Skip to content
Production Staging
 
Schedules
TV 8 Guide
News 88.7
Classical
Mixtape
Listen
Watch

Donate

Menu
  • News
    • Back
    • Today in Houston Newsletter
    • Coronavirus News and Resources
    • Houston Matters
    • Town Square with Ernie Manouse
    • Politics
    • News Main
  • Arts/Culture
    • Back
    • NPR Live Sessions
    • Skyline Sessions
    • Classical
    • Mixtape
    • Encore Houston
    • Houston Symphony Broadcasts
    • Music Stories
    • Arts & Culture Main
  • Education
    • Back
    • At Home Learning
    • For Grown Ups
    • For Kids
    • Math in a Flash
    • Spelling Bee
    • Writers Contest
  • Topics
    • Back
    • News
      • Coronavirus News and Resources
      • In-Depth
      • Business
      • Local
      • Education News
      • Energy & Environment
      • Health & Science
      • Immigration
      • Politics
      • Transportation
    • Features
      • Texas Legislature
      • Houston Weather
      • Bauer Business Focus
      • All News Series >>
    • Arts & Culture
      • Classical Music
      • Music
      • Opera & Musical Theater
      • Dance
      • Visual Art
      • Literature
        • Voices and Verses: A Poem-A-Day Series
      • Theatre & Film
      • Food
    • Features
      • Houston Symphony
      • National Chamber Music Month
  • Radio/TV
    • Back
    • Watch
      • Watch TV 8 Video
      • Watch 24/7 PBS Kids
      • TV 8 Passport
      • Ways to Watch
    • Listen Live
      • News 88.7
      • Classical
      • Mixtape
      • Ways to Listen
      • Smart Speakers
    • Schedules
      • TV 8
      • News 88.7
      • Classical
      • Mixtape
    • All Shows
      • All TV 8 Shows
      • All News 88.7 Shows
      • All Classical Shows
  • Programs
    • Back
    • News
      • Town Square with Ernie Manouse
      • Houston Matters
      • Red, White and Blue
      • Texas Standard
    • Arts & Culture
      • Skyline Sessions
      • Mockingbird & Armadillo
      • Unwrap Your Candies Now
      • Opera Music
    • Features
      • Tested
      • Mothers First
      • Career Frontier
      • Health Matters
      • Bauer Business Focus
      • Briefcase
      • Engines of Our Ingenuity
      • UH Moment
    • Digital/Podcasts
      • Skyline Sessions
      • Encore Houston
      • Engines of Our Ingenuity
      • Party Politics
      • Press Play
      • All Podcasts >>
    • Popular National Shows
      • All Things Considered
      • Antiques Roadshow
      • Morning Edition
      • Nature
      • NOVA
      • Wait Wait…Don’t Tell Me!
  • Support
    • Back
    • For the Love of Houston
    • Support HPM
    • Vehicle Donation
    • Young Leaders Council
    • Corporate Support
    • Update Payment Method
  • Donate
  • Passport
  • UH
    • Back
    • Commitment
    • Main
    • About UH
    • Academics
    • Admissions
    • Student Life
    • Research
    • Arts
    • Athletics
    • News & Events
  • About
  • Contact Us

News

Karolyis To NBC: ‘No Way’ They Knew That Nassar Was Committing Abuse In Their Texas Ranch

Martha Karolyi said in “no way” did she suspect Larry Nassar was sexually abusing athletes under the guise of treatment

Associated Press
| Posted on April 23, 2018, 7:45 AM (Last Updated: April 23, 2018, 8:56 AM)
The Karolyis spoke as part of a Dateline NBC special entitled “Silent No More,” which aired Sunday, April 22.

Former USA Gymnastics women’s national team coordinator Martha Karolyi and husband Bela tell NBC they were unaware of the abusive behavior by a former national team doctor now serving decades in prison.

Martha Karolyi led the national team for 15 years before retiring after the 2016 Rio Olympics. She tells Savannah Guthrie in “no way” did she suspect Larry Nassar was sexually abusing athletes under the guise of treatment.

“The whole gymnastics community couldn’t recognize this,” Martha Karolyi said in an excerpt provided to The Associated Press on Friday by NBC. “Everybody said, ‘Larry Nassar is a good doctor. Larry Nassar is a good guy.'”

The Karolyis spoke as part of a Dateline NBC special entitled “Silent No More,” which aired Sunday. The one-hour special, the first prime-time event hosted by Guthrie, looked at the fallout from revelations about years of abuse by Nassar involving hundreds of former athletes, including several members of the U.S. Olympic team.

“The whole thing is just like an explosion, a bomb exploding,” Bela Karolyi said. “Boom.”

The Karolyis have been named as co-defendants in several civil lawsuits filed against Nassar and USA Gymnastics, including one by former national team member Mattie Larson.

Larson told The Associated Press she watched a portion of the Karolyi’s interview excerpted on Friday and shrugged. The Karolyis made similar statements in a deposition in Larson’s lawsuit.

“Who knows if they knew or not? I’m not in their heads,” Larson told the AP. “I feel like if they really didn’t know, it’s because they set up the system to show they don’t care what’s going on.”

Larson, a member of the 2010 World Championship team, pointed out the Karolyis allowed Nassar to treat them in his hotel room without supervision and that it wasn’t unusual for Nassar to treat athletes not on a training table, but his hotel bed.

“Honestly I just believe they did not care about us when we were not in the gym,” Larson said.

Several victims, including two-time Olympic medalist McKayla Maroney, say they were abused at the Karolyi’s Ranch near Houston. The ranch served as the training home for USA Gymnastics during most of Martha Karolyi’s highly successful tenure running the national team.

Several gymnasts and coaches previously interviewed by The Associated Press said the Karolyis institutionalized a win-at-all-costs culture that forced girls to train while injured. The toxic environment allowed Nassar to flourish in part because the athletes were afraid to challenge authority, according to witness statements in Nassar’s criminal case and one of the lawsuits.

Guthrie spent hours with the Karolyis at the ranch after the couple agreed to speak publicly for the first time since Martha Karolyi’s retirement following the 2016 Olympics.

“I think they felt like it was time for them to tell their side of the story,” Guthrie said. “I think they’ve watched and seen as their reputation has really taken a hit and people have asked a lot of questions about what they knew and just as importantly what they should have known.”

Guthrie said she was “surprised” the Karolyis came forward despite the potential legal fallout.

“They answered every question,” Guthrie said. “At no time did their lawyer jump in and say ‘You can’t answer that.'”

Nassar spent nearly three decades at USA Gymnastics before being fired in 2015 after complaints about his behavior. He continued to work at Michigan State University through the fall of 2016 before being hit with federal charges. Nassar is now serving decades in prison for molesting women and girls and for possessing child pornography.

Nassar was already established in the program when Martha Karolyi took over. He would visit the ranch during national team training sessions and also accompany the team to events around the world. Maroney said she was abused “hundreds” of times by Nassar.

Martha Karolyi denied having any knowledge about Nassar’s pattern of abuse.

“I heard during the testimonies (at Nassar’s sentencing) that some of the parents were in the therapy room with their own child and Larry Nassar was performing this,” Martha Karolyi told Guthrie. “And the parent couldn’t see. How I could see?”

Dateline NBC

Subscribe to Today in Houston

Fill out the form below to subscribe our new daily editorial newsletter from the HPM Newsroom.

* required

Share

Newsdateline Karolyi Ranch usa gymnastics

Support Comes From

Related

Walker County Subpoenas USA Gymnastics Documents

Full Show: USA Gymnastics Case, And Rapper Bun B On His Love Of Film (Nov. 9, 2018)

Full Show: Gymnastics Arrest, and Crosby ISD’s Financial Woes (Oct. 18, 2018)

Larry Nassar, Ex-Trainer Charged With Sexual Assault In Karolyi Ranch Investigation

Most Viewed

  • Texas Supreme Court Ends Enforcement Of National Eviction Moratorium Statewide

  • GOP Bill Would Limit A Texas Homeowner’s Ability To Sue Over Construction Defects

  • A Series Of Anti-Abortion Bills Is Quickly Moving Through The Texas Legislature

  • Names Of 14 Deshaun Watson Accusers Will Be Made Public After Friday Court Hearings

  • The Prospects Of Returning To ‘Normal By Summer’ (April 12, 2021)

Support Comes From

Associated Press

Recent Stories

  • Nike Suspends Sponsorship Of Deshaun Watson Amid Allegations

  • Number Of Texans Hospitalized By COVID-19 Drops Below 4,000 For The First Time Since October

  • Judge: CDC Exceeded Authority In Issuing Eviction Moratorium

  • Exxon Mobil Ordered To Pay $14.25M Penalty In Pollution Case

More Articles by This Author

Houston Public Media

Houston Public Media

  • About
  • Commitment
  • TV
  • Radio
  • News
  • Shows

Compliance

  • CPB Compliance
  • FCC Station Information
  • KUHF Public File
  • KUHT Public File
  • Privacy Policy
  • Additional Disclosures

Subscribe to Our Newsletter

Get highlights, trending news and behind-the-scenes insights from Houston Public Media delivered to your inbox each week.

Contact Us

4343 Elgin, Houston, TX 77204-0008

Houston Public Media is supported with your gifts to the Houston Public Media Foundation and is licensed to the University of Houston

Copyright © 2021