See 'Today' Studio Audience Give Three Gymnasts Standing Ovation

In the wake of Larry Nassar’s 175-year prison sentence for his habitual sexual abuse of female [...]

By Kelsey Patterson

In the wake of Larry Nassar's 175-year prison sentence for his habitual sexual abuse of female athletes, the crowd at Megyn Kelly Today gave three brave survivors a standing ovation for their testimonies.

Rachael Denhollander, Mattie Larson and Kyle Stephens visited the NBC morning broadcast to discuss the molestation they endured at the hands of the former USA Gymnastics team doctor. The women gave victim statements during Nassar's seven-day sentencing hearing and shared their stories with Kelly on air Thursday.

To applaud their bravery and strength, the audience gave the women a roaring standing ovation.

During their conversation, Kelly spoke with Denhollander, the first victim to publicly allege sexual abuse by Nassar in 2016, about what it was like to watch more than 150 women and girls come forward with parallel claims.

"I cried — for two reasons," the former gymnast, now 32, said. "To see all of these women able to come forward and speak the truth the abuse that happened to them and to be able to out the shame and the blame back where it belongs, on their abuser, is an incredibly powerful thing to witness."

She said the "heartbreaking reality" was that many of the victims, herself included, were allegedly abused by the doctor after the first reports of sexual assault to Michigan State University, where Nassar performed many of his treatments.

Larson's testimony included an incident in which she purposefully slammed her head against a bathtub to avoid being sent to a training camp where Nassar was working as the staff doctor.

"I was like a shell of a child and I thought there was no way out. I really thought for the rest of my life I was just gonna be used and abused. He made me give up hope," she said.

In the interview, Stephens said Nassar tore her family apart — and even contributed to her father's suicide in 2016. Her dad defended Nassar following accusations against him, even when she came forward to allege her own story of abuse.

In her victim statement, Stephens said, "Had he not had to bear the shame and self-loathing that stemmed from his defense of Larry, I believe he would've had a fighting chance."

Like fellow gymnast Aly Raisman, who spoke Thursday with NBC's Hoda Kotb, the women expressed that blame should not only be placed on Nassar, but also on the organizations that allowed the years of abuse to continue, including USA Gymnastics, the U.S. Olympic Committee and Michigan State University.

Three members on the board at USA Gymnastics have stepped down following the scandal and the president of MSU resigned Wednesday, but Denhollander said that is not enough.

"I have this to say to the board of USAG: If you have to pay a private investigator to come in & tell you you need to report the sexual assault of a child, you have no business being on that board," she claimed, encouraging the entire board to resign.

Nassar was sentenced Wednesday to 40 to 175 years in prison for the sexual abuse of seven women. He reached a plea agreement that would allow no additional abuse charges to be issued against him, but as part of the agreement, he was forced to listen to the victim statements of any women who chose to come forward alleging abuse.

During the sentencing hearing, 156 women or their advocates read statements outlining the abuse they allegedly suffered at Nassar's hands

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