Amanda McGeachie
I want to echo what has already been said and say that we are strong and you are nothing. We are powerful and you are powerless. We will destroy you like you tried to destroy us. We are a force that ought not to be reckoned with, and, unlike us, you will not recover from this. This will forever be your story. We will write our own stories of strength and go on to accomplish great things. You will do nothing. Your story goes no further.
date of testimony: January 23th 2018
location of testimony: Lansing, Michigan
Statement read by court official Ms Snyder
I’m a 27 year old Canadian female from Victoria, British Columbia. I was a member of the Michigan State University women’s varsity rowing team from the age of 17 to 21 and I attended MSU from 2008 to 2012.
I was sexually assaulted by Larry Nassar.
First, I want to thank all the women who have come before me for giving me the strength to do this. Specifically, I want to thank my teammates.
During this process I wanted to remain anonymous. I wanted only those who I chose to tell to know I was a survivor. However, in the last two weeks I found out that there is an MSU investigator who is calling my past teammates and asking them about my and many other survivors’ injuries, treatments, and other private medical details. I have been outed. I have no control over this, but one thing I have control of is to let my voice be heard.
My time at MSU was filled with many experiences. Some of the highest of highs and lowest of lows were experienced during those four and a half years at MSU. Some of the highlights included winning three Big Ten titles in the fastest boat in the program along some of the most incredible women I have ever had the pleasure of calling my teammates, and, more importantly, friends.
Some of those incredibly strong, fierce, and intelligent women were torn down by you, Larry.
You managed to prey on those of us who were extremely vulnerable and desperate to get back to racing, those of us who would do anything not to be in physical pain anymore. You took advantage of our determination to represent our school and race alongside our teammates.
Now that school that we all fought to represent failed us. MSU has failed to represent us, failed to respect us, failed to take accountability for our safety. After being a proud Spartan alum for the past six years, I now feel ashamed to have ever helped a school that will not take accountability. Two of us cannot bring ourselves to hang up our diplomas that we made sacrifices for as student athletes and worked so hard to achieve because of now what it represents. I have boxed up anything I own that I was ever given or purchased as I will not represent this school until those in power, those who knew and did nothing, are held accountable for what happened to me, my teammates, and the many others they have failed.
I am not going to talk about what you did to us because we already know what disgusting things you were capable of. I want to talk about how your actions and the lack of action on MSU’s behalf has impacted us. For the record, two of my teammates told two separate sports medicine psychiatrists about what you were doing. As we all know, nothing was done.
During my time at MSU myself and several of my closest friends were sexually assaulted by you, some of the strongest women I know, women to this day struggle because of what you were able to do to us.
The word difficult doesn’t begin to express what you put me and these amazingly strong women through. At four nine and 80 pounds stature, I had to tackle my best friend to get a knife out of her hand before she locked herself in the bathroom so she could harm herself. That same woman slept with a knife under her pillow and had to sleep in my room the night before her appointments with you.
It was not only your actions that impacted people, Larry, it was also your words. I am now 27 years old and I have been scared to have children for the last seven years because after one of our appointments you told me that I shouldn’t ever have children naturally because I was too small down there. Those words have haunted me. I trusted you. I truly thought I couldn’t have children without absolutely destroying my body. Only this year did I bring myself to actually ask my doctor if I should be concerned about having children due to my size.
After looking at me like I was a bit odd to even think that, she reassured me that, no, I shouldn’t be worried about having children.
I want to echo what has already been said and say that we are strong and you are nothing. We are powerful and you are powerless. We will destroy you like you tried to destroy us. We are a force that ought not to be reckoned with, and, unlike us, you will not recover from this. This will forever be your story. We will write our own stories of strength and go on to accomplish great things. You will do nothing. Your story goes no further.
THE COURT: Thank you. And as to Amanda, I want her to know I’ve heard her and her words empower others, and it’s really a call for change, and since all of these voices have come forward, change is happening, people are being released, businesses are closing, so each voice matters, and I appreciate her coming forward.
