Athlete A Review

The documentary “Athlete A” dives into the story of the US women’s gymnastics sexual abuse scandal. It all started when two Romanian coaches, Martha and Bela Karolyi, came to the US to train young gymnasts. They had a strong drive for success, so they would do anything it took to win. Later, Larry Nassar enters the picture. He was the team doctor who managed to sexually abuse and molest hundreds of young girls. The documentary explains the cover-ups that occurred, but also the empowerment of the survivors. Although the producers did a great job at covering this topic, there are two topics I want to clarify: the innocence of the girls and the power of standing out.

Throughout the documentary, the women mention being unaware of exactly what happened. This is often used against the victims as they are blamed for their sufferings. Former gymnast Rachael Denhollander explained, “I didn’t know a lot when I was 15, but one thing I did know was that abuse victims aren’t treated well.” This documentary mentions their lack of understanding briefly; however, most people don’t understand that this is due to their innocence. They were too young to realize that it was a sexual act, plus others had been experiencing it too. “Does he do this to you? Is this normal? And she said ‘yeah, like, he does it to me, too,” states Maggie Nichols, a former National Team Member. They couldn’t comprehend the acts being imposed on them, so they decided to suppress it. Not only this but they were afraid to stand out; that was until Rachael Denhollander gained the courage. She was the first to come forward publicly about her experiences after an article was published by the IndyStar. Because of this bravery and her story, other girls began to speak out too. At the end of the documentary, it states that “over 500 survivors of Nassar have now come forward.” The theory that women empower women was beyond true in this case. Their courage led to the arrest and sentencing of Larry Nassar. Not only that, but the large number of statements made encouraged other women to share their stories. Unfortunately, this was not the end of this problem. There is still a lot to be done regarding the sport of gymnastics and other aspects of sexual abuse.

Overall, this documentary really captures the essence of women now and their will to empower others. It misses a couple of important points regarding women now and their struggles, but it starts an important conversation. There will never be a movie, show, song, poem, that encompasses all the aspects of sexual abuse, but that shouldn’t keep people from trying. It is important for the media to cover topics of this sort since they have a lot of influence over the general population. In summary, this documentary is one of many that begin an important conversation, but there is still a lot of work to be done.

TR495

Athlete A. Directed by Bonni Cohen and Jon Shenk, performance by Rachael Denhollander, Larry Nassar, and Maggie Nichols, Actual Films, 2020. Netflix. https://www.netflix.com/watch/81034185.