-time Olympic gold medalist.

Here is what Klein, who was first to speak, had to say, according to Cosmopolitan.

“It is a privilege to stand up here with my sister survivors as we represent hundreds more who are not with us tonight. Make no mistake: We are here on this stage to present an image for the world to see, a portrait of survival, a new vision of courage. The abuse of Larry Nassar began 30 years ago with me.

"For 30 years, people at the United States Olympic Committee, USA Gymnastics and Michigan State University all placed money and medals above the safety of child athletes. Thirty years until the work of Detective Lt. Andrea Munford of the Michigan State Police Department and Angela Povilaitis, the assistant attorney general, who prosecuted the case, finally (put) our abuser away for life.

“Speaking up and speaking out is not easy. Telling our stories of abuse over and over and over and over again in graphic detail is not easy. We’re sacrificing privacy, we’re being judged and scrutinized, and it’s grueling and it’s painful, but it is time.

"As a mother, I am here to say that we must start caring about children’s safety more than we care about adults’ reputations. And as a survivor, I am here to say that if we can just give one person the courage to use their voice, this is worth it. If one more victim of sexual abuse feels less alone tonight, then our suffering has meaning.”

Lopez was the next to speak. Here is what she had to say, according to Cosmopolitan.

"In my sport, softball, we typically measure ourselves with with wins and losses. Well, the amount of loss is almost immeasurable. Tonight, we stand here, and it feels like we're finally winning.

"There are a lot of conversations in our society that we tiptoe around as if they're something to avoid. I know in my life, people have looked that way at two issues extremely personal to me: race and sexual abuse. Sexual abuse claims victims in every race, showing no discrimination. Just like Arthur Ashe, I stand so very proud representing not only minorities, but all of us as humans, the human race.

"I encourage those suffering to hold tight to your faith, and stand tall when speaking your truth. I'm here to tell you, you cannot silence the strong forever."

Finally, Raisman spoke. Here is what she had to say, according to Cosmopolitan.

“1997. 1998. 1999. 2000. 2004. 2011. 2013. 2014. 2015. 2016. These were the years we spoke up about Larry Nassar’s abuse. All those years, we were told, ‘You are wrong. You misunderstood. He’s a doctor. It’s okay. Don’t worry. We’ve got it covered. Be careful. There are risks involved.’ The intention? To silence us in favor of money, medals and reputation.

"But we persisted. And finally, someone listened and believed us. This past January, Judge Rosemarie Aquilina showed a profound level of understanding by giving us each the opportunity to face our abuser, to speak our truth and feel heard. Thank you, Judge Aquilina, for honoring our voices.

“For too long, we were ignored, and you helped us rediscover the power we each possess. You may never meet the hundreds of children you saved, but know they exist. The ripple effect of our actions, or inactions, can be enormous, spanning generations. Perhaps the greatest tragedy of this nightmare is that it could have been avoided. Predators thrive in silence.

"It is all too common for people to choose to not get involved. Whether you act or do nothing, you are shaping the world that we live in, impacting others. All we needed was one adult to have the integrity to stand between us and Larry Nassar. If just one adult had listened, believed and acted, the people standing before you on this stage would have never met him.

"Too often, abusers and enablers perpetuate suffering by making survivors feel that their truth doesn’t matter. To all the survivors out there, don’t let anyone rewrite your story. Your truth does matter. You matter. And you are not alone.We all face hardships. If we choose to listen and we choose to act with empathy, we can draw strength from each other. We may suffer alone, but we survive together."

The inspirational speeches of these three women brought the crowd at the Microsoft Theater to their feet before all 141 of the survivors who took the stage left it following the inspirational closing remarks made by former NASCAR and IndyCar driver Danica Patrick, who was the host of the 2018 ESPY Awards show and the first woman to ever host any ESPY Awards show.

Perhaps no one will be more affected by these women than Larry Nassar, who, because of their bravery and courage, is set to spend the rest of his life behind bars.

The 54-year-old disgraced former USA Gymnastics and Michigan State physician is currently serving the 60-year federal prison sentence that he was issued this past December on three child pornography charges, and he is doing so at United States Penitentiary, Tucson in Tucson, Arizona, which is a maximum-security federal prison that offers a sex offender program for sexual predators such as Nassar.

My only "question" about Nassar right now is whether or not officials at United States Penitentiary, Tucson forced him to watch this amazing presentation and these inspirational speeches. As much as I want that to have been the case, I seriously doubt that it was.

However, Nassar was forced to listen to many of the people he sexually assaulted during his two sentencing hearings earlier this year during which he was issued two state prison sentences to go along with the federal prison sentence that he was issued in December.

These two state prison sentences were issued to Nassar in January in February. The one that was issued to him in January is for between 40 and 175 years, and it was issued to him on seven sexual assault charges following a seven-day sentencing hearing during which 156 of the survivors delivered victim impact statements and 13 other people delivered victim impact statements on the behalves of other survivors in front of him in an Ingham County, Michigan courtroom.

The state prison sentence that was issued to Nassar in February is for between an additional 40 and 125 years, and it was issued to him on three sexual assault charges following a three-day sentencing hearing during which 65 more people delivered victim impact statements in front of him in an Eaton County, Michigan courtroom.

Last month, Nassar was also charged with six counts of second-degree sexual assault of a child in Texas, but there has not been any additional time added to any of his three prison sentences as a result of this.