and her teammates for mistakes they made in practice or competition. "In one word, I can say it was brutal", she told KCRA. Other Romanian team members, including Ecaterina Szabo and Rodica Dunca, as well as Géza Pozsár, the team choreographer who defected with the Károlyis, have made similar charges of physical abuse. When asked in 2008 to comment on the allegations, Béla said: "I ignore it. I'm not even commenting. These people are really trash." Role in sexual abuse scandal While Károlyi has not been personally implicated in the USA Gymnastics sex abuse scandal that was reported beginning in 2016, gymnasts said that many instances of sexual abuse perpetrated by former team doctor Larry Nassar occurred at the Karolyi Ranch. Nassar reportedly groomed athletes for abuse and gained their trust in part by covertly providing them with food in defiance of Károlyi's strict dietary guidelines. Some gymnasts also said that the strict discipline and conditions at the ranch made them feel inhibited from reporting Nassar's abuses. As a result of the scandal, in July 2017 USA Gymnastics cancelled its plans to buy Karolyi Ranch. In January 2018 USA Gymnastics announced they were cutting ties with Karolyi Ranch altogether. Books Television Béla Károlyi was in the episode "At the Edge of the Worlds", in the ABC Family show Make It or Break It. He portrayed Coach Sasha Belov's father. References Further reading External links Béla Karolyi's bio at USA Gymnastics Image of Karolyi carrying Kerri Strug "Bela Karolyi: World Renowned Gymnastics Coach", Shade Global, New York, NY (PDF version) 1942 births Living people Sportspeople from Cluj-Napoca American gymnastics coaches Romanian gymnastics coaches Romanian emigrants to the United States Romanian sportspeople of Hungarian descent American people of Hungarian-Romanian descent Romanian defectors Defectors to the United States Naturalized citizens of the United States