Larry Nassar was sometimes arrogant, sometimes nervous, during only interview on sex abuse

I’ve conducted somewhere around 10,000 interviews in my 40 years as a journalist, but one in particular has been on my mind lately.

It was my Sept. 12, 2016, face-to-face meeting with longtime USA Gymnastics team doctor Larry Nassar.

The reflection was spurred by days of raw, emotional testimony over the last week in a Michigan courtroom. More than 100 amazingly strong women detailed the physical and mental struggles they experienced after being sexually assaulted by Nassar under the guise of medical treatment.

Their horror stories have been covered live on TV and spread across the Internet, attracting worldwide attention to what many are calling the worst sex abuse scandal in American sports. Nassar, a 54-year-old physician who also worked at Michigan State University, faces up to 125 years in prison. And whatever sentence he receives won’t even begin until he completes a 60-year sentence handed down last month in a federal child porn case.

I was part of the IndyStar investigative team, along with Mark Alesia and Marisa Kwiatkowski, that first exposed Nassar’s crimes in a story published Sept. 13, 2016. To the best of my knowledge, I was the first — and still the only — journalist to interview Nassar about the sexual abuse allegations.

Nassar came to our attention about a month before the interview. It was Aug. 4, 2016. That was the same day we published a story revealing USA Gymnastics officials kept sexual abuse complaint files on scores of coaches, but failed to report many of those allegations to law enforcement. It was part of an internal executive policy.

Among the many gymnasts who contacted us in the days after that story ran were three who wanted to share stories about a “treatment” they received from Nassar as minors struggling with sports injuries. Looking back now, the young women told us, they were convinced they had been sexually assaulted.

Hearing their remarkably similar accounts, we set out to see if there was something to the story. My job was to learn about Nassar’s alleged use of an invasive, intravaginal procedure, then try to arrange an interview with the gymnastics and sports medicine icon.

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After talking to medical experts and spending hours reading medical literature on the Internet, I reached out to Nassar on Sept. 6, 2016. I started by calling the Michigan State University clinic where Nassar worked. A receptionist said he wasn’t there and didn’t know when he would return.

My next option was to send emails to Nassar at both his MSU and personal accounts. I didn’t expect a response. So when I checked my email the next morning, I was surprised to see two messages from Nassar in my inbox.

“I am very sorry for what has occurred with this misunderstanding of my medical care. It saddens me greatly to think that these gymnasts feel I offended them when I was trying to help them,” the first said.

“I think it would be best for us to meet and discuss this so you have a good understanding of these procedures. I would like to meet at my house next week, Thursday morning at 9:30 am if that works for you. I would like the meeting to be private between you and I to openly discuss this.”

The second email from Nassar was sent about an hour after the first.

“My wife told me this morning that I should talk to my lawyer first about our meeting and meet with the lawyer instead of at our house. That may be best. OK? Larry.”

I quickly wrote back to Nassar. I offered to meet him that night or the next day. I also sent Nassar my cell phone number. Later that afternoon, Nassar’s then-attorney, Matthew Borgula, called me. He wanted to know more about the allegations and discuss the possibility of an interview. I asked for a few minutes to gather the team and our editors in a conference room, then called Borgula back.

By then, Borgula told us, he and Nassar were aware that one of the women who contacted us also had filed a complaint with MSU police.

“He may be willing to talk to you,” Borgula said. “There is a serious risk of destroying this man’s reputation just based on the mere allegations of some sort of sexual assault.”

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Borgula, who had been hired to look into allegations surrounding Nassar's departure from USA Gymnastics and communicate the doctor's position, declined to comment Monday citing attorney-client privilege.

It's not clear what the attorney knew at that time, but his willingness to make Nassar available for an interview suggests he didn't know the full story.

But in that call, Borgula issued the first of what would be several denials on behalf of Nassar. He said that the doctor said he never used any procedure involving vaginal penetration. I told him that claim was contrary to what the three women alleged.

“He adamantly denies any wrongdoing. He adamantly denied any intravaginal examinations and he’s never had any type of an exam or procedure done on a minor without the mother present,” Borgula said.

Months later Nassar would plead guilty to penetrating underage athletes. And testimony last week revealed he often treated girls alone in hotel rooms and training rooms.

But that wasn’t the story Nassar was telling in 2016. “He’s a well-respected doctor,“ Borgula said. “He’s had thousands of patients. He’s been honored in various different capacities and he feels like he’s being thrown in with other investigations that have nothing to do with him. So I appreciate you giving him the opportunity to respond.”

The conversation ended with an invitation to meet with Nassar and Burgola at the attorney’s office in Grand Rapids. I again suggested the next day, which was a Thursday, but Borgula said he was tied up the rest of week. He said we could meet the following Monday.

“I want him to have a chance to respond before you put his name in that paper,” Borgula said, “because he’s adamant he’s done nothing wrong and he thinks this is going to destroy his career.”

That Monday, I left home at 6 a.m. for the drive to Grand Rapids to meet Nassar and his attorney at Borgula’s office. My colleagues were busy working other angles.

The Nassar I encountered wasn’t the broken man the world saw last week, head down in a courtroom listening to dozens of victims describe how his abuse ripped apart their innocent, young lives. He was not the same man who wrote the judge a six-page letter complaining about the emotional distress he experienced listening to the survivors.

I saw the confident Larry Nassar, buoyed by a reputation as a caring miracle-worker. I saw the charismatic doctor, a man with a legion of adoring supporters. I saw the smooth Nassar, a master manipulater who had convinced police and university officials that earlier complaints were misunderstandings — and went on molesting young girls.

At times in the about 30 minutes we were together, he came off almost arrogant. That was particularly true as he tried to convince me the "misunderstanding" was the result of the women’s ignorance of his sophisticated medical work. His demeanor didn’t come as a surprise. Nassar was revered in gymnastics and highly regarded internationally as a sports medicine physician.

But at other times, I picked up a different vibe. When we first met, Nassar essentially pleaded that we not write a story. He even indicated he could provide dirt on USA Gymnastics officials. As we talked, particularly when he wasn’t directing the conversation, Nassar came off as much more socially awkward. Faced with a question, he would stammer. His eyes fluttered. They’re the kind of nonverbal cues I look for during contentious interviews.

Still, I chalked up his odd countenance to the difficult circumstances. I was nervous, too. There I was telling a physician with an unblemished reputation that we were about to publish a story making serious, criminal allegations.

At that time, I didn’t have the benefit of the knowledge the following 16 months would provide. Today, aware that Nassar knew he had committed the crimes we were about to expose — and that he had previously faced and quietly eluded similar allegations — his behavior makes more sense.

Former USA Gymnastics doctor accused of abuse

When we met in a conference room in Borgula’s office, Nassar had a stack of medical books, magazines and a laptop. Before agreeing to answer questions on the record, Nassar asked to show me a video. He said it was one of many he had made for training purposes. He said he hoped it would help me better understand the medical procedure the three women had misconstrued as a sexual assault.

The video focused on the backside of what appeared to be a young girl. She was lying down, wearing underwear. Nassar worked his hand between her legs, massaging the girl’s buttocks and inner thighs. His hands slowly worked deeper into her crotch, but I never saw any penetration.

Nassar appeared at ease as he started to explain what he was doing. But the presentation was interrupted when my phone pinged with a text message that would end up derailing the interview.

My colleagues’ text confirmed a lawsuit had been filed against Nassar in California. The way I saw it, I had an ethical duty to tell the doctor and Borgula. With this new development, I asked, did they want to continue with the interview?

Borgula asked for a copy of the lawsuit. I forwarded him a copy one of my colleagues had sent to me. Nassar and his attorney then left the interview room to review the new allegations from a former Olympian.

I waited alone for about 15 minutes before they returned. Although the victim was identified only as Jane Doe, the background in the court record about her Olympic involvement was enough for them to know who she was. Nassar said he couldn’t believe the woman would make such allegations. He said he had a plaque in his office that she sent him as a thank-you gift after the 2000 Olympics.

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In light of the lawsuit, Borgula cut off the interview. Nassar would not be allowed to talk, but the attorney said he would make a statement addressing the allegations.

“He denies all the allegations. He’s never heard these allegations before. No one from law enforcement, any other regulatory body, USA Gymnastics, any individuals, parents — no one has ever suggested Dr. Nassar has done anything in any context with either this gymnast or any other that he’s aware of. This is the first time anyone’s ever made such an allegation related to USA Gymnastics,” Borgula said.

Again, this would be proven wrong. Others had complained.

Borgula and Nassar parted ways not long after our interview. The split came after federal authorities served a search warrant at the embattled doctor's home and found 37,000 images of child pornography.

As I gathered my notebook and recorder, it was clear the lawsuit rattled Nassar. His eyes were watery, and he was trembling as I shook his hand and said goodbye. My last memory of the encounter was Nassar pleading for me to be fair and to consider the harm a story could do to his reputation and family.

After I left, I drove to a parking lot of a nearby office building and called back to Indianapolis to share the little my interview had yielded.

Our story was published on the Internet that afternoon and in the Indianapolis Star the following morning. We were immediately bombarded with phone calls and emails from Nassar’s supporters. They vociferously defended him, while questioning our motives, ethics and truthfulness.

Here's one of many examples: "... I am 150% sure that he is innocent, and I do not appreciate the one-sided reporting on this issue. Please, I urge you to look beyond making money by writing scandalous stories and consider the huge, unfair negative affect this is having on an innocent man's life. These false allegations bring me and my family so much sorrow. Please listen and also report on the many, many people who are coming to this man's defense. By focusing on these false allegations, you are doing good to no one." 

Since then, more than 150 women have come forward to say Nassar sexually abused them. Many of those survivors are sharing their stories in the courtroom where Nassar will learn his fate later this week.

And I’ll be watching.

Tim Evans is an investigative reporter at IndyStar. Contact him at (317) 444-6204 or tim.evans@indystar.com. And follow him on Twittter: @starwatchtim