Politics April 7, 2017
Larry Nassar, a former Olympic gymnastics doctor and alleged rapist, just got his medical license revoked for three years.
He also must pay a $100,000 fine before reapplying, which would seem like a harsh punishment, had he not been accused of sexually assaulting MORE THAN 100 WOMEN.
Scratch that, many of them weren’t even yet women – they were minors. Yes, this monster allegedly sexually abused a girl younger than 13, among others, and could still hypothetically become a doctor again.
To really put this into perspective, charges against Nassar date all the way back to 1998. And he was only fired from his role at Michigan State University this past September. Let that sink in.
This latest decision comes from a disciplinary hearing board meeting held on Thursday, per a spokesman from the Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs.
Now, he still faces 25 other criminal charges split between state and federal courts, 22 of which are sexual assault charges related to his role as a doctor. So hopefully there’s still a chance for proper justice to be served.
But for now, can we please put a moratorium on worrying about the futures and reputations of alleged rapists and abusers? We’ve seen it time and time again. Despite conviction, Brock Turner was continually referred to as an “All-American swimmer” or “Ex-Stanford swimmer” instead of what he actually was, a criminal guilty of sexual assault.
And do we even need to mention the man who somehow holds the highest office in our land, despite having openly admitted to sexual assault? It could be argued that emails or her husband’s infidelity struck Hillary Clinton down. But for Donald Trump, describing grabbing women “by the pussy” on tape is just not a big enough issue.
I can’t help but keep coming back to a tweet by @Paxmee from November 8, 2016. She wrote, “Tell me again how rape and sexual assault accusations will ruin a man’s career.” Damn. Will this ever not be painfully resonant?
