Movie Review: Athlete A

Athlete A *** ½ / *****
Directed by: Bonni Cohen & Jon Shenk.

The Larry Nassar sexual abuse scandal that rocked U.S. Women’s Gymnastics has become one of the most documented of all the recent sexual abuse scandals. We’ve already had one documentary – last year’s At the Heart of Gold – about it, and excellent podcast – Believed – about it, as well as countless articles, TV pieces, etc. Bonni Cohen and Jon Shenk’s Athlete A – named after the at the time anonymous athlete who first brought Nassar’s horrific conduct to the public’s attention, therefore has some work to do to justify why we need another documentary on the same subject. For the most part, Athlete A more than clears that bar. This is a movie that is about Nassar’s conduct to be sure. But it’s wider reaching than that – like the judge in the case, who allowed all of Nassar’s victims who wanted to into the courtroom to deliver victim impact statements, the film does give voice to his victims. It also – and I think this is crucial – shows that like something like Catholic Church Sexual Abuse Scandal, this scandal was far more wide reaching than the pervert himself. It goes to the heart of female gymnastics in general – and US Women’s gymnastics specifically.

We now know, of course, then Nassar abused hundreds of teenage gymnasts over the span of more than two decades. If that, however, isn’t the beginning of the story. For that, you have to go back all the way to 1976 – when Romania’s Nadia Comaneci won gold, at just 14 years old. Up until then, most world class female gymnasts were – like their male counterparts – in their 20s. But much like in any other sport, monkey see, monkey do – so the world over they started to turn teenage girls into the elite athletes. This required more training – strenuous training, placed on younger athletes. Eventually Comaneci’s coaches Bela and Marta Karolyi – came to America to train their female gymnasts – their approach either bordered on, or outright ‘s crossed the line, into abuse according to many of the young athletes they trained. You couldn’t complain – because if you did, you risked your spot on the Olympic team – which the Karolyi’s pretty much handpicked themselves. This is an environment that allows something like Nassar to be possible – scared young girls, already fearful of rocking the boat, who don’t really know a lot about sex, being told by Nassar – who they admit was the friendliest one of all the staff – that he was helping, when he was anything but.

Still, things could have been stopped – but they weren’t. Steve Penny joined US Gymnastics as a marketing guy, eventually working his way up to CEO. He was concerned about money, about sponsorships, about image. It wasn’t that no one ever complained about Nassar until the scandal hit – it’s that Penny didn’t do anything about it. If the complaints weren’t signed personally by a gymnast of their parents, it was dismissed as hearsay, filed away, and forgotten. When some people did push for more, they were assured something was being done – but didn’t push it. If they did, their Olympic spot was on the line.

This is what happened to Maggie Nichols – who did complain about it, and whose parents backed her up, but didn’t push too hard – for fear of it ruining her chances. Not that it mattered – she still didn’t make the Olympic team in 2016 – even if a year before she was considered a shoo-in. They used an injury as an excuse – but that doesn’t make logical sense – as Nichols still came in sixth in Olympic trials, but wasn’t selected not only as one of the “Fab Five” – but wasn’t even selected as one of the three alternates. Speaking out wasn’t good for her.

What Athlete A does is show the group of young gymnasts – some Olympians, others nowhere near that level, who were abused by Nassar – and how they came forward. One story in the paper lead to dozens of people coming forward – and the rush never really stopped. Years after the abuse was suffered – with these women now in the 20s or even older – they were no longer going to be silent.

I’m not really sure I learned all that much more about the scandal from Athlete A than I already knew. But the film is a wide ranging one – showing us the actions of the gymnasts, the coaches, the executives, the journalists – and eventually the legal system in dealing with, or not dealing with the scandal. Even if you know the story, this documentary will still make your blood boil.