“If they’re not trying to protect me, then who are they trying to protect?”

-McKayla Maroney

“Political reaction all along the line is a characteristic feature of imperialism.” -Lenin

We cannot allow revolutionary defensism, the defense of imperialism under the guise of defense of US courts and so-called “due process.” That is what the FBI is trying to protect and what the WSWS is trying to protect, rather than the gymnasts or the working class that suffers from the systematic abuse of the capitalist class, whose primary motive is to politically enslave the working class using a capitalist state and capitalist political parties that claim to represent democracy or socialism while abusing their own people.

McKayla Maroney:

Recently I found out that when I reported the abuse that I had endured to the FBI, that there were certain FBI agents who chose to falsify what I said and conceal Nassar’s crimes from the public, the media, other law enforcement agencies, and most importantly, other victims. After reading the Office of the Inspector General’s (“OIG”) report, I felt completely betrayed because when I disclosed my abuse to those whom I believed were trusted to protect the public, they chose to lie about what I said, they chose to silence me and attempted to discredit me. They chose to protect a serial child molester, rather than protect not only me but countless others. What I’m trying to bring to your attention today is that sworn law enforcement agents multiple times made “materially false statements”, in the OIG report and it was directly attributed to me.

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Years after waiting for this report, and waiting to see Nassar’s mug shot in the news, these sworn-in law enforcement officers lied about what I said, and they fabricated a statement that wasn’t even the truth. I ask what is the point of me telling the truth about what happened when they lie about what I said? I spent three hours telling them my story, and they didn’t even have the integrity or moral character to make a statement, and when they finally get around to writing a report, over a year and a half later, they wrote up a statement that was completely inaccurate, and misleading. It wasn’t even close to the truth! Let’s be honest, by not taking immediate action from my report, they allowed a child molester to go free for more than a year, and this inaction directly allowed Nassar’s abuse to continue. This all doesn’t even make sense.

Of course, it makes perfect sense since Nassar’s actions stem directly from imperialism and the need to use sexual humiliation to systematically scar and control the population. The WSWS defense of the so-called doctor who took the fall on behalf of imperialism amounts to a defense of imperialism and represents an open threat to revolutionary organization. As a result of this testimony, we can now see what the WSWS attacks on #MeToo consist of, a dirty operation by the FBI to suppress testimony and evidence of widespread torture against the working class as well as public figures. The WSWS must retract its statements publicly and expel anyone who does not immediately renounce any defense of Larry Nassarism and the open assault on the popular movement against the imperialist tactics of rape, sexual assault, and sexual torture.

Simone Biles:

Nelson Mandela once said, “There can be no keener revelation of a society’s soul than the way in which it treats its children.” It is the power of that statement that compels and empowers me to be here in front of you today. I don’t want another young gymnast, Olympic athlete, or any individual to experience the horror that I and hundreds of others have endured before, during, and continuing to this day, in the wake of the Larry Nassar abuse. To be clear, I blame Larry Nassar, and I also blame an entire system that enabled and perpetrated his abuse.”

The WSWS may try to weaken the power of statements and weaken the power of testimony, but a real leadership will emerge to force out the scoundrels. As the famous gymnast said today, “an entire system… enabled and perpetrated his abuse.” The WSWS defends that system, which places it directly within the camp of imperialism. Their decision to fight for imperialism will not go unpunished, since that decision remains both in our memory as testimony and in our present situation as policy and position. In order to restore justice to the revolutionary party, millions of dollars in payments for damages must ensue to compensate the victims of the nano-bureaucracy. These payments should also serve as a fund for the creation of a faction within the party. An election by the membership of the new faction could replace the criminalized and bureaucratized faction that maintains control of the party through a political imbalance, censorship, political character assassination, and the political persecution of Marxism and Trotskyism.

More background information from 2018 trial testimony:

McKayla Maroney in 2018:

People should know that sexual abuse of children is not just happening in Hollywood, in the media, or in the halls of Congress. This is happening everywhere. Wherever there is a position of power, there seems to be potential for abuse.

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A question that has been asked over and over is: How could have Larry Nassar been allowed to assault so many women and girls for more than two decades?

The answer to that question lies in the failure of not one, but three major institutions to stop him — Michigan State University, USA Gymnastics, and the United States Olympic Committee.

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When my story became public, the U.S. Olympic Committee said, “Each doctor working with our athletes undergoes background checks including an evaluation of medical licensure actions. Unfortunately, this predator was not identified by any organization during the time in question.” Reports in the nation’s leading newspaper and media outlets document credible claims that Michigan State University trainers and coaches received complaints about Nassar going back to the late 1990s. These complaints were ignored.

Nassar was not even licensed to practice medicine in Texas, yet he “treated” and abused girls at the Karolyi Ranch Olympic Training Center in Huntsville, Texas, for more than 15 years.

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In 2014, Nassar was the subject of a Michigan State University investigation based on additional complaints of sexual misconduct. This botched investigation concluded that Nassar’s actions, which he has now admitted were sexual assaults, were legitimate medical treatments. He was allowed to go back to work at Michigan State University and continue molesting girls. USA Gymnastics and U.S. Olympic Committee were never informed of this investigation.