Science: You Get 150 Friends and 25 Places (So Choose Well) | Inc.com

July 4, 2018 by Tony Retrosi Leave a Comment

Source: Science: You Get 150 Friends and 25 Places (So Choose Well) | Inc.com

Germans have the concept of the stammtisch. Greeks frequent their stegi. Brits are loyal to their local. Around the world, it seems, people have a tendency to form strong attachments to a neighborhood hang-out. Just how much are we creatures of habit when it comes to where we spend our time? A new study offers a surprising answer.

You’re not as adventurous as you think.

We all like to think of ourselves as adventurers out to sample all the amazing sights, sounds, and places the world has to offer. We travel. We try new restaurants. We keep on top of the hottest new bars in town. All this activity creates the impression that we go to lots of different places, but when a team of European researchers used cell phone data to trace the life paths of 40,000 people of all ages, they discovered a very different picture.

At first, the team followed 1,000 students and found that, actually, they each went to only 25 separate locations. The students might add a new place to their repertoire, but when they did an old place would fall out of favor. Surely, this must just be just campus-bound kids, the researchers thought, so they expanded their study to tens of thousands from all walks of life around the globe. The results were the same, surprising the researchers.

The data clearly showed that while we might join a new gym, discover a new favorite bar, or start frequenting a different park for lunch, we also then stop going somewhere else. In short, there appears to a be a hard limit to how many places we keep in the rotation at any given time.

“People are constantly balancing their curiosity and laziness. We want to explore new places but also want to exploit old ones that we like,” commented Andrea Baronchelli, a researcher in the Department of Mathematics at City, University of London and study co-author. “We found that this dynamic yields an unexpected result: We visit a constant, fixed number of places–and it’s not due to lack of time.”

You become who you know… and where you go.

This isn’t the first time that scientists have uncovered a built-in limit to the number of connections in our lives. Research has established “Dunbar’s number,” which is the maximum number of social relationships any person can maintain at a given time. In short, your brain can only handle having 150 friends at once.

Something similar seems to be going on with our ties to places as well as people (though the researchers caution more study is needed). The world may be your oyster, but your brain simply can’t keep a handle on more than 25 places at once.

So what’s the take away from this study beyond the fascination factor of knowing you likely have a hard stop on the number of places you go built into your psychology? The findings definitely help explain why my husband and I always find ourselves back at the same handful of restaurants despite constantly claiming to want to try new places, but it also puts greater pressure on all of us to choose our hangouts well.

Whether you ask interior designers, real estate agents, retail entrepreneurs, or basketball stars, the evidence is clear: location matters. A lot. Where we spend our time affects our mindset, our opportunities, our serendipitous encounters, and even our physical health. Just like your friends heavily impact who you become, so do your surroundings. Knowing you only get to split your life between a couple of dozen places means you really have to choose those places well.

So get out there and make sure your portfolio of places is as exciting, inspiring, and joyful as it could be.

Podcast with Nick Ruddock

June 6, 2018 by Tony Retrosi Leave a Comment

While on a trip to the UK and Germany I was able to meet up with Nick Ruddock and we recorded a Podcast.

Give a listen.

I’m episode 006. (kind of wish I was oo7).

Let’s get back to Gymnastics. Enough of the B.S.

May 19, 2018 by Tony Retrosi Leave a Comment

A bit of a rant but this is how I am feeling today.

I just read the letter from Kerry Perry. I am feeling pretty annoyed because USAG was supposed to begin a transparent future. It does not seem like they are.

They have created an information vacuum and only react to things. They seem to move from crisis to crisis. By not putting out information and still lacking transparency they leave the “news” to the trolls on twitter and FB who fill the void with insane thoughts and ideas.

I’ve said it to many of you individually but working with USAG right now is like having an alcoholic friend. You love them, but they keep making bad choices.

USA Gymnastics is in a tight spot. There is a lot of change that needs to happen. I understand that they are prevented and counseled from making statements. But please- tell us anything.

So, enough of the bullshit. We need people who will build us up not tear us down. We need critical thinkers and creative minds. Not just reactionary hacks.

We need individuals who can stand up to the media and answer questions. We need people who will not just do what is right but will surround themselves with others who want to do the same.

We need leadership.

We need someone to say, Enough of the Bullshit. Let’s go do gymnastics.

Tony

USAIGC Business Policies and Procedures

March 11, 2018 by Tony Retrosi Leave a Comment

USAIGC/IAIGC
BUSINESS POLICIES & PROCEDURES

http://usaigc.com/business.cfm

http://usaigc.com/business_briefs.cfm

JUST ADDED

Writing Business Policies and Procedures helps ensure “product quality” because regardless of the business the product is only as good as the process the service delivers to the customer. In our Gymnastics World your service is the teaching of Gymnastics Skills and any other programs which have a benefit for a child/student/team member.

Writing business policies and procedures help to:
-ensure product quality
-ensures consistency in practice
-helps to maintain product quality/gymnasts learning/progress and the benefits that go with learning gymnastics.
– Your Club Owners Policies set the expectation for employee’s behaviors and the Business Proceduresoutlines the steps for it.

Reasons to Write A Business Policy and Procedure Book:
1. Articulation of Required Steps
A procedure should lay out the required steps to perform job tasks or provide a service to a customer. For example, for a waiter who serves in a restaurant, the service should be delivered by introducing themselves, making eye contact with the customer, offering the most popular menu items, ensuring all drinks are topped off when half-filled and ensuring food quality meets the customer’s expectations.
WHAT IS YOUR BUSINESS ARTICULATION OF REQUIRED STEPS? Detailing the procedure for delivering great service to customers is what contributes to a great service/learning environment.
2. Performance Measures Procedures should be used as a tool to measure an employee’s performance by determining if the process was followed appropriately. For example, a procedure for a receptionist answering the telephone should include a tracking of how often the receptionist answers the phone using a telephone script.
For Gymnastics an example of Performance would be CLASS RETENTION & GROWTH. The Goal for every club owner is to provide excellent service which should increase your bottom line.
3. Process Consistency When procedures are followed, there is consistency in practice for work processes. This helps to ensure that things are done the same way, every time and that all steps are followed. When steps get skipped it creates an inconsistent process that then creates variations in product or service quality.
4. Serve as a Training Tool: Employee Training is one of the most valuable investments any organization can make. When employees receive thorough training and detailed job descriptions, they are prepared to complete job tasks.
5 Benefits of Employee Training
1. Recruitment: When prospective employees assess an organization to determine if it is a good fit, they look at the employee benefit package.
2. Business Advantage
Employee skills current in order to be competitive.
Keeping up with changing software programs, technology changes, customer service skills or leadership trends are examples of competitive advantages organizations can have with a well trained work force.
Gymnastics: Instructor: is a professional individual, dresses appropriately, knowledge of teaching the skill level, good personality, good communication skills and an ability to teach multi-levels in the same class when necessary
3. Employee Morale: Most employees stay satisfied in a job for a period of time and then look for growth opportunities. Employee who continually develop their professional skills or pursue higher education, are hopeful that there will be career advancement opportunities in their future. This can also help employees remain positive and contribute to the vision of the organization.
4. Employee Contributions: Employees who are in school often bring back what they learn to the organization and apply learned concepts to the job. This offers value to the organization and provides for real life application for the student. It is definitely a win-win for both.
5. Employee Retention: This kind of policy should be considered carefully. Training impact has on an organization’s recruitment, retention and employee morale.
It is one of the most valuable investments any organization can make. When employees receive thorough training and detailed job descriptions, they are prepared to complete job tasks. Using policies and procedures as part of employee training helps to ensure that there is consistency in practice and reinforces global expectations. For example, a review of policy and procedures should be included in a new employee orientation process
5. Incorporates Worker Experience: Policies and procedures build off of those who have been performing the job tasks and documents work methods of experienced employees. It also incorporates lessons learned and best practices to ensure quality products and services in addition to safety and legal compliance.
6. Training Refresher Having a written policy and procedure manual can be used as a tool to help train employees and serves as a reminder of procedure steps and expectations.
7. Foundation for Process Improvement: When policies and procedures are reviewed and employees, customers and quality data is considered in the review, it can serve as a great template for improving what is done and can help to improve current processes.

Other Things to Remember:

• Policies and procedures need to be reviewed and updated at least annually to make improvements and keep them current.
• Employees need initial training on procedures but should have continuous refreshers to inform them of changes in practice and to remind them of expectations for following procedures.
• Records should be kept in employee files to document training.
• Policies and procedures should be consistently reviewed for its effectiveness and to ensure that what is being done in practice is adding value.
• Most procedures should have checklists that simplify the process and serve as a reminder for employees.

As organizations grow it is important to put those things in writing that the organization values and deems important. Doing so in a detailed policy and procedure manual, that is shared with employees, can help to ensure that products and services maintain the high quality that customers expect.

Writing Business Policies and Procedures helps ensure “product quality” because regardless of the business the product is only as good as the process the service delivers to the customer. In our Gymnastics World your service is the teaching of Gymnastics Skills and any other programs which have a benefit for a child/student/team member.
Writing business policies and procedures help to:
-ensure product quality
-ensures consistency in practice
-helps to maintain product quality/gymnasts learning/progress and the benefits that go with learning gymnastics.
– A Club Owners Policies set the expectation for employee’s behaviors and the Business Proceduresoutlines the steps for it.

7 Reasons to Writing Business Policies and Procedures:
1. Articulation of Required Steps A procedure should lay out the required steps to perform job tasks or provide a service to a customer. For example, for a waiter who serves in a restaurant, the service should be delivered by introducing themselves, making eye contact with the customer, offering the most popular menu items, ensuring all drinks are topped off when half-filled and ensuring food quality meets the customer’s expectations.
Detailing the procedure for delivering great service to customers is what contributes to a great service/learning environment.
2. Performance Measures Procedures should be used as a tool to measure an employee’s performance by determining if the process was followed appropriately. For example, a procedure for a receptionist answering the telephone should include a tracking of how often the receptionist answers the phone using a telephone script.
For Gymnastics an example of Performance would be CLASS RETENTION & GROWTH. The Goal for every club owner is to provide excellent service which should increase your bottom line.
3. Process Consistency When procedures are followed, there is consistency in practice for work processes. This helps to ensure that things are done the same way, every time and that all steps are followed. When steps get skipped it creates an inconsistent process that then creates variations in product or service quality.
4. Serve as a Training Tool
Employee training is one of the most valuable investments any organization can make. When employees receive thorough training and detailed job descriptions, they are prepared to complete job tasks.5 Benefits of Employee Training
1. Recruitment: When prospective employees assess an organization to determine if it is a good fit, they look at the employee benefit package.
2. Business Advantage
Employee skills current in order to be competitive.
Keeping up with changing software programs, technology changes, customer service skills or leadership trends are examples of competitive advantages organizations can have with a well trained work force.
Gymnastics: a professional individual, dress appropriately, knowledge of teaching the skill level, good personality, good communication skills and an ability to teach multi-levels in the same class when necessary
3. Employee Morale: Most employees stay satisfied in a job for a period of time and then look for growth opportunities. Employee who continually develop their professional skills or pursue higher education, are hopeful that there will be career advancement opportunities in their future. This can also help employees remain positive and contribute to the vision of the organization.
4. Employee Contributions: Employees who are in school often bring back what they learn to the organization and apply learned concepts to the job. This offers value to the organization and provides for real life application for the student. It is definitely a win-win for both.
5. Employee Retention: This kind of policy should be considered carefully. Training impact has on an organization’s recruitment, retention and employee morale.
It is one of the most valuable investments any organization can make. When employees receive thorough training and detailed job descriptions, they are prepared to complete job tasks. Using policies and procedures as part of employee training helps to ensure that there is consistency in practice and reinforces global expectations. For example, a review of policy and procedures should be included in a new employee orientation process
6. Incorporates Worker Experience: Policies and procedures build off of those who have been performing the job tasks and documents work methods of experienced employees. It also incorporates lessons learned and best practices to ensure quality products and services in addition to safety and legal compliance.
7. Training Refresher Having a written policy and procedure manual can be used as a tool to help train employees and serves as a reminder of procedure steps and expectations.
8. Foundation for Process Improvement: When policies and procedures are reviewed and employees, customers and quality data is considered in the review, it can serve as a great template for improving what is done and can help to improve current processes.

Other Things to Remember:

• Policies and procedures need to be reviewed and updated at least annually to make improvements and keep them current.
• Employees need initial training on procedures but should have continuous refreshers to inform them of changes in practice and to remind them of expectations for following procedures.
• Records should be kept in employee files to document training.
• Policies and procedures should be consistently reviewed for its effectiveness and to ensure that what is being done in practice is adding value.
• Most procedures should have checklists that simplify the process and serve as a reminder for employees.

—

Paul Spadaro – USAIGC President
450 North End Avenue – Suite 20F
New York, New York 10282
phone 212-227-9792, fax 212-227-9793
e-mail: paul.spadaro@usaigc.com
website: USAIGC.COM

Transparency and Culture Change at USA Gymnastics

February 26, 2018 by Tony Retrosi Leave a Comment

Through the miracle of social media I reconnected with a gymnast I worked with back in the late 80’s. She now works at a large firm in the field of CHANGE MANAGEMENT.

We, of course, exchanged messages on gymnasts and coaches we used to know before the conversation turned to the on going problems in the gymnastics community and within USA Gymnastics. Laura told me what she did for work and asked, “Would you mind if I put some thoughts on paper with some advice for USA Gymnastics?” How quickly could I say YES, ABSOLUTELY – PLEASE.

You can get in touch with Laura through her Linkedin Profile OR you can e-mail me and I will make introductions.

TRANSPARENCY & CULTURE CHANGE

We hear a lot of talk about “transparency” and “culture change”

Transparency means openness, communication, and accountability. It means operating so that it’s easy for others to see the actions being performed. It means living by these values instead of by ego, lies, and secrecy.*

Let’s assume for a moment that USAG wants to do the right thing. Let’s assume they are being driven by those new values and want to create positive change.

I work in the field of change management. The job is about helping organizations act differently. From that perspective, there are a few obvious “quick wins” that could easily be put into place to demonstrate immediate commitment to those new values.

Though what’s ahead seems like a herculean journey, USAG has already got a well-designed blueprint to follow in “The Daniels Report”. It was clear and concise, yet specific and detailed and truly showed a thoughtful consideration of the real issues at play. What’s missing is accountability for results to the members, and given the scope of the publicity, the broader community as a whole.

There are actually two simple steps USAG could employ NOW to help this.

Rename the report both officially and informally.

a. While the true name isn’t “The Daniels Report”, that has become the shorthand to refer to what it contains. This creates perception issues! The point is not the author; the point is about the organization and its intended impact from its adoption. Attaching an outsider’s name to it shifts responsibility from USAG, who unanimously approved it, and creates an opportunity for it to seem “out there” as opposed to an immediately adoptable roadmap for change. **

2. Attach progress and accountability measures to the way the report is posted on USAG online.

a. As it stands, we see recommendations, but no connection to actions or progress. There is a simple fix for an organization truly committed to transparent progress.
b. The current online listing of the line-by-line recommendations should be expanded to include two columns:

Red-Yellow-Green light indicators of progress towards each line item
A dynamic description field that includes notes on progress for each item.

These simple measures would help the members and the public see exactly what progress is being made. Barriers to progress would be visible, which allows for creative problem solving and better understanding by all who are interested.

If the “new” USAG really values transparency, they need to lead with openness, communication, and accountability. It cannot wait another day.

Laura Stoll was hooked on the sport since the days of Class III/Optional. She is known at work for that time she watched the Olympics on her smartphone throughout an entire 3-day meeting. For a better sense of her background see her profile on Linkedin.

How I Remember Her

Tony’s Notes:

* there is a difference between TRANSPARENCY and infringing on someone’s privacy. I believe that USAG wants to operate with more transparency but is unable to because of ongoing litigation and the need to protect the privacy of members.

** USA Gymnastics commissioned the “Daniels Report”. They own it. I believe it should be called the USA Gymnastics Report on Sport Safety. Other sports, like swimming, that are facing problems can follow the guidelines in the USA Gymnastics Report on Sport Safety. It may not roll off the tongue BUT it brings USAG back to the forefront leading the way in athlete safety.

How Leaders Can Keep Their Cool in a Crisis

February 12, 2018 by Tony Retrosi Leave a Comment

Source: How Leaders Can Keep Their Cool in a Crisis

If there is one thing leadership at USA Gymnastics needs to know how to do is to keep their cool in a crisis.

I am not even speaking about the current state of affairs. Reality is, there will always be a crisis. When you successfully navigate that, there will be the next one.

I was happy to see this article in the Harvard Business Review.

How Leaders Can Keep Their Cool in a Crisis

The word crisis suggests something that happens infrequently. But these days, crises have become a regular state of affairs. Brands that you’d think would be fairly immune to scandal have found themselves embroiled in controversy. And those that deal with public relations challenges regularly have still been caught off guard by a customer insurgency. Some crises disappear quickly and others never seem to go away.

When it comes to a crisis happening, the question seems to no longer be “if” but “when.” Every leader needs to be prepared. By their very nature, crises put things in a whirlwind and emotions run high. So it’s imperative that leaders keep their cool and make smart decisions.

To get inside the eye of the storm, we spoke with executives who have had to successfully navigate crises of all kinds. Here’s what we learned:

You can’t pick your crisis. The first thing to know is that you need to expect the unexpected. “Rule Number 1,” according to Jamie Moldafsky, CMO of Wells Fargo, “is that you don’t get to pick your crisis. You have to be ready.” Brian Irving, former CMO of Hampton Creek, concurs: “Your crisis is not the one you think it’s going to be.” We suspect that Skittles probably thought their crisis risk was more likely to come from a food safety problem than from campaign tweets. Others like Nordstrom and Oreo have similarly found themselves pulled unexpectedly into political debates. Regardless of the cause, the important thing is to have the right people, data, tools, process, and mindset to handle whatever might come your way.

Don’t leave it to the lawyers. When the crisis does hit, the first hours are essential. The usual response is for the CEO to huddle with his or her legal counsel and communications team. The focus is typically on assessing legal risks and figuring out how investors and the media will react. But there are other constituencies that need to be considered, too. Customers, employees, and partners are watching to see how the company reacts. Are you being transparent? Are you taking responsibility? Are you living up to your own mission and values? Involve your head of marketing and human resources early. They will have a perspective the lawyers won’t have and need to be in the room when decisions are made.

YOU AND YOUR TEAM SERIES

Conflict

The story is worse than reality. A consequence of the tendency to “bunker” the executive team is a lack of information flow to the wider organization. Brian Irving has observed that “when there’s a void of information, people will create their own story. The story they create is usually ten times worse than the reality.” Marvin Chow, VP of Global Marketing at Google, emphasizes how important it is to create a vision and then build and show momentum. He suggests starting with the senior team to ensure alignment, then bringing the vision to the rest of the organization to make sure they understand where they are going and why. Once that is established, keep reinforcing the vision and show regular progress. This builds internal momentum and creates a culture in which the difficult or impossible becomes not only possible, but probable.

Find your north star. As a leader, it can be difficult to keep everyone motivated in a crisis, including oneself. Amy Friedlander-Hoffman, Head of Experiential Marketing at Uber, believes it is essential to keep “coming back to the core.” Personally, this means knowing “Who I am and what am I bringing to this.” As a company, this means, “Who are we and what is our mission?”

Jamie Moldafsky emphasizes the importance of staying positive and optimistic: “You have to keep your eye on the long-term.” According to Marvin Chow, it’s easy to point out the problems. The challenge is being someone who gives answers and solutions. Stay true to your mission by focusing on the user or customer and doing what’s best for them in a way that is meaningful to the brand.

It’s not what you say. One of the consequences of digital and social media is that a story can grow exponentially and go from zero-to-crisis in a matter of hours. It also means that you don’t have the control over the story that you once had. Many who have been through a crisis note a shift in their thinking. Jamie Moldafsky observes that the focus used to be solely on the question “What are wegoing to say about this?” Now an equal concern is “What are others going to say about this?”

The challenge is that by the time the crisis comes, it’s often too late for many brands. You need to create a bank of goodwill when times are good, so that when a crisis comes, a community of advocates is ready to speak up, reassuring critics and reinforcing your message.

Control what you can. You might not be able to control what people say about you. But there is one thing you can control: yourself. According to Jamie Moldafsky, “A crisis is a crisis. It’s all about how you handle it. And that’s within every leader’s control.” Amy Friedlander-Hoffman advises to “get comfortable with being uncomfortable.” You have a choice. “You can come in every day trying to get your job done, frustrated that you have to keep putting out fires. Or you can realize that putting out fires actually is your job.”

Fix the underlying problem. Sometimes a crisis is simply not your fault. But sometimes it’s a symptom of a deeper problem in your culture, product, or operating model. If you don’t fix the underlying problem, the crisis will go from “one-and-done” to one that goes “on-and-on.” Hannah Jones, Chief Sustainability Officer at Nike, believes a company “should never let a crisis go unused or unleveraged.” Instead, use it as an opportunity for transformation. In Nike’s case, complaints about worker conditions in the late 1990s was the impetus to “tap into something deep within us about our values. We learned to respect differences, be empathetic, and find shared vision. We accepted accountability, apologized, and began to make the deep, systemic changes internally, in our supply chain, and to embark on a journey of collaboration and advocacy with the industry as a whole.” It’s too easy in a crisis to just treat the surface symptoms, and not look to the underlying issues.

The lessons learned by executives who have weathered a crisis are relevant to anyone who finds themselves in challenging circumstances. We all have to get better at overcoming obstacles, dealing with uncertainty, and staying focused in a changing environment. It’s good advice for everyone to be prepared, stay true to your purpose, involve others in solutions, control what you can, and work on the underlying issues.

Source: How Leaders Can Keep Their Cool in a Crisis

Gymnastics scandal: 8 times Larry Nassar could have been stopped – NBC News

January 31, 2018 by Tony Retrosi Leave a Comment

Source: Gymnastics scandal: 8 times Larry Nassar could have been stopped – NBC News

I am NOT saying USA Gymnastics did not make mistakes. Nothing is ever as GOOD or BAD as it appears.

Gymnastics scandal: 8 times Larry Nassar could have been stopped

by TRACY CONNOR and SARAH FITZPATRICK

At the sentencing hearing for Larry Nassar, 156 women vented at the once-respected doctor they say molested them. But there was just as much anger for the institutions where he worked, Michigan State University and USA Gymnastics, which are accused in lawsuits of ignoring two decades worth of opportunities to stop abuse.

“This could have stopped in 1997,” one accuser said.

With the U.S. Olympic Committee and the Michigan Attorney General launching independent investigations, more details about who knew what and when could come out in the future.

For now, here’s a look at some of the moments when women say they reported Nassar’s behavior but he wasn’t prevented from abusing again:

1997

Larissa Boyce was a 16-year-old gymnast taking part in a youth program at MSU when, she said, she and an anonymous 14-year-old girl told coach Kathie Klages they were uncomfortable with how Nassar put his hands inside them.

Klages, a close friend of Nassar, “interrogated” the girls and told them they misunderstood what Nassar had done, Boyce said at the sentencing hearing. Klages also relayed the complaint to Nassar, who then tried to explain it away at the next appointment, according to Boyce.

“I apologized to you,” Boyce said to Nassar in court. “I had been defeated.”

Image: Rachael Denhollander hugs Larissa Boyce — Larissa Boyce hugs fellow victim Rachel Denhollander in court. Paul Sancya / AP file

Klages, who was suspended and then allowed to retire last year for her passionate defense of the disgraced doctor, denied scuttling complaints.

“Had she ever received any information to cast doubt on the appropriateness of that trust in Dr. Nassar, she would have reacted immediately to protect her gymnasts,” her lawyer at the time said. Her new attorney declined comment.

But Boyce said two decades of abuse could have been prevented if Klages had reported their complaint.

“I told somebody,” Boyce said. “Instead of being protected, I was humiliated and told that I was the problem.”

1999

MSU staff referred runner Christie Achenbach to Nassar for an injured hamstring. She was shocked when he rubbed her pelvic area and penetrated her with his fingers.

After calling her parents, she called her coach, Kelli Bert, she told the Detroit News. The coach, she said, told her he was a respected doctor and she should trust him.

Bert did not respond to a request for comment by NBC News but previously told the Detroit News that she did not recall the complaint and would have reported anything sexual.

2000

As a freshman softball player at MSU, Tiffany Lopez was referred to Nassar for an injury. As she told NBC News last year, she found intravaginal treatments uncomfortable and mentioned them to a trainer, Lianna Hadden, who expressed shock. Lopez then told another trainer, Destiny Teachnor-Hauk, who allegedly told her: “He’s a world-renowned doctor. He treats elite athletes.”

“She made me feel like I was crazy,” Lopez said.

Teachnor Hauk and Hadden, who still work at MSU, did not respond to requests for comment.

2000-2001

MSU volleyball player Jennifer Rood Bedford said that her team referred to Nassar as “the crotch doc” because of his pelvic-centered technique.

Image: Victim Jennifer Bedford speaks to Larry Nassar, a former team USA Gymnastics doctor who pleaded guilty in November 2017 to sexual assault charges, during his sentencing hearing in Lansing, Michigan — Jennifer Rood Bedford speaks at Larry Nassar’s sentencing hearing. BRENDAN MCDERMID / Reuters

But she was still horrified after her first appointment with him — she only remembers it was before 2002 — and went to trainer Hadden to ask about making a general complaint a doctor making her uncomfortable.

She testified at the hearing that Hadden seemed to take her seriously but also told her that making a report would require an investigation and a statement that she believed what Nassar had done was unprofessional or criminal.

Bedford said she decided not to pursue it because she was too embarrassed to share details. “I didn’t give her much to go on,” she said. It’s unknown if Hadden reported the possibility of abuse to anyone, even though Lopez had also complained to her about Nassar.

2004

Kyle Stephens, then 12, told her MSU psychologist that Nassar, a family friend, had been molesting her since she was six years old. Dr. Gary Stollak did not report her allegation to law enforcement or to university officials, Stephens said.

Image: Kyle Stephens, a victim of former Team U.S.A. doctor Larry Nassar, gives her victim impact statement — Kyle Stephens Geoff Robins / AFP – Getty Images

Instead, he arranged a meeting between Nassar and Stephens’ parents where the doctor denied he abused her. As Stephens’ said during the sentencing hearing, “My parents chose to believe Larry Nassar over me.” As a result, her relationship with her mother and father was forever fractured, and she thinks her father’s guilt over not believing her drove him to suicide in 2016.

At a preliminary hearing for the criminal case, Stollak said he had a stroke after retiring from MSU, suffers from memory loss and did not remember the matter.

That same year, Brianne Randall, then 17, went to Meridien Township Police and made a report against Nassar after an appointment. The police, she said during this week’s hearing, spoke with Nassar and then set up an appointment between the doctor and her parents.

No charges were ever referred to prosecutors.

“Nassar’s abuse went on for too long because nobody was listening,” Randall said.

2014

After seeing Nassar for an old injury, MSU graduate Amanda Thomashowcontacted an associate of Nassar in the sports medicine department, Dr. Jeffrey Kovan, to say she had been sexually assaulted. Kovan referred the matter to Kristine Moore, who was with MSU’s Office of Institutional Equity and is now an assistant general counsel at the school.

Thomashow, who was signed up to take classes at MSU, met with Moore and an MSU police official. Documents obtained by NBC News show that Nassar admitted he had penetrated her with his hand but insisted it was medically necessary. Moore also interviewed four experts — all of whom had ties to Nassar — who said they didn’t believe what he did was sexual.

Image: Amanda says the new allegations against Dr. Larry Nassar have made her relive her own experience — Amanda Thomashow NBC News

Moore concluded some of Nassar’s behavior was troubling and that Thomashow suffered trauma but that what happened was not sexual. MSU police turned over their findings to prosecutors, who declined to press charges, and Nassar was welcomed back to full practice with some restrictions — though there is no evidence MSU enforced them.

MSU did not notify USA Gymnastics at any point that Nassar was under investigation.

“Michigan State University, the school I loved and trusted, had the audacity to tell me that I did not understand the difference between sexual assault and a medical procedure,” Thomashow said at the hearing.

“The master manipulator took advantage of his title, he abused me and when I found the strength to talk about what happened, I was ignored and my voice was silenced.”

2015

Maggie Nichols, a member of the U.S. national gymnastics team and a prospect for the 2016 Olympics, was overheard by her coach talking to another gymnast about Nassar’s treatments. Alarmed, the coach reported it to officials at USA Gymnastics, the national governing body for the sport.

By USA Gymnastics’ own admission, it did not inform law enforcement immediately. Instead it hired a private investigator who interviewed Nichols and then Olympic gold-medalist Aly Raisman, but the organization said it did not have “a reasonable suspicion” that a crime had occurred.

USOC Portraits for Rio2016 — Gymnast Maggie Nichols Harry How / Getty Images file

After interviewing McKayla Maroney, it finally contacted the FBI — five weeks after its initial report. USA Gymnastics quietly fired Nassar but did not notify MSU that he was under investigation and it never clarified his public explanation that he was retiring from his role as team physician.

According to MSU police logs, Nassar allegedly went on to abuse numerous young women from the time USA Gymnastics got the complaint to a September 2016 newspaper investigation that finally took him out of the examining room.

USA Gymnastics says it had interpreted the FBI’s request that it do nothing to interfere with the investigation to mean that it should not alert a major educational institution where Nassar continued to see and, allegedly, molest patients until the scandal broke and he lost his university job.

MSU, meanwhile, has repeatedly cited the finding of the ex-prosecutor it hired to defend it against a pile of lawsuits.: “The evidence will show that no MSU official believed that Nassar committed sexual abuse prior to newspaper reports in the summer of 2016.”

MSU President Lou Anna Simon resigned this week and pledged to cooperate with the AG’s probe. USA Gymnastics is replacing three board members and new chief executive Kerry Perry pledged to make the safety of athletes the top priority and “create a culture that empowers and supports them.”

Nassar, meanwhile, has been sentenced to 60 years in prison on child pornography charges and 40 to 175 years for molesting three girls, and is awaiting sentencing next week on three counts of criminal sexual conduct.

Olympic Committee Gives USA Gymnastics An Ultimatum Over Sex Abuse Scandal

January 26, 2018 by Tony Retrosi 1 Comment

Source: Olympic Committee Gives USA Gymnastics An Ultimatum Over Sex Abuse Scandal | HuffPost

USOC LETTER

The U.S. Olympic Committee is giving USA Gymnastics’ board of directors six days to resign or else have the entire organization stripped of its certification as a national governing body.

The call for the board’s resignation is one of six requirements that the USOC has handed to USAG in an attempt to completely reform the organization in the aftermath of the sexual abuse scandal involving Larry Nassar. The requirements were listed in a letter from USOC CEO Scott Blackmun to USAG’s board of directors.

The letter was reviewed by USA Today and obtained by BuzzFeed.

The first three requirements focus on the board’s resignation and the selection of a new board. The current board has six days to resign and an interim board needs to be established by Feb. 28.

USOC is also launching an independent investigation into USAG to find out who knew about Nassar’s rampant sexual abuse of female gymnasts, who should’ve known, and which officials failed to report the allegations.

According to Blackmun, an interim board must be selected a new board must be seated within 12 months. Requirements also include having a USOC-designated liaison present at all USAG board meetings, progress reports and an independent investigation into the extent of Larry Nassar’s abuse.

“Our position comes from a clear sense that USAG culture needs fundamental rebuilding,” Blackmun wrote to the baord. “This was the overarching finding in the Daniels report and it was demonstrated again in the recent testimony of Nassar’s victims.”

The Deborah Daniels’ Report, which Blackmun referred to, is the result of a six-month independent investigation commissioned by USAG and aimed at fixing problems within the organization. In June, Daniels, a former prosecutor, gave 70 recommendations to the organization, including prohibiting adult members from being alone with minor gymnasts.

Blackmun’s letter was submitted one day after Nassar, the 54-year-old disgraced sports doctor, was sentenced to 40 to 175 years in prison for child sexual abuse. Nassar is accused of sexually assaulting more than one hundred athletes, including many Olympic gymnasts, under the guise of medical treatment.

During a week of victim impact statements, many of Nassar’s victims harshly criticized the leaders of USAG and Michigan State University, where Nassar worked, for allowing the doctor to continue treating athletes even while he was being investigated for sexual abuse.

On Monday, the chair, vice chair and treasurer of USAG resigned. The board of directors consists of 21 members.

In his letter to the board, Blackmun said that USAG must cooperate with an independent investigation looking into “exactly who knew and who should have known of USAG athlete reports of abuse by Dr. Nassar (and when) and did not report these allegations appropriately.” The investigation will also look into “systematic failures that may have contributed to these failures to report.”

Over 140 women have accused Nassar of sexual abuse, including Olympic gymnasts Aly Raisman, Gabby Douglas, McKayla Maroney and Simone Biles. Court documents revealed that Nassar used the cover of medical treatments to fondle and digitally penetrate the gymnasts while he was the team doctor for USAG and MSU sports teams.

In her victim impact statement, Raisman lashed out against her abuser in a powerful speech.

USOC LETTER

Why Unionizing Is A Reasonable Option For The U.S. Women’s Gymnastics Team

January 23, 2018 by Tony Retrosi Leave a Comment

Source: Why Unionizing Is A Reasonable Option For The U.S. Women’s Gymnastics Team

Hmmmmm. Certainly something to think about.

Marc Edelman (Marc@MarcEdelman.com) is a Professor of Law at Baruch College’s Zicklin School of Business and the founder of Edelman Law. He is the author of “A Short Treatise on Amateurism and Antitrust Law.” In addition, his article, “The Future of College Athlete Players Unions,” appears in Volume 38 of Cardozo Law Review.

Former U.S. Olympic gymnasts McKayla Maroney, Gabby Douglas and Aly Raisman represent three of more than 100 gymnasts who allege they were sexually abused by Larry Nassar. (AP Photo/Charles Sykes, File)

Our collective hearts broke last week when nearly 100 U.S. elite women’s gymnasts — including many famous Olympians — shared their personal accounts of being sexually abused by their team doctor, Lawrence G. Nassar. Since then, USA Gymnastics has attempted to turn the page on these tragic events by terminating its training agreement with the Karolyi Ranch in Huntsville, Texas. Meanwhile, Dr. Nassar is likely to receive a lengthy prison sentence.

Nevertheless, there is still a bona fide risk that another tragedy of this nature could occur in USA Gymnastics unless there are real structural changes to the relationship between the organization and its young athletes.

Perhaps one of the more meaningful ways to protect the interests of young, female gymnasts would be for the U.S. women’s national gymnastics team to unionize — thus affording these gymnasts with bona fide representation separate and apart from the private and commercial entity known as USA Gymnastics.

There are a number of reasons that the culture of USA Gymnastics, without a players’ union or similar external structure, remains susceptible to another sexual predator going undetected.

First, although the U.S. gymnastics team is called a “women’s team,” many of the top gymnasts compete on the elite level at ages as young as 15. At this tender age, some gymnasts might not fully understand the nature of their abuser’s grooming behaviors, and thus may miss the warning sides. At the same time, some athletes may lack the verbal skills and confidence to explain these inappropriate behaviors to the appropriate authorities.

Secondly, Olympic hopeful gymnasts — much like some child actors and entertainers — spend substantial time in an environment where achieving stardom is seen as critical to maintaining self-esteem, both personally and for their families. In this environment, even some gymnasts who recognize the horrible wrongdoing of a sexual predator may still fail to report the wrongdoing in fear of suffering retaliation in the form of lost career opportunities.

Finally, there is sadly a monetary interest for the coaches and supervisors of the U.S. women’s national gymnastics team to keep sexual abuse scandals internal. This does not mean that every administrator and coach would turn a blind eye to such abuse. But much as in the sexual abuse scandal involving youth football at Penn State University, there are growing reports that at least some coaches and administrators failed to take reasonable steps to protect gymnasts from sexual abuse.

While there is no effective way to absolutely prevent the arrival of another sexual predator within U.S. gymnastics, at least with the creation of a union there would be an outside body, overseen by adults, with a non-conflicted legal interest to protect the well-being of the young gymnasts. While many Americans associate unions with bargaining solely for salaries, unions have also had powerful effects in changing the working conditions in many industries — especially where workers, for a variety of factors, have appeared relatively powerless.

Even though the National Labor Relations Board declined in recent years to recognize the Northwestern University grant-in-aid football players as an official bargaining unit to negotiate against their college over terms and conditions of employment, a bargaining unit consisting of Olympic athletes might have a better chance at garnering the labor board’s favorable review.

This is because the ultimate reason that the National Labor Relations Board failed to recognize a Northwestern football union was because it believed it would hamper labor stability in college football given that many of Northwestern’s rival football teams were public universities and thus purportedly lied outside the National Labor Relations Board’s jurisdiction.

The labor stability approach, however, would not be a strong argument to prevent the elite U.S. women’s gymnasts from unionizing. Unlike the National Collegiate Athletic Association, USA Gymnastics is a singular, private and commercial actor that financially benefits from the services of the U.S. elite women’s gymnasts and exercises extreme day-to-day control over their actions.

Meanwhile, from a public policy perspective, after the most recent recent sexual abuse perpetrated against many elite American gymnasts, it would be very hard for any reasonable person to deny that the U.S. women’s national gymnastics team needs all the legal protections imaginable. That, of course, would include an athletes’ union.

Op Ed – Who Will Suffer From Lost Sponsors – GYM BLOG CENTRAL

January 11, 2018 by Tony Retrosi Leave a Comment

READ ORIGINAL ON GYMBLOG CENTRAL This is just an excerpt.

Over the past few weeks it has been reported that many companies have decided to pull their financial support from USA Gymnastics due to all the controversy surrounding the Larry Nassar fiasco.

The Orange County Register first reported in the beginning of December that Kellogg’s and Proctor and Gamble were going to pull their support from USA Gymnastics.

Proctor and Gamble has been the leading financial sponsor for National Championships for the past 5 years. According to ESPN.com, Proctor and Gamble is currently evaluating their options to renew their partnership with USA Gymnastics or not.

After the past couple of Olympic Games, Kellogg’s has sponsored the Kellogg’s Tour of Gymnastics Champions. With 2 more years to go before the next Olympics, maybe Kellogg’s will reconsider and show their support of our Olympic Athletes.

The following is part of a statement provided to ESPN;

“Procter & Gamble and Kellogg’s have decided they can no longer support an organization which refuses to take responsibility for the crimes committed by their National Team doctor and their failure to warn others of his criminal conduct,” the three said in a statement.”

Source: Op Ed – Who Will Suffer From Lost Sponsors – GYM BLOG CENTRAL

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