Tasha Schwikert becomes the NINTH Olympian to reveal she was sexually abused by pedophile doc Larry Nassar and says USA Gymnastics manipulated her into praising the organization
- Tasha Schwikert revealed in an interview with ABC News on Thursday that she was abused by Larry Nassar hundreds of times while competing
- She said that the abuse began when she attended the Karolyi ranch in Texas ahead of the 2000 Olympic Games, making her the ninth Olympian to speak out
- Then, in 2016, Schwikert was contacted by Steve Penny, then the CEO of USAG, who pressured her into producing a statement in praise of Larry Nassar
- Schwikert refused to do this, but did give Penny some remarks praising the organization that were then weaponized after Nassar's abuse became public
- When the first victims spoke out publicly on 60 Minutes, USAG released Schwikert's comments on social media
- 'Basically, because I was so vulnerable, he was able to manipulate me into just signing off on a statement that they drafted for me,' said Schwikert
Another accomplished American athlete has revealed that she was sexually abused by Larry Nassar over the course of her illustrious career.
Tasha Schwikert, who won Bronze in the 2000 Sydney Games and was an alternate four years later in Athens, told ABC News in an interview that Nassar abused her hundreds of times over the course of her career.
That abuse has stayed with her for years, and rather than reach out to see if she was a victim or offer counseling, she was contacted by then-CEO Steve Penny in 2016 and asked to praise Nassar and USA Gymnastics in a statement.
'I hadn't even addressed or acknowledged my personal skeletons with Larry,' explained Schwikert.
'I just felt indebted to [Penny]. Basically, because I was so vulnerable, he was able to manipulate me into just signing off on a statement that they drafted for me.'
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Speaking her truth: Tasha Schwikert (above in her ABC News interview) revealed in an interview with ABC News on Thursday that she was abused by Larry Nassar hundreds of times while competing
Child: She said that the abuse began when she attended the Karolyi ranch in Texas ahead of the 2000 Olympic Games, making her the ninth Olympian to speak out (left at Olympics, right in her Olympic portrait)
Facing charges: Then, in 2016, Schwikert was contacted by Steve Penny (mugshot above), then the CEO of USAG, who pressured her into producing a statement in praise of Larry Nassar
Forced praise: When the first victims spoke out publicly on 60 Minutes, USAG released Schwikert's comments on social media (above)
Schwikert, who was pregnant and studying for the bar exam at the time, said that she eventually acquiesced and sent in some glowing remarks about the organization but not Nassar.
'As a member of the National Team from 1999-2004, I firmly believe USA Gymnastics always had my health and well-being top of mind,' read Schwikert's statement.
'The program provided me with the resources and experiences that helped me achieve my goals.'
Those remarks were then posted by USA Gymnastics on social media after mutiple gymnasts revealed that they were abuised by Nassar on 60 Minutes.
'Up until that point... if anyone asked how my gymnastics career was, how the Olympics was, you'd smile and say it was great — life was glamorous,' said Schwikert.
'It kind of reminds me of social media, when everyone posts the best five percent of their life, but no one wants to talk about the other 95 percent. It's like everything is great, and you move on because it's easier to portray that your life is glamorous, [that] you're doing great and you're fine.'
That abuse, as has been the case with a number of other young women, began when she was training at the Karolyi ranch in Texas ahead of the Olympics.
'Never in a million years would I think the doctor who is supposed to be treating me, and helping me, is telling me this medical advice, which is really just manipulation,' said Schwikert.
She is now the ninth Olympian to publicly state that she was abused by Nassar, joining her Sydney teammate Jamie Dantzscher, all five members of the 2012 London team (Aly Raisman, Jordyn Weiber, Kyla Ross, Gaby Douglas and McKayla Maroney) and four of the athletes from the 2016 Rio squad (Raisman, Douglas, Simone Biles and Madison Kochen).
In total, these women have won an astonishing 21 medals for the United States, which was seen at the time as a mark of Steve Penny and USA Gymnastics success in transforming the program.
It is now coming to light however that these women did this in spite of USA Gymnastics.
Schwikert was not even the only member of her family whow as abused by nassar, with her younger sister Jordan also a victim.
'To even think about it, it just makes me so disgusted inside. I don't even want to imagine that it even happened,' said Jordan.
'But when I was little, I would try to put it past me.'
The revelation by over over 300 women now that Nassar routinely and methodically sexually abused them was a shock, but just as big a shock is the fallout.
This includes the actions of former CEO Penny, whom allegedly opted to protect Nassar and by extension himself rather than the young girls who had been - and would be - assaulted by Nassar.
Leader: When the first victims spoke out publicly on 60 Minutes, USAG released Schwikert's comments on social media (Aly Raisman, the most vocal critic of USAG, in 2015)
Decades apart: Nassar begins sexually abusing Jamie Dantzscher (left in 2000) in 1994, almost 20 years before he assaults Gaby Douglas (above in 2012)
Preying: 'Basically, because I was so vulnerable, he was able to manipulate me into just signing off on a statement that they drafted for me,' said Schwikert (Madison Kocian in 2016 above, who revealed she was a victim after the Nassar trial)
The Indy Star revealed on Thursday that Penny went so far as to offer the FBI agent investigating Nassar a security job with the United States Olympic Committee.
His lawyer firmly denied this was a pay-for-play situation by saying 'any suggestion that Steve had the conversation with Abbott in order to impact the FBI investigation is false and defamatory.'
Penny was apprehended in Gatlinburg, Tennessee by the United States Marshals Smoky Mountain Fugitive Task Force after a grand jury in Walker County, Texas indicted him for tampering with evidence but he failed to turn himself in.
Instead, Penny and his wife headed to a cabin 500 miles from their Indiana home while a manhunt was underway to find the man.
That manhunt ended Wednesday however and he will soon be charged for his alleged role in covering up evidence related to the sexual abuse of young women.
'Deputy U.S. Marshals and task force officers from the Southern District of Texas and the Eastern District Tennessee worked tirelessly to locate Penny,' said David Jolley, who heads up the US Marshals for the Eastern District of Tennessee.
'Good police work ensured that Penny was swiftly and safely apprehended. He will now face the charges against him.'
Penny's lawyer meanwhile claims that he was simply on vacation and had no idea that there was a search to find him in the wake of a grand jury indictment.
'When he went to Tennessee on a vacation with his family, Mr. Penny had no knowledge there had been an indictment in Texas,' his lawyer explained on Thursday.
'At all times his residence was known and his lawyers were available to authorities in Texas. No attempt was made to summon him directly or through his attorneys to come to Texas.'
The lawyer then cast Penny and his family as the victims, stating: 'He was arrested when a team of armed Marshalls suddenly arrived at the vacation cabin while he was sitting with his wife and three children.'
The evidence he allegedly tampered with included files related to Larry Nassar's abuse of young girls at the Koryli Ranch, which according to the grand jury indictment were hidden or destroyed by Penny when he learned investigators would be searching the property.
Those records were then delivered to Penny in Indianapolis according to the indictment, and have not been seen since that time.
The grand jury in the case convened on September 28 to start hearing testimony, and more indictments could be passed out in the coming days.
And despite the arrest of Penny, USA Gymnastics posted a statement on Twitter that read: 'USA Gym has learned of the charges filed against Steve Penny. We support law enforcement’s efforts and have fully cooperated with the investigations by the Texas Rangers, Congress and others, and will continue do so to help the survivors and our community heal from this tragedy.'
Teammates: On the 2012 team, both Jordyn Wieber (left) and Kyla Ross (right) said they were abused by Nassar
Teen: Schwikert (above in Sydney) became one of he most famous Olympians in the world after her clutch performance in the 2000 Games
Power players: Simone Biles (left), the greatest gymnast in US history, and McKayla Maroney, the greatest female vaulter in US history (right), were both victims
Aly Raisman was quick to call out the organization on Twitter, writing on Thursday morning: 'Remember that time during the 2016 Olympics when the USOC praised Steve Penny and USA Gymnastics for their “state of the art policies” and declared they would not investigate? Oh and don’t forget when USAG gave Steve Penny $1 million severance package.'
She later tweeted: 'Larry Nassar was charged in Nov of 2016. About 50 survivors had come forward at that time. Dec of 2016 Paul Parilla shows his support of Steve Penny.... But hey USAG keep saying you always have and continue to support your athletes.....'
That was followed by remark made by Parilla about Penny that called him 'among the strongest advocates for our athletes.'
Raisman then followed that up by tweeting: 'USAG, you treat your athletes who speak out as adversaries, but you have the nerve to state you continue to support athletes? Just because you say you support athletes in a press release or on twitter doesn’t mean anything...'
That was a reference to the organization's decision in August to ban Raisman from attending the US Gymnastics Championship in Boston.
'The indictment alleges that Penny ordered the removal of documents from the Karolyi Ranch in Walker County, Texas that were related to the activities of Nassar at the ranch,' the Walker County District Attorney's office said in a statement on Wednesday.
'The indictment further alleges that the removal of the documents was done for the purpose of impairing the ongoing investigation by destroying or hiding the documents.'
It continued: 'During the investigation by the Texas Rangers and the Walker County Sheriff’s Office, several sources reported that Penny ordered the removal of the documents from the ranch after learning that an investigation was underway. The investigation revealed that the documents were delivered to Penny at the USAG Headquarters in Indianapolis, Indiana.'
For that, the embattled ex-president of the sport could be heading to prison.
'The Texas Rangers and the detectives believe that those records are material to their investigation and that the removal of the records by Penny prevented them from reviewing documents that would have helped in their investigation of Nassar as well as assisted with the investigation of other offenses that may have occurred at the Karolyi Ranch,' stated the DA.
Shackles: Steve Penny was handcuffed and shackled (above) before being taken into custody on Wednesday
White House to the big house: He was apprehended in Gatlinburg, Tennessee and will soon be extradited to Walker County, where the Karolyi Ranch is located (Penny above with Savannah Aly Raisman, Gabby Douglas, McKayla Maroney, Kyla Ross and Jordyn Wieber at the White House in 2012 - all five members were Nassar victims)
Penny stepped down in 2017 after 12 years as the head of USA Gymnastics, during which time the US won Gold in the all0-around twice at the Olympics (2012 London and 2016 Rio) while also taking home the Gold in the individual all-around three times (Nastia Lukin in 2008, Gaby Douglas in 2012 and Simone Biles in 2016).
At the time he had stated in a deposition that he rarely forwarded allegations of child abuse to police or child protective services because he did not feel the organization had a responsibility as a third party.
It is not yet clear if there will be more charges added to the count of tampering at this time, and Penny is noe preparing to head to Texas.
'On October 17, 2018, the United States Marshals Smoky Mountain Fugitive Task Force arrested Penny in Gatlinburg, Tennessee,' said the DA in his statement.
'He is currently being held there awaiting extradition to Walker County, Texas. The Walker County District Attorney’s Office, the Walker County Sheriff’s Office and the Texas Rangers appreciate the assistance of the US Marshals in locating Penny.'
His arrest comes on the heels of USA Gymnastics losing their latest interim CEO after just five days.
Mary Bono announced on Tuesday that she would be stepping down, just days after she managed to draw the ire of two of the sport's most respected and decorated athletes, Aly Raisman and Simone Biles.
Biles lashed out after Bono posted a tweet over the weekend that showed her blacking out the swoosh on her Nikes in response to the brand's decision to feature Colin Kaepernick in their new ad campaign.
She did this despite the fact that Nike sponsors Biles and USA Gymnastics, prompting the Olympic all-around champion to tweet: '*mouth drop* don’t worry, it’s not like we needed a smarter usa gymnastics president or any sponsors or anything.'
That tweet came on the same weekend Biles won the national championship in a performance that many believe to be the greatest in the history of the sport.
Things did not get better either, with Bono deleting the tweet only to come up against resistance from Raisman, who like Biles was one of pedophile doctor Larry Nassar's victims.
'My teammates & I reported Nassar's abuse to USAG in 2015. We now know USOC & lawyers at Faegre Baker Daniels (Mary Bono's firm) were also told then, yet Nassar continued to abuse children for 13 months!?' tweeted Raisman on Monday.
'Why hire someone associated with the firm that helped cover up our abuse?'
One of the girls who was assaulted by Nassar in those 13 months also tweeted at Bono over the weekend.
Kaylee Lorincz, who delivered her victim impact statement on the final day of the Nassar sentencing hearing back in January, said: 'You owe me an explanation of why you and your firm allowed Larry to abuse me in 2016 after you were well aware that he was abusing little girls.'
Bono came into an organization that was already incredibly fractured as a result of multiple people in positions of power either turning a blind eye or ignoring the allegations being made against Nassar.
That did not stop her though from firing off a controversial tweet to kick things off while attending a golf tournament.
'Playing in a charity golf tournament raising money for our nation's Special Forces operators and their families. Unfortunately had these shoes in my bag,' read her tweet.
'Luckily I had a marker in my bag too.'
The board released a statement soon after the news of Bono's departure on Tuesday that will likely to little to impress either Biles or Raisman.
'The USA Gymnastics Board of Directors accepted the resignation of Mary Bono as interim president and CEO. Despite her commitment to the sport of gymnastics and helping the organization move forward, we believe this is in the best interest of the organization,' it read.
'We, as a Board, are committed to taking action when we believe a change of course is necessary and to being responsive to our gymnastics community.'
The statement continued: 'While we continue the search for a permanent president and CEO and are currently seeking input from key stakeholders on that search, we remain steadfast in our efforts to fundamentally transform the organization at all levels to ensure athlete safety and well-being is at the heart of everything we do.'
John Manly, who represented a number of the women who was abused and assaulted by Nassar also released a statement on Tuesday,
'Mary Bono worked for Faegre Baker Daniels, the very same law firm who helped USAG and its disgraced former president Steve Penny keep Nassar’s abuse secret in 2015,' read Manly's remarks.
'Selecting her as interim President was an insult to every survivor and shows a complete disregard for the safety of child athletes. USA Gymnastics should be decertified immediately as the governing body for gymnastics in the US.
'It should be replaced by a body with credible/competent leadership that includes survivors. USAG is a disgrace to our current athletes, to the survivors and our nation.'
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