ESPN’s Outside the Lines aired a special episode Tuesday revealing some of the results of a 14-month investigation into ex-MSU doctor Larry Nassar and MSU’s role in his two-decade-long sexual abuse.
The episode began with videos of testimonies from the first day of Nassar’s Ingham County Circuit Court sentencing, given just minutes before the show aired.
Anchor Bob Ley interviewed high-profile Nassar survivors including Larissa Boyce, Tiffany Thomas Lopez and Aly Raisman about their experiences – both with their initial abuse and subsequent institutional failures.
Boyce described telling former MSU gymnastics head coach Kathie Klages about Nassar’s abuse and said rather than helping Boyce, Klages alerted Nassar that she’d tried to report him. Klages is currently seeking to be dismissed as a defendant from Nassar-related lawsuits.
Thomas Lopez told ESPN she reported Nassar to three MSU athletic trainers.
“They did nothing to help me,” Thomas Lopez said.
Raisman called for an investigation into the institutional structures at USA Gymnastics and MSU, which allowed Nassar’s abuse to continue.
USA Today columnist Nancy Armour told Ley that mainstream news sources failed to adequately cover the Nassar case until well-known athletes began to share their experiences. The State News first started investigating in September 2016. Early Nassar reporting can be found on the “Larry Nassar Coverage” page on the State News website.
Editor-in-Chief of The State News Rachel Fradette is scheduled to speak on ESPN about Nassar for an upcoming Outside the Lines episode Wednesday.
Stay with The State News for coverage of the sentence hearing and for other news on ex-MSU and USA Gymnastics doctor Larry Nassar. Other stories on survivors and cases can be found under the "Larry Nassar Coverage" tag on our website.
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