Dark Side Case: Pure Evil: Protecting the Powerful at USA Gymnastics

Abstract

This dark side case entry focuses on United States of America Gymnastics (USAG) and its failure to prevent or address the long-term sexual abuse of its athletes by Dr. Larry Nassar. This case focuses on the structural and systemic issues of power, privilege, and silence within the USAG organization, as well as the FBI and Michigan State University in order to understand how Nassar’s abuse continued for so long. It is intended for undergraduate and graduate audiences, and explores what went wrong from a critical management perspective. It highlights issues related to gender, power, ethics, and reporting, and the way that organizational processes can serve to keep the serious violations of powerful members in organizations free from scrutiny. The case highlights the voices of survivors and as a teaching tool, points to the role and consequences of deeply-embedded structures of power in organizational life. The case includes a detailed teaching note and a number of external resources we feel can help facilitate an exploration of the important issues of this case in the classroom.