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From @hanxiao86, Chair of the @USOPC_AAC “ @athleteafilm has haunted me; I have rewound & listened again and again to the clip of Larry Nassar saying, “Gymnasts first. Gymnasts first. Gymnasts first.” ... 1/ @JerryMoran
@SenBlumenthal @RepDianaDeGette https://medium.com/@hxiao_80572/athletes-first-is-a-blank-check-reflections-after-watching-athlete-a-6cb3e5036856
@SenBlumenthal @RepDianaDeGette https://medium.com/@hxiao_80572/athletes-first-is-a-blank-check-reflections-after-watching-athlete-a-6cb3e5036856
“His words bother me not just for his raging hypocrisy the documentary reveals; it is how often I still hear these words as part of our Olympic and Paralympic Movement.” 
2/
@SenCoryGardner
2/ @SenCoryGardner
“For those that do [aspire to @TeamUSA] the easy route is to treat athletes as the end product of our Movement and take credit for producing these results, while letting the media and sponsorship dollars roll into the pockets of administrators and coaches.” 
“There are over 1000 summer and winter Olympians and Paralympians every four years. How many of those can you name? All these athletes and the countless athletes making up the lower levels of the pyramid have value as human beings.”
[Newsflash! They’re poor! Genuine Poverty!]
[Newsflash! They’re poor! Genuine Poverty!]
USOPC ready to “move on” - “I am skeptical that we have learned the lessons that we need to learn to prevent another Nassar. We can change all the policies n processes we’d like, but organizational culture change is hard, especially when it is mostly composed of the same people.”
“Although we have slapped the “SafeSport” brand on Olympic and Paralympic sport, the organization is still going through growing pains and is still trying to earn the trust of the community, both survivors and those that are newly overseen.”
“Many athletes have not taken SafeSport training, and few know how to enforce professional boundaries between coaches and themselves.”
Me:
Me:
As @MagsGotSwag12 non-Olympic career suggests, subjective selection criteria to @TeamUSA and control over gives coaches and admin far too much power over an athlete’s life. This means ...
gives coaches and admin far too much power over an athlete’s life. This means ...
“This means the coaches or marketing team can leave an indelible mark on the criteria for becoming an Olympian or Paralympian, without leaving a fingerprint.” 
“A nat’l team coach can w/draw an athlete’s meager $1000 stipend for no reason, w/o recourse for the athlete. A coach sleeping with one athlete can blackball the lover’s rival. A decade of training can be gone, for reasons that have nothing to do with merit, hard work or talent”
“Emotional and physical abuse set up an athlete to be sexually abused. We are still grappling with how to shield athletes from threats, real or perceived, based on team selection and resource allocation. We haven’t even fully clarified abusive coaching practices.” 
“In addition, we still hear too many stories about athletes not being believed when they report injury or abuse.”
“Lastly, we have not had the necessary conversations with parents about their role in their children’s participation in sport and how to support and protect their children. Most parents trust the Olympic and Paralympic brand, with all the prestige that it carries.” 
“...how we deal with whistleblowers and dissent. Rather than threaten, retaliate against, or gaslight those who bring up issues within the movement, we need to do a better job engaging with and listening to them.“
“Cultural change doesn’t happen quickly, nor does it happen by accident. It will not happen by making repeated declarations that the Olympic and Paralympic Movement is now “athlete first”.”
“The truth is sexual predators are still hiding within sports because for decades we fostered an abusive, retaliatory environment and culture that enables them.”
“We built no effective aves to address retaliation from those that report abuse. Survivors rightly do not believe that the system has reformed; where is the evidence? We will have turned the corner when those who have been hurt by the system say so, not when we proclaim victory.”
“I want to note that since Nassar’s sentencing, the nature of the biz has not changed much. Olympic and Paralympic sports in the US still generatepretty much the same way that they did pre-Nassar. The Games are still considered the premier sporting event in the 
”
pretty much the same way that they did pre-Nassar. The Games are still considered the premier sporting event in the ”
“Sport orgs are regularly faced with the same types of decisions that @USAGym encountered when presented with the allegations against Larry Nassar: whether to risk the brand over the harm to the athlete.”
“If we have not profoundly changed the culture of elite sport, we cannot claim any level of certainty that we won’t see a similar outcome.” 
“Gymnasts first,” “Swimmers first,” and “athletes first” are such hollow mantras because they are easy to say, an empty pledge of unconditional support. In reality, putting something first requires systemic change, governance change, and a change in the balance of power.”
“When power structures and revenue streams remain intact, saying that Team USA supports and protects athletes is easy. It is when there is something else at stake, such as medals, money, or organizational reputation, when we learn if we meant what we said.” #AthletesRights
“Would a sport leave its beloved world record holder at home because the athlete was unable to qualify through an objective qualification system? Would a sport organization fund a disagreeable or unmarketable athlete, one who is forever questioning training methods...”
“...one who refuses to donate their image to the sport’s sponsors? Are we willing to protect an athlete that makes a credible claim of abuse towards a popular coach or administrator? Until the answers to these questions are yes, athletes will be at risk.” @athleteafilm
@Ultimately, we must answer the question @R_Denhollander asks: “How much is a little girl worth?” Again, speaking for myself and not as Chair of the @USOPC_AAC, until the Olympic and Paralympic Movement can answer that with conviction .... “
#AthleteA
#AthleteA
“... and consistently demonstrate that conviction with actions, any claim to be putting the safety and well-being of athletes first is baseless.” @hanxiao86
@TeamUSA @NBCOlympics @worldolympians @WorldPlayersUtd @GlobalAthleteHQ
@survivorsarmy https://medium.com/@hxiao_80572/athletes-first-is-a-blank-check-reflections-after-watching-athlete-a-6cb3e5036856
@TeamUSA @NBCOlympics @worldolympians @WorldPlayersUtd @GlobalAthleteHQ
@survivorsarmy https://medium.com/@hxiao_80572/athletes-first-is-a-blank-check-reflections-after-watching-athlete-a-6cb3e5036856
