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Sports

Larry Nassar’s final appeal is rejected by the Michigan Supreme Court

DETROIT — The Michigan Supreme Court on Friday rejected a final appeal from sports doctor Larry Nassar, who was sentenced to decades in prison for sexually assaulting gymnasts, including Olympic medalists.Attorneys for Nassar said he was treated unfairly in 2018 and deserved a new hearing, based on vengeful remarks by a judge who called him a “monster” who would “wither” in prison like the wicked witch in “The Wizard of Oz.”Advertisement“I just signed your death warrant,” Ingham County Judge Rosemarie Aquilina said of Nassar’s 40-year sentence.The state Supreme Court said Nassar’s appeal was a “close question” and that it had “concerns” over the judge’s conduct. But the court also noted that Aquilina, despite her provocative comments, stuck to the sentencing agreement worked out by lawyers in the case.Advertisement“We decline to expend additional judicial resources and further subject the victims in this case to additional trauma where the questions at hand present nothing more than an academic exercise,” the court said in a two-page order.More than 150 victims spoke or submitted statements during an extraordinary seven-day hearing in Aquilina’s court more than four years ago.“It’s over. … Almost six years after I filed the police report, it’s finally over,” Rachael Denhollander, the first woman to publicly accuse Nassar, said Friday on Twitter.It’s over. MI Supreme Court declined to hear Larry’s appeal.Almost six years after I filed the police report, it’s finally over. https://t.co/cleZxOqTsM— Rachael Denhollander (@R_Denhollander) June 17, 2022

Nassar pleaded guilty to sexually assaulting gymnasts and other athletes with his hands under the guise of medical treatment for hip and leg injuries. He worked at Michigan State University and at Indianapolis-based USA Gymnastics, traveling the world with the elites of the sport.“Our Constitution does not allow for cruel and unusual punishment,” Aquilina told Nassar. “If it did, I have to say I might allow what he did to all of these beautiful souls, these young women in their childhood. I would allow someone or many people to do to him what he did to others.”Nassar subsequently received another 40-year sentence in a separate case in a neighboring county.He is currently in federal prison for child pornography crimes in a different case that grew out of the same investigation. The sentences effectively mean Nassar, 58, will spend the rest of his life behind bars.The Nassar case turned Aquilina into a celebrity. She appeared at the 2018 ESPY awards in Los Angeles, where his victims were honored. The judge said she trademarked her name after it started appearing on T-shirts, including one worn by actress Natalie Portman on “Saturday Night Live.”AdvertisementThe scandal hasn’t faded. More than 100 women, including Olympic gold medalist Simone Biles, are collectively seeking more than $1 billion from the federal government for the FBI’s failure to stop Nassar when agents became aware of allegations against him in 2015. He was arrested by Michigan State University police in 2016, more than a year later.Michigan State, which was accused of missing chances over many years to stop Nassar, agreed to pay $500 million to more than 300 women and girls who were assaulted by him. USA Gymnastics and the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee made a $380 million settlement.

Sports

Phil Mickelson misses the cut at U.S. Open in Brookline, doesn’t talk to reporters

BROOKLINE, Mass. — Phil Mickelson’s tee shot on No. 3 landed in the rough to the right, and when he arrived at his ball he saw a man sitting on the ground, holding an icepack to his right temple, with medical staff gathered around.Mickelson went over and gave the man a glove and apologized. One problem: It was Sam Horsfield’s shot from the neighboring sixth hole that hit him.Advertisement“It’s just instinct,” Mickelson said, drawing laughter from the gallery. “I would normally think it’s me.”That’s how things went for the six-time U.S. Open runner-up at The Country Club this week: a series of apologies, interrupted by a whole lot of bad golf shots.Advertisement“Wish I had played better,” Mickelson, who declined to talk to reporters, said in a transcript that was distributed by the USGA on Friday after he followed a first-round 78 with a 3-over 73 to miss the cut.The plus-11 finish left him in the clubhouse ahead of just one PGA Tour regular and far beneath the projected cut line of 4 over.“It was OK. I had a good day,” he said.Phil Mickelson greets fans during the second round of the U.S. Open at The Country Club. (Robert F. Bukaty/AP)A six-time major champion who has become the face of the Saudi Arabia-backed LIV Golf tour, Mickelson was competing on American soil for the first time in more than four months. But if the fans held his cash grab against him, they didn’t let it show.“Phil, liven it up!”“Long live Phil!”“You’ve got work to do!”“A 62 makes the cut, Phil!”Advertisement“You and me forever, baby!”“Call it a comeback, Phil!”And fans in a tent next to the sixth tee sang him “Happy Birthday.”“The fans here have always been terrific, and they really support all sports,” Mickelson said, according to the transcript. “I love it when we bring golf here because they create a really special atmosphere.”But Mickelson had little else to smile about. Starting on the 10th hole, he made back-to-back-to-back bogeys on Nos. 13-14-15 and needed a 15-footer to save par on the third hole after nearly winding up in the gallery with his drive.He wasn’t as lucky on No. 4, a 493-yard par 4, where he missed a 12-foot par putt and left himself almost as much coming back for bogey. But the 52-year-old left-hander — his birthday was actually Thursday — followed with back-to-back birdies.AdvertisementHe sank a 43-foot putt from the front apron on the fifth hole and an even longer one on the sixth, both times acknowledging the crowd’s cheers with a thumbs-up and wave. On his way to the seventh tee, he gave his ball to a 9-year-old girl standing by the ropes.“I enjoyed the week,” said Mickelson, who left Brookline still needing a U.S. Open victory to complete his career Grand Slam. “It was spectacular to come back to such a historic course, and I thought the setup was remarkable. Just really showcased what a special place this is.”