“My life has not changed” as a
result of the money, she says.
“But I do know that I had a lot
of anxiety in the year and a half
leading up to the settlement
disbursement, asking myself if
it’s ethically sound to be handed
a check for something that can
never be quantified.” McCaul
has channeled that energy into
activism, to “leverage this hor-
rible experience into something
that can help other people.”
While nothing bars MSU
settlement participants from
publicly disclosing the sum they
received, doing so is not con-
sidered a best practice: Talking
about the number can make
survivors prey to fraud or to
criticism that they were fiscally
motivated. It can also create
conflict with friends or family—
and with fellow survivors. Some
survivors in the MSU case
describe a catch-22 inherent in
the process: Those who were
resilient and fortunate enough
to find help earlier, or to
avoid the most severe trauma,
sometimes felt that saying so
was against their financial self-
interest—or, conversely, that a
larger check might mean you
suffered more than most. That
sense of awkward comparison,
survivors say, adds to the pain
of knowing that the allocation
money is, in a sense, evidence
of the abuse. As French, the
Army of Survivors cofounder,
says, “You cash that check, and
it feels dirty.”
O
LYMPIC GOLD MEDALIST
McKayla Maroney says
that she was one of
the girls whom Larry Nassar
preyed upon. Before his arrest,
she received a $1.25 million
settlement from the national
governing body for the sport,
USA Gymnastics—one that
included a nondisclosure provi-
sion. But after his attacks came
to light, the organization faced
criticism for effectively cover-
ing up Nassar’s behavior by
gagging Maroney, and it said
that it would not enforce the
silence clause.
The cases against Nassar
have played a crucial role in
intensifying scrutiny of the use
of nondisclosure agreements
in abuse and harassment cases.
Such NDAs have historically
been ubiquitous—notably in
agreements involving abuse in
the Catholic Church. In the pri-
vate sector, the Vanderbilt Law
Review points to data showing
over one-third of the American
workforce is subject to NDAs.
There, critics note, nondisclo-
sure language originally in-
tended to protect trade secrets
has been stretched to curb an
employee’s right to speak out
about workplace issues includ-
ing sexual harassment.
“So much has been shielded
by confidentiality,” says Minna
J. Kotkin, a professor at Brook-
lyn Law School and director
of its Employment Law Clinic.
“We’re just beginning to know
the start.”
The fact that many MSU
settlements didn’t require
NDAs reflects a broader shift in
“THERE IS A
COMPLETE
REFUSAL ...
TO ADMIT
WHAT WENT
WRONG AND
T O DE A L
WITH IT.”
OUTFOX
THE
WOLVES
ON
WALL
STREET.
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