the university should end its
relationship with her,” Regent
Mark Bernstein told the Free
Press earlier in the day.
Regent Jordan Acker, who
was
elected
to
the
board
this November, provided the
following statement on Twitter
expressing his criticism of the
selection of Faehn:
Morgan McCaul, an LSA
sophomore
and
survivor
of
Nassar’s abuse, spoke to The
Daily on Sunday evening about
the importance of the message
sent by the Athletic Department
when it acted swiftly in reversing
its decision on Faehn.
“Honestly, it’s been relieving
and it’s been kind of whiplash,”
McCaul said. “My experience
with MSU has been that they
dig their heels in and they refuse
to admit when they’re wrong,
and it’s taken a year and a half
to see even a shred of change
on that campus, so such a quick
turnaround as to this situation
has been unexpected and well-
received by myself and many
other women I know.”
Since the moment the hire was
announced, the decision spurred
controversy, drawing both wide
criticism on Twitter — including
from Nassar survivors — as well
as defense of the hiring decision
from others, including current
and former members of the
gymnastics team.
Faehn was first spotted at
the women’s gymnastics team’s
second meet of the season, hosted
at the University of Alabama,
by Terrin Waack, a sports
reporter for The Tuscaloosa
News
and
TideSports.com,
who was present at the meet
in Tuscaloosa, Ala. On Friday
evening, a spokesperson for the
team confirmed to The Daily that
Faehn had been hired on Jan 10.
“I can confirm that Rhonda
Faehn did join us recently
and was with us tonight in
Tuscaloosa for the meet,” the
spokesperson said in a statement
Friday evening.
Saturday
afternoon,
the
University of Michigan Athletics
Department
issued
a
press
release formally announcing and
defending the hiring decision.
The statement described Faehn’s
role on staff as a “consultant in a
coaching capacity”, though the
Department website officially
listed her title as an “assistant
coach.” Faehn’s name has since
been removed from the website.
In
Saturday’s
release,
the
University’s
Director
of
Athletics Warde Manuel noted
that “a thorough review of
Faehn’s coaching career and
her
involvement
with
USA
Gymnastics”
was
conducted
before he decided to support the
selection of Faehn.
“The well-being and safety
of
our
student-athletes
is
always our highest priority,”
Manuel stated Saturday. “Our
current
student-athletes
had a prominent voice
throughout
this
search
process to provide their
perspective. This included
a meeting between me and
the captains before a final
decision was made.
“After our exhaustive
due
diligence,
we
felt
comfortable
that
coach
Faehn
reported
all
information available to
her regarding Larry Nassar
and that she cooperated
fully, including voluntarily
participating
in
all
investigations and offering
testimony before Congress.
Neither
an
internal
investigation
by
USA
Gymnastics or a criminal
investigation by the FBI
have assigned culpability
or resulted in any charges
against her.”
A
day
later,
Manuel determined it was
the “wrong decision.”
The addition of Faehn
to the coaching staff was
received as a controversial
decision due to the nature
of her departure from USA
Gymnastics, which occurred in
May 2018.
“I was extremely disturbed to
find out that she had been hired,
because I think it sends a message
not just to survivors of Nassar’s
abuse on campus, but it sends a
message to all survivors on the
campus that proven enablers
would have been tolerated and
would have been allowed to be
hired and honestly be defended
by the university,” McCaul said.
Early on in her position with
USA Gymnastics, Faehn was
notified about potential abuse
concerns relating to then-team
physician Larry Nassar. Faehn
informed then-USA Gymnastics
President Steve Penny of these
concerns, and the organization
went on to conduct an internal
investigation before removing
Nassar from his position or
going to federal authorities, as
was reported by the Associated
Press in May.
USA Gymnastics failed to
notify Michigan State University
— where Nassar was a faculty
member — of these concerns
during this time frame. In the
aftermath of Nassar pleading
guilty to child pornography
charges in the summer of 2017
and to multiple counts of sexual
assault of minors in the winter
of 2018, the organization faced
multiple lawsuits from victims.
Faehn was not specifically
named in the lawsuits, but
faced criticism from numerous
Nassar survivors who called for
her removal. This included U.S.
Olympic gymnast Aly Raisman,
who
told
the
Indianapolis
Star that she had reported
Nassar’s abuse to Faehn in
“graphic
detail,”
but
Faehn
and other officials waited a
week before going to the FBI. A
week after that interview, USA
Gymnastics decided to part with
Faehn.
Her
departure
was
met
with mixed opinions from the
gymnastics community.
BR A ZILIAN ZOUK DANCE
2A — Monday, January 14, 2019
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
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