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Judge says gymnastics reforms have not made athletes safer

Judge Rosemarie Aquilina says gymnastics continues to fail athletes despite reforms introduced after Larry Nassar’s abuse case. At an event in Rotterdam, she described the changes as largely “window dressing” and said athletes still fear speaking out.

AI-assisted synthesis · Based on 2 independent reports from 5 outlets · Article text read from 1 of 2 reportsHow it's made

View timeline · 8 entries
5 outlets3 regionsLatest reporting 2 min read
Coverage: Mostly CenterL 1 · C 2 · R 0 · 2 unrated

What happened

Key facts

  • Judge Rosemarie Aquilina said gymnastics is still failing athletes despite reforms (per The Independent).
  • Aquilina said reforms introduced after the Nassar case largely amounted to “window dressing.” (per The Independent).
  • Aquilina said athletes remained afraid to speak out because of possible consequences (per The Independent).
  • Shore said athletes were increasingly staying in gymnastics beyond their teenage years, with some competing into their late 20s and others returning after having children (per The Independent).

The brief

Judge Rosemarie Aquilina said gymnastics continues to fail athletes despite reforms introduced after the Larry Nassar case, describing the changes as largely “window dressing.” Her remarks placed athlete welfare and accountability at the center of a discussion in Rotterdam, where the World Championships were being held that week.

Aquilina sentenced USA Gymnastics doctor Larry Nassar to up to 175 years in prison for sexual abuse. His offending against more than 250 women and girls was exposed a decade before her comments. The event in Rotterdam assessed progress on athlete welfare since Nassar was sentenced in 2018.

Aquilina said athletes still fear speaking out because they worry about possible consequences. She argued that reforms had not ended that fear and said gymnastics was not being held accountable for areas where it was failing to act. Her criticism focused on whether changes made after the case had produced meaningful accountability.

The judge said reforms across the sport were presented as evidence of progress, but she characterized them as largely cosmetic. Her comments at the Gymnasts for Change International event addressed the distance she sees between formal changes and what athletes experience, while the event itself was organized to assess welfare progress since Nassar’s sentencing.

A separate positive development raised at the event concerned athletes’ participation over time. Shore said more gymnasts were staying in the sport beyond their teenage years. Some were competing into their late 20s, while others returned after having children; Shore described this shift as encouraging.

The account therefore presents two strands of the welfare discussion: Aquilina’s concern that reforms have not delivered accountability or made athletes feel safe speaking up, and Shore’s observation that participation is extending into later stages of life. It does not provide further detail about the reforms or identify specific next steps by gymnastics bodies.

Why it matters

  • Athletes bear the central documented cost: Aquilina said fear of possible consequences continues to keep them from speaking out.
  • The Nassar case involved more than 250 women and girls, and Aquilina said reforms introduced afterward have not resolved accountability concerns.
  • Shore’s observation that gymnasts increasingly compete into their late 20s or return after having children points to athlete welfare across a longer span of participation.

What to watch next

  • Whether gymnastics bodies address the accountability concerns Aquilina raised at the Rotterdam event.
  • Whether athletes continue to report fear of speaking out because of possible consequences.
  • Whether the participation trend Shore described continues, including competition into gymnasts’ late 20s and returns after having children.

How it's being covered

Coverage analysisShow details
5 source articles · 5 unique outlets · 2 distinct reports
Outlet political mix: Mostly Center· 1 Left · 2 Center · 2 unrated
Where the outlets are based: US/Canada 20% · Europe 20% · Other 60%
Outlet political mix
Mostly Center
Left
Center
Right
1 outlet
2 outlets
0 outlets
The marker shows coverage balance: each unique outlet counts once. 2 unrated outlets are not included.
Geography
Where the outlets covering this story are based.
5 unique outletsDominant coverage: US/Canada
How we measure coverage

One source is from a wire service (AP, Reuters, AFP or Bloomberg), whose reporting other outlets often republish.

How outlets' accounts compare

Updat3 does not yet have enough full reports to compare how outlets framed this story.

Timeline

Developments from this story's sources, dated background we compiled and fact-checked, and our earlier coverage. Each row says which.
  1. Larry Nassar joined USA Gymnastics as a national-team physician.
    Background · compiled and fact-checked by Updat3
  2. Larry Nassar joined Michigan State University's medical staff.
    Background · compiled and fact-checked by Updat3
  3. The Indianapolis Star’s September 2016 investigation reported that USA Gymnastics had not passed some allegations of sexual abuse to law enforcement.
    Background · from our historical context
  4. The U.S. Center for SafeSport began operations.
    Background · compiled and fact-checked by Updat3
  5. Former USA Gymnastics doctor Larry Nassar pleaded guilty to sexually assaulting patients in Michigan.
    Background · compiled and fact-checked by Updat3
  6. In 2018, an independent investigation commissioned by USA Gymnastics and the U.S. Olympic Committee documented failures in how the organizations handled abuse reports.
    Background · from our historical context
  7. A Michigan judge sentenced Larry Nassar to 40 to 175 years in prison for sexually assaulting patients.
    Background · compiled and fact-checked by Updat3
  8. Congress enacted the Protecting Young Victims from Sexual Abuse and Safe Sport Authorization Act.
    Background · compiled and fact-checked by Updat3

How we got here

The immediate backdrop was Larry Nassar’s sentencing in Ingham County, Michigan: on January 24, 2018, Judge Rosemarie Aquilina sentenced the former USA Gymnastics and Michigan State University doctor to 40 to 175 years in prison after hearing statements from survivors. In 2018, an independent investigation commissioned by USA Gymnastics and the U.S.

Olympic Committee documented failures in how the organizations handled abuse reports. Nassar had joined USA Gymnastics as a national-team physician in 1996 and Michigan State’s medical staff in 1997. The Indianapolis Star’s September 2016 investigation reported that USA Gymnastics had not passed some allegations of sexual abuse to law enforcement.

Original sources

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