ABSTRACT
Against the backdrop of the previous chapters’ discussion of sports training ideology, culture, values, and habituated practices, this chapter presents and analyzes the findings from a theme analysis of victim impact statements and interviews related to the Larry Nassar abuse scandal at Michigan State University and within USA Gymnastics. This analysis is guided by Robin Patric Clair’s theory of silencing communication and Cheryl Glenn’s work on rhetorical silence to examine the rhetorical techniques and power dynamics at the heart of violence and silencing in athletic organizations. This chapter presents the results of a narrative theme analysis of 192 victim impact statements from the sentencing hearings in Eaton and Ingham Counties, representing a total of 181 individual victims’ voices, and subsequent victim interviews. Themes are grouped into five main narrative categories: (1) ethos of Larry Nassar at the time of the abuse, (2) reasons for speaking/not speaking about abuse, (3) reasons for speaking at the sentencing hearing, (4) consequences of abuse, and (5) institutional culture.
