USA Gymnastics offers $215 million settlement for Larry Nassar survivors

USA Gymnastics is offering a $215 million settlement to the survivors of former national team doctor Larry Nassar, in an effort to end the legal battles involving the organization.

USA Gymnastics filed a bankruptcy plan, which includes the settlement, with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Indiana Thursday. In a release, the organization said survivors of Nassar’s sexual abuse, as a whole, have the choice to take the settlement or continue in court.

The release states that if the survivor class votes to take the settlement, Twistars, a gym in Michigan where hundreds of women have alleged Nassar abused them, will contribute an additional $2.125 million.

“It has always been our goal to reach a consensual settlement agreement with all of our creditors through the bankruptcy process,” President and CEO of USA Gymnastics Li Li Leung said. 

The bankruptcy plan includes requirements for USA Gymnastics to continue to improve athlete safety and pay other creditors of the organization.

Leung told The Associated Press that $215 million is the amount the insurance carriers have agreed to provide at this point. 

In order for the settlement to be approved, at least half of the survivors need to vote for the settlement, and a majority needs to represent at least two-thirds of the monetary value. A judge would decide the distribution of the settlement if approved by survivors.

John Manly, an attorney representing 200 survivors, condemned USA Gymnastics and the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee (USOPC) for their “blatant disregard” for the survivors.

“This proposed plan does not include the critical structural changes necessary to ensure the safety of girls moving forward, nor does it appropriately address the myriad physical and emotional challenges the victims face as a result of these crimes,” Manly said in a statement obtained by the AP. 

“Most disturbingly, this proposed plan attempts to absolve USOPC of any responsibility for these crimes which were committed under its watch,” he added. “This plan from USAG is not just unworkable, it is unconscionable.”

USA Olympics filed for bankruptcy in December 2018 after facing 100 lawsuits from 350 athletes across the country about Nassar’s abuse.

USPOC chief marketing and communications officer Luella Chavez D’Angelo said the committee “remains committed to continuing to work with the survivor community, their lawyers, USAG and responsible insurers to achieve justice for the survivors in an expedited manner,” in a statement obtained by the AP.

Michigan State University, which had employed Nassar, announced in May 2018 to give $500 million to more than 300 survivors.