Athlete A Movie Review/Summary

Athlete A is a documentary that came to Netflix in 2020. It covers the gymnastics world regarding the countless years of ignored sexual abuse of young women by USAG doctor, Larry Nassar. As a gymnast, this documentary was very important to me and I feel like it brought awareness to a serious and sensitive topic that had been hidden for far too many years. The movie focused on interviews from the surviving gymnasts as well as coaches, and officials who helped end it.

While watching the documentary, viewers get a better understanding of what goes on in the gymnastics world, and what it takes to be a competitive gymnast. College gymnast, Maggie Nichols, shares her personal story and background. She devoted a large portion of her life to be on the national gymnastics team, and was on the road to the Olympics when her dreams were shattered after reporting being sexually abused by the USA Gymnastics team doctor Larry Nassar(athleteafilm.com).

As reporters started to come out with the stories, more and more gymnasts admitted to being abused by the doctor at some point during their gymnastics career. It turns out that at least 500 people, including 9 Olympians had been involved. The movie investigates the system and corruption the world of gymnastics. We also learn about all of the coverups that tried to hide what was going on(athleteafilm.com)

It was emotional to watch the gymnasts go through such a horrific acts that they thought was normal for so many years. It was extremely powerful to hear them speak out at court to expose Nassar and help send him to prison. The situation truly shows that anything can happen behind the scenes and you never know what a person could be going through.

The gymnasts showed bravery and perseverance during the situation and some even received cyberbullying and invasive investigations to discredit their claims(nyimes.com).

Overall, I personally really enjoyed watching Athlete A, and I feel like it is a great movie for all athletes to watch. It brought more awareness to the overlooked topic and it had a very powerful message. It opened our eyes to what the gymnasts had to go through and I’m that sure many people gained more respect for the survivors. If you are interested in more details about the case and the history of USA Gymnastics, Athlete A is an amazing documentary for you.

Sources:

Athlete A, Gymnasts who survived USA Gymnastics doctor Larry Nassar’s abuse and the reporters who exposed USAG’s toxic culture, March 1, 2021

Kim, Kristen Yoonsoo, The New York Times, ‘Athlete A’ Review: A Web of Abuse and Cover-Ups Come to Light, June 24, 2020, March 1, 2021