Olympic gold medalist and Lansing area native Jordyn Wieber criticized MSU interim President John Engler during a speech Thursday evening and called on him to begin working with the women and girls Larry Nassar abused.
Wieber's speech at the Wharton Center was titled "Jordyn Wieber: Moving Forward" and she spent most of her time talking about her struggle to come to terms with the fact that Nassar abused her and her shifting perspective of what it means to be a victim.
"This experience does not define me," she told a crowd of Michigan State University students, faculty and staff. "The things that have happened to you in life don't define you. Yes, I was a victim, but the key word in that statement is 'was.' I was a victim when he abused me, but I am no longer a victim. I decided to free myself from that label."
She spoke about the process she went through that eventually led her to the decision to publicly say that Nassar abused her. She did so on the fourth day of Nassar's Ingham County sentencing hearing, speaking shortly after fellow Olympic gold medalist Aly Raisman.
Lou Anna Simon resigned as MSU president on the final day of that sentencing hearing and a week later former Michigan Gov. John Engler was named interim university president.
He promised that "change is coming" and that he would "move forward as if my own daughter were on this campus."
"Sadly, that promise has not been kept," Wieber said in her speech, adding that Engler lobbied against a package of bills inspired by Nassar's crimes that would extend the statute of limitations for sexual assault victims to file lawsuits and remove governmental immunity as a defense in such lawsuits, among other things.
A revised package of those bills passed in the state Senate and moved to the state House.
"I hope President Engler will hear this message and take it to heart," Wieber said. "Survivors are not your enemy. We want MSU to move forward, rebuild its reputation and thrive."
She said Engler needs to stop fighting the survivors and work with them.
Emily Guerrant, a spokeswoman for the university, said Engler is committed to working with the survivors and reaching a fair settlement. She said he’s made changes throughout the campus and didn’t lobby against the package of bills, but asked that the process be slowed down for more analysis and public comment.
Nassar, 54, of Holt, is serving a 60-year federal prison sentence on three child pornography charges. He will likely die in federal custody before serving any of his decades-long prison sentences on state sexual assault charges.
He spent nearly 20 years as an MSU and USA Gymnastics doctor. Hundreds of women and girls have told law enforcement that Nassar abused them. More than 260 people are suing MSU, USA Gymnastics and others, saying the organizations failed to take reports about Nassar seriously and failed to protect them from abuse.
Wieber spoke for about 15 minutes and then answered questions that were submitted by students beforehand.
Wieber was among the women and girls who spoke during a February news conference on the introduction of the package of proposed legislation now awaiting action in the House.
Speaker of the House Tom Leonard, R-DeWitt Township, said on Thursday that he supported the bills and that House committee meetings will likely begin after April 10, when the legislature returns from its spring break.
"I have taken something horrible that happened to me, and my goal is to use it to make changes that protect children and students everywhere," Wieber said in her speech Thursday evening. "Whether you are a survivor or not, I invite you all to do the same. Speak your truth to people in power. Demand change and change will happen.
"We all need to stand up, speak out, and I don’t know about you, but until every survivor feels empowered to do this, I will not stop. Find your voice and move forward."
Kathleen Gray of the Detroit Free Press contributed to this article. Contact Matt Mencarini at (517) 267-1347 or mmencarini@lsj.com. Follow him on Twitter @MattMencarini.
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