Athlete A: A Review

ATHLETE A

The phrase "go for the gold" takes an ominous and sinister turn in the documentary Athlete A. A shocking tale of moral corruption in pursuit of Olympic glory, Athlete A makes one wonder how adults can turn a blind eye to children in danger.

Maggie Nichols loves the sports of gymnastics. She shows great skill and hard work have made her a potential Olympian. However, during her training, Maggie is sexually molested by Dr. Larry Nassar. Nassar has been with USA Gymnastics for years as its physical therapist. USA Gymnastics oversaw the women's Olympic gymnastics program. Maggie, along with her mother Gina and father John, immediately reported the molestation to USA Gymnastics officials.

The officials turned a deaf ear to the Nichols' complaints. Then USA Gymnastics President Steve Penny did not seem alarmed at the accusations. He also did not report them to the police. By coincidence, the Indianapolis Star was doing investigative work on how sexual abuse accusations were being essentially ignored at USA Gymnastics. Coaches who had files on them were being shifted about rather than reported. Into the growing maelstrom came Rachel Denhollander. She was another of Nassar's victims. She was also willing to go on the record.

The sexual abuse charges were already disturbing enough. That the victims were minors made it more shocking. Children were placed in this situation due to a strange set of circumstances. In the 1976 Montreal Olympics, Romanian gymnast Nadia Comaneci took the world by storm. Comaneci was the first female to earn a perfect 10. She was also 14 years old. She, along with her coach Bela Karoly, inadvertently ushered in the era of younger athletes for gymnastics. 

Karoly and his wife Marta, who had defected from Romania, brought their Romanian style of training to America. It had results with Olympic gold. It also had an adverse effect on the female gymnasts. They were brutal with the girls. Jennifer Sey, a former gymnast herself, looked on in horror when Kerri Strug hobbled to victory in Atlanta. America cheered. Sey saw it as the end result of a "win at all costs" mindset. It eventually became a toxic mix. You had the Karolys' harsh manner on one hand. You then had Larry Nassar's faux friendliness on the other. He would give them secret treats to circumvent strict diets. He provided a sympathetic ear to the Karolys harshness. He was grooming them.

Meanwhile, Steven Penny was too intoxicated by the increase in publicity and marketing potential to focus on the abuse going on. The Indianapolis Star published their bombshell report. They had sources on record. The house of cards collapsed, bringing down both Larry Nassar and Steve Penny.

Athlete A is a distressing and disturbing look at how unqualified people can put the organization ahead of those it supposedly represents. There are, in my estimation, two villains in Athlete A. The first is Larry Nassar. He is the one who committed the crimes. The second is Steve Penny. He is the one who did not move to stop Nassar. One is shocked to learn that Penny seemed at minimum disinterested at what people kept reporting to him. Penny, we learn in Athlete A, started as the Vice President of Marketing at USA Gymnastics and eventually rose to become the organization's President.

That apparently influenced Penny's lack of action. Put aside how Penny had no actual background in gymnastics. It was his marketing background, rather, that blinded him to the growing crisis. Penny's focus was on how to "sell" the athletes. It was not to protect them.

Athlete A (the title coming from the pseudonym used to protect Maggie Nichols' identity) also covers how the overall culture at the Karoly Ranch brought about this sorry situation. A surprising detail is how Bela Karoly was selected by Romanian Communist dictator Nicolae Ceausescu to run the Romanian gymnastics program. The overall culture that Karoly brought to America was one where verbally abusing the athletes was commonplace. It worked in the Eastern Bloc. Why not the West?

That abuse, in turn, allowed Nassar to come across as the opposite to the Karolys. He could present himself as their friend. In reality, he was really grooming his victims.

Athlete A makes for sad and distressing viewing. The various gymnasts recounting their experiences is a hard watch. Jennifer Sey's perspective on Kerri Strug is interesting. We were as a nation too caught up in the sense of triumph to notice or give much thought to the physical and emotional toll the athletes paid?

Athlete A is a bit faltering when it attempts to channel All the President's Men with its coverage of the Indianapolis Star meetings. The Star did needed coverage. However, these meetings did not have as gripping a manner as hearing from those who lived through Nassar's actions. 

Overall, that is a minor point. Athlete A will have one questioning how far people were willing to go or do for those sixteen days of glory. It looks like it was simply too high a price. 

DECISION: B+