https://www.cnn.com/2017/12/20/us/mckayla-maroney-lawsuit/index.html
Ray Sanchez 12/20/17 Ray Sanchez’s article told the heartbreaking story of Olympic gymnast McKayla Maroney’s sexual abuse by her team doctor Larry Nassar. The scandal first became public when Maroney joined the twitter tag #MeToo which began during the Harvey Weinstein sex scandal. The article was written to inform readers, and specifically young women who have faced sexual assault that speaking up is the right thing to do. The article maintained a warm tone in reference to the many gymnasts but a critical one when it came to Nassar. The author used informal diction throughout the article. He created feelings of bitter sympathy for Maroney and the other sexual assault victims using words such as “abuse of minors”,“medically necessary treatment", and “victims”. These word choices automatically pull at the heart strings, especially if the reader has young female family members or friends.The words showed the author’s sympathetic tone as well. However, Sanchez personally seemed to have little emotional attachment to the topic. Rhetorical devices that were heavily relied on are Ethos and Pathos. He uses these to appeal and persuade every part of the audience’s mind and shut down any possible criticisms that they may have. Firstly, Ethos was used by directly quoting Maroney’s verified twitter account on her experiences stating, “It seemed whenever and wherever this man could find the chance, I was 'treated'”. Sanchez also used snippets of the lawsuit that was filed against Nassar discussing the terms of the confidentiality agreement she had to sign, "I was forced to agree to a non-disparagement clause and confidentiality provision". Next, he used Pathos to make the reader sympathise with the long term abuse that went on in the victim's gymnastic world: “Maroney went public in October with allegations that Nassar repeatedly molested her, starting when she was 13 years old ”. The effects of these rhetorical devices came together to make a compelling argument in favor of McKayla and her family. The author’s tone was somewhat neutral, however sympathy for McKayla and a critical tone against Nassar was clearly present. Although testimonies were presented from both sides, the majority of opinions and details used in the article were clearly biased in favor of the young victim. For example, details of Nassar’s 60 year prison sentence and descriptions of the sexual misconduct as “horrific” illustrate this point. The purpose of the article was to inform the reader of the sexual abuse happening in Olympic gymnastics, specifically the victims of Larry Nassar. The entire article however was centered around the Maroney Case and the “treatments” she received from the age of 13 until she left the sport. Additionally, the article was an example for many young victims that sexual abuse happens all over the world and that speaking up is necessary. Considering that the author is a male, I found it very courageous of him to go out and write a condemning piece on sexual assault. Not only did he show zero sympathy for the abuser, he also showed a courageous example about standing up against sexual assault- something that I do not believe many men are comfortable doing.
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