Rachael Denhollander Profile picture
Aug 20, 2019 6 tweets 2 min read Read on X
Try any of these: (thread)

- We apologize to (specific gymnasts) who warned about the abusive culture years ago. WE SHOULD HAVE LISTENED. We need their help now, and we are listening and believing and implementing what they are telling us.
2 - Survivors aren't being angry and demanding. They are right. We don't have a PR problem, we have a serious abuse problem, because we didn't listen for years.

Instead of blaming survivors, blame abusive coaches and silent enablers. The survivors are our allies (just try that)
3 - Instead of "but not all coaches are abusers!" and acting as if you are the victims of a bad press campaign, start helping us identify who the abusers/enablers are, and remove them. Prove to us you know what abusers look like, so we can trust when you say a coach isn't one.
4 - Pick something that went wrong, and just admit it. Name an abusive coach you should have stopped, because the abuse was right there for all to see.

Pick something that went on at the Ranch and say "we never should have allowed this."

Admit a mistake. Pick one. Just ONE.
5 - Pick a testimony from an elite gymnast revealing the devastation they suffered and the permanent effects, and admit the truth of what they are saying. Admit the horrific damage, and WHY that damage happened.

Validate ONE of your elite athletes who has spoken out. Pick ONE.
Until you can do one of these things (we've been asking for years), stop telling us you are treating this with urgency. You haven't admitted ONE problem yet.

You can't fix what you refuse to see and admit. Stop treating this like it's a problem with our perspective and your PR.

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More from @R_Denhollander

Oct 25
I have known some of the people involved in this story and the call for accountability for almost 8 yrs. We assisted them in dynamics that crossed into my current work before my own case. Others I connected with years ago as well.

revivinghopeproject.com
I know conservative Christian therapists in the area who, while tightly protecting confidentiality, have likewise expressed serious concern at what they have seen in their professional sphere, from students coming out of HLS.
The words of those who have spoken out are worth heeding. Read them for yourself.

This is not a political effort (this story has been in the works for around 2 years) and it's not a move to destroy Christianity, Classical Education, or Christian education. In fact...
Read 12 tweets
Oct 13
This is well-worth the read and relevant whether it is politics, the church, or any other role.

How to Find Grace After Disgrace peggynoonan.com/how-to-find-gr…
"We’re saying the answer to the politician’s question, “What is the optimum moment at which to come back from a big sex scandal, and how do I do it?” is this:

“You are asking the wrong question.”
The right questions would go something like: “What can I do to stop being greedy for power, attention and adulation? How can I come to understand that the question is not the public’s capacity to forgive, but my own capacity to exercise sound judgment and regard for others?
Read 5 tweets
Jun 16
Gateway members - think well about your theology.

Repentance starts with confession - telling the truth about what happened. Check your pastor and elders words. Is this repentance?

This is described as a "morally inappropriate relationship" with a "young women"... Image
But in fact, it was an adult having sexual contact with a minor and pre-teen CHILD.

This is felony level child sexual assault.

And it didn't happen because she was "flirtatious".

It happened because a grown man was sexually aroused and gratified himself with a pre-teen child
Morris' own words, your elders own words, right now, in this moment, are neither confession nor repentance, because it isn't even beginning with the minimum threshold of telling the truth.
Read 7 tweets
May 23
Qualified immunity has created a system in which those with the most power, have the least accountability.

The reason the Nassar settlement with the FBI is so significant is because qualified immunity is essentially a complete bar to restitution for any malfeasance.

And...
It doesn't just protect law enforcement. It is typically interpreted to protect ANY government actor.

MSU had immunity against all the Nassar survivors because they are a state university and Larry and everyone who covered for him, was a state employee.
We received a measure of justice and forced some change only due to extreme public pressure. The law said MSU had full protection no matter what.

When we tried to lift QI in sex abuse cases, state universities, public schools and government lobby turned out in force, including
Read 7 tweets
Jan 14
On Larry Nassar and Paul Pressler, Michigan State University, USAG and the SBC, and all the ways they are different…

There are so many unsung heroes in my case. . .people that lent their voices, provided pieces of the puzzle, helped put away a predator, that no one knows about.
But they meant everything to me back then, and they still do.

1 – An MSU employee for the medical clinic who reached out to say “I don’t know Rachael. But I can tell you he’s not following the chaperone policies. None of us even knew he was supposed to be chaperoned.”
It didn’t prove I was telling the truth, but it showed that he was pushing the rules and boundaries. That he was disregarding the warnings he was given in 2014 about sexual assault. That he wasn’t following accepted practices regarding privacy and appropriate contact.
Read 31 tweets
Oct 31, 2023
Correct - notice in the photo her father is in uniform, with the dept being one of the parties in the brief.

So what is a "non-offending third party?" Does it mean a party who is innocent?
No, it doesn't mean "innocent" or "didn't do anything wrong". It means people or entities who didn't personally commit the crime, but includes those who may have:

1. Violated mandatory reporting.
2. Knew and did nothing.
3. Intentionally hid it.

And more.

So for example:
Catholic Priest John Geoghan, who raped at least 130 boys, is the perpetrator.

The Catholic Church who systematically hid the knowledge of his rape of children and put him in new parishes, allowing him to keep raping children, is the "non-offending third party".
Read 15 tweets

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