Athlete A Parent Guide

Gymnastics has long been one of the marquee events of the Summer Olympics. As the gymnasts flip, spin, and tumble through their routines, audiences marvel at their training and self-discipline. Sadly, for too many of these young gymnasts their years of preparation were marred by sexual abuse, perpetrated by those who were entrusted with their care. Athlete A tells the harrowing story of Dr. Larry Nassar and his decades-long abuse of USA Gymnastics’ athletes. Cutting together interviews contemporary news footage and video evidence, this documentary paints a damning picture of a systemic failure to protect children from predators.

What distinguishes Athlete A as a documentary is that the filmmakers clearly tried to avoid making a true-crime drama piece. Instead of playing the most grotesque clips they could find and having a dramatic narrative voiceover, they have sought to understand and explain the structural problems which allowed the abuse to occur. The emotional abuse endemic to gymnastics coaching is portrayed as a form of grooming which makes the survivors less likely to complain about their treatment, creating an environment where pedophiles thrive.

Nor is sexual abuse the only harm stemming from the coaching methods employed in modern competitive gymnastics. Athletes discuss the toll their training took on them physically, as they would frequently be forced to play through agonizing injuries. Eating disorders were another common consequence of hypercritical coaching staff and a focus on smaller, more agile athletes. The broader examination of systemic failures in the USA Gymnastics program makes the documentary that much more effective in explaining why Nassar was able to get away with his abuse for the better part of 30 years.

The film opens with a title card which warns viewers about the sensitive nature of the subject matter, which is a good idea. Obviously, the documentary focuses on child sexual abuse, and individuals with personal experience may find the content triggering. However, the film avoids showing or describing more than it feels is narratively necessary, which is a mercy. There are further references to images of child sexual abuse, eating disorders, and grooming which may upset viewers. Beyond that, there is little in the way of content concerns. There are two scatological profanities and a handful of mild curses, and two clips of gymnasts being injured during complex routines.

I wouldn’t recommend this for family viewing with younger children due to the somewhat adult subject matter, but this is otherwise an excellent resource in understanding this well-publicized case. It can also be a helpful jumping off point for discussions about child sexual abuse and how to report it. Better still, it helps to put a face to a terrible scandal. With many pedophiles, a documentary might have a mugshot and a few clips from the courtroom: there is endless footage of Nassar interacting with his victims for Athlete A to work with. But most importantly, it helps to give survivors a voice to directly address their past, and hopefully to protect other young people from similar experiences.