In the face of all the sexual misconduct allegations that are flying around across a myriad of industries in the U.S., USA Gymnastics is coming under fire for allegedly silencing victims of sexual abuse.
In December, U.S. gymnast McKayla Maroney took legal action against the United States Olympic Committee and USA Gymnastics, accusing the organizations’ officials of covering up knowledge of sexual abuse that has been going on within the organizations for decades.
Fact: About one in every three women in our country have experienced sexual harassment in the workplace at some point in their careers.
Maroney, a Los Angeles resident, alleges that she had to sign a confidential financial settlement to not disclose the sexual abuse she suffered as a teenage gymnast.
The now 22-year-old gold-medal-awarded artistic gymnast was molested by disgraced team doctor Larry Nassar, who confessed to sexually abusing underage girls.
Maroney’s allegations against the Olympic Committee are just a drop in the ocean of all the sexual harassment, abuse, and assault allegations that have been gripping the country since October.
But Maroney’s lawsuit could become more than just another sexual misconduct suit exposing yet another predator, our Los Angeles sexual harassment attorney Matthew A. Kaufman says.
Maroney’s lawsuit could expose the unlawful and morally unacceptable practices not only in the USOC and USA Gymnastics but also in all other seemingly reputable U.S. organizations.
But what’s so special about Maroney and her sexual abuse lawsuit? Our sexual harassment lawyers at The Kaufman Law Firm explain that judges and juries will have to investigate whether or not national sports officials systematically covered up predators and abusers’ decades of sexual misconduct.
If Maroney’s allegations are proven in court, authorities will most likely conduct thorough investigations at all other national sports organizations and governmental entities.
In Maroney’s case, USA Gymnastics allegedly failed to inform the police about sexual abuse claims surrounding its confessed molester Nassar. The organization chose to keep the scandal under wraps by hiring its own investigator, delaying the investigation and making victims of sexual harassment and abuse sign confidential settlements.
Legally silencing victims of sexual harassment and assault has been around for decades, as companies and organizations keep covering up known and suspected sexual abusers, predators, molesters, gropers and other powerful men who engage in unlawful conduct.
The ongoing and seemingly untamed wave of sexual harassment and abuse allegations has exposed more predators, harassers, abusers, gropers, sexists, and molesters than in any other year in U.S. history.
And even though the vast majority of all sexual harassment lawsuits are not as highly publicized as those filed against known celebrities figures, our sexual harassment attorneys say that thousands of sexual assault and harassment victims have come forward to take legal action against their abusers and harassers in Los Angeles alone since October.
The ongoing wave of sexual harassment allegations has kept hundreds of Los Angeles juries and attorneys busy, with work-related sexual harassment claims accounting for most of the lawsuits filed in Los Angeles and elsewhere in California.
If you or any of your loved ones have become a victim of sexual harassment or abuse at work, find out your best legal options by consulting our skilled sexual harassment lawyers at The Kaufman Law Firm.
Don’t let your abuser, harasser, groper, or molester get away with his unlawful actions. Contact our Los Angeles attorneys today by calling at 310-981-3404 to get an initial consultation.