watching. go to sleep already. good night! ♪ this is "nightline." tonight, american nightmare. elite athletes striving for glory, but behind the bright lights and olympic medals, disturbing allegations. >> dr. nassar was in my room late at night, giving me treatments in my own bed. >> teem usa's trusted physician now charged with years of sexual crimes, accused of preying on some younger than 13. >> he asked me not to wear underwear. i thought that was a little bit weird. >> questions tonight about what went on at the famed karolyi ranch. plus, tank sinatra, he might seem like a regular guy, but he's amassed an army of instagram followers with hilarious posts, but cyber

comedy is not easy. inside the making of a viral sensation. and cat and house. they're having a hair ball in their custom-made two-story home, for an all animal reality show. who set this up and why are they doing this? but first tonight the "nightline" 5. and number

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♪ good evening and thank you for joining us. shocking allegations tonight against the former head physician of the u.s. women's olympic gymnastics team, accused of sexually assaulting young girls in his care over a period of 19 years. allegations of an extraordinary abuse of power against girls too young to understand what was happening to them and afraid to peek speak out. but now strengthened by one another, the accusers are coming forward in droves. >> he was helping me get to my olympic dream, something i've been dreaming about since i was 3 years old. i didn't even question it. >> reporter: in 2000, jamie dancer took home a brans medal for team usa gymnastics. a shining triumph. but behind it, she says, a painful secret. >> me personally, he did touch my breasts.

underneath my t-shirt. >> reporter: for young gymnasts with olympic dreams, dr. larry nassar was like a god. the official physician for team usa. >> squeeze, hips flat. >> he was the absolute best and i was very lucky, i was very honored to be able to see him. >> reporter: but now athletes from around the country are coming forward to say they now realize he sexually abused them all under the guise of medical treatment. >> i just remember he asked me not to wear underwear, and to wear loose shorts. and i thought that was a little bit weird. >> reporter: earlier today nassar was charged with 22 counts of criminal sexual conduct in michigan, five of which relate to victims who are under 13 years old. the charges relate to nasser's time in the state where he was a faculty member at michigan state university. he pleaded not guilty. >> this guy is despicable, this guy is disgusting and he's a

monster. >> reporter: nassar was team usa's head physician for 19 years. you can see him here helping kerri strug in this iconic moment after she injured her ankle vaulting in the 1996 olympics. >> when did you first meet dr. nassar? >> i had just finished world championships at the age of 15. and through most of that year, i had extreme hip pain to the point where i would wake up in the mork unable to walk. >> jessica howard was the u.s. national champion in rhythmic gymnast ikz from 1999 to 2001, she said she met nassar at the famed karolyi ranch outside houston. run by legendary coaches bella and martha karolyi, they've coach said ten champions, including greats bike simone biles and nadia comaneci. during team usa's training

season, the young athletes lived on the ranch where nassar treated them. >> you come from an entire environment of silence and strength and -- >> doing what you're told? >> doing what you're told. obedience, and i just did what i was told. >> so you showed up in your shorts and no underwear and you laid on the table. what happened next? >> he began massaging my quads and my i.t. bands. and then he got closer and closer, you know, to more intimate areas and then he penetrated me. >> did he say anything to you when he was doing that? >> no. but i remember feeling rigid on the table. just very uncomfortable. >> reporter: what were you thinking? >> i was thinking, what's happening? um, i was the most innocent 15-year-old you could find. like i was so trusting. so it didn't even go through my head that this man could be

hurting me. >> when he first did the procedure, we'll call it, i was either 13 or 14. >> dancer said she met him when she made the gymnastic team, seeking treatment for back pain. >> he used to do a lot of soft tissue massages exercises, he said there was a procedure to get my hips back in alignment when he would put his fingers into me vaginally, and i don't know how i wasn't uncomfortable, but just being a kid and being a little girl and being in such an intense environment, i was so miserable, because i felt like i got in trouble every day for something else. i had no idea back then that he was doing something wrong. >> you think of gymnastics, you think of the happiness, the joy, the medals won, the nation cheering for these young athletes, and then to hear this awful, disgusting, appalling story, it's just beyond

troubling. it's one of the worst things we've seen in u.s. olympic history. >> reporter: more than 60 women and girls have filed complaints against dr. nassar. some are also suing coaches bella and martha karolyi, saying they created an environment at their ranch that gave nassar the opportunity to abuse young gymnasts. >> they created an atmosphere with intimidation, fear, and control. we weren't really allowed to talk. they controlled what we ate, when we spoke. >> dr. nassar wasn't just alone with these girls, he was alone with them in their sleeping quarters, not just at the ranch, but at venues all over the world where they went to compete upon. >> california attorney john manly represents many of the accusers. >> what nassar did was came in with a sunny personality, i'm a nice man, you can trust me, gave the kids candy, listened to their problems, and they liked him, and they trusted him. and he used that trust to

disguise sexual assault as medical treatment. >> he was very nice and he was on the gymnasts' side. he cared about what you were going through. so he was kind of a break from all of the endless, you know, negativity that you dealt with on a daily basis. he was a friend. >> reporter: a spokesman said they denied the existence of a toxic environment and the karolyis say they were never aware he would be performing any procedures that are now the subject of the present litigation. many are asking questions about how the doctor had so much access to some of the most elite young athletes in the country for so many years. >> this shines an incredible light on the vulnerability of these young athletes. >> we're on the elite national team, we're training at the world and the olympic level. your parents don't go with you. and they trusted usa gymnastics to make sure that they were protecting us. dr. nassar was in my room late at night, giving me treatment in

my own bed. >> reporter: her lawsuit like some others, also names usa gymnastics, claiming they failed to protect her. in a statement, usa gymnastics said they were outraged that a physician would exploit his patients in the alleged manner and reiterated they dismissed dr. nassar when they learned of the accusations and reported him to the fbi. both dans zer and howard tell us it took them years to come to grips with what they say dr. nassar did to them and to decide to speak out. do you have any desire to face him? >> i don't know if i could, at this point. um, but again, i find strength in the fact that there are so many others that have come forward. and i believe that together we could face him easily. and show him that we are not victims anymore. we are not innocent children, and we can fight back now. >> i also have six nieces and majority of them do gymnastics

and i couldn't live with the fact that this could happen to them if i didn't say anything. i just couldn't live with that. >> today the michigan attorney general says they'll be seeking the longest possible sentence against larry nassar. each first-degree charge punishable by up to life in prison. he'll also have to face several civil lawsuits, including dan zer's and howard's. >> when somebody sacrifices their childhood and adolescence to compete for their country in the olympic games, and we watch them and we see the smiles, they want people to know behind those smiles is a tremendous amount of pain that shouldn't be there, and the adults at usa gymnastics are responsible for that. and they need to make that righrigh right. >> what do you want to see happen to dr. nassar? >> i want him to spend the rest of his life in prison. the number of people that have

come forward, the things he's done, are an affront to basic human rights. >> for "nightline," i'm linzie janis in new york. next, long island memium, on what it takes to get instagram comedy to go viral. and later, it might look like fur and games, but this cat reality show has a very serious purpose. and this is the lobster party. red lobster's lobsterfest is back with 9 irresistible lobster dishes. yeah, it's a lot. try tender lobster lover's dream and see how sweet a lobster dream can be. or pick two delicious lobster tails with new lobster mix and match. the only thing more tempting than one succulent lobster tail, is two. is your mouth watering yet? good. because there's something for everyone, and everyone's invited. so come in today.

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tank sinatra has a million

followers. why is he working a day job? he said accepting cash on his account would be a betrayal of his fans. here's our sorries social stars. >> we're going to make a meme. >> okay. i'll have the human breast. >> that's funny. >> when you run away from home for attention and you get it. >> reporter: he's the social media sensation behind one of the most hilarious instagram accounts with over 800,000 followers. >> when your girlfriend finds tank sinatra. >> good one. >> reporter: george resh, better known as tank sinatra is the last guy you'd ever expect to find internet fame. this father of two from suburban long island has a knack for turning the most simple picture into comedic gold. >> i look at thousands of pictures a day.

>> and how many do you end up choosing of those thousands? >> i usually post between four and six times a day. >> reporter: like this image of bill and hillary clinton walking into the inauguration. >> when you're fighting in the car the entire way to the restaurant and now you gotta go in and act like it's all good. or this apt description of lady gaga's epic super bowl half-time performance and that feeling we've all had after spending a little too much around the holidays. he's part of a growing number of people finding success creating and sharing viral memes on the internet. >> what is a meme? >> a meme today is basically a concept or an idea that spreads across a culture or society. if there's a non-human object like a dog that's expressing something that could be construed as a human emotion, i'll gravitate towards that. >> reporter: the internet is a weird and wonderful place. it can be hard to pinpoint the ingredients. what catches people's attention?

>> this is like the more true to form definition of a meme. something like salt bae. ♪ ♪ >> he was just doing his thing. he was just being who he was, and somebody saw is that video and was like, whoa. there was a picture of him with leonardo dicaprio. i feel like leo had to see what this guy was doing. >> reporter: another contender for biggest meme celebrity of 2017 so far. this 13-year-old guest on the dr. phil show. now notoriously known as the catch me outside girl. >> catch me outside, how about that. >> her video has been viewed hundreds of millions of times, and has even been the inspiration for remixes like

this one. >> the juxtaposition of her being who she was with dr. phil being who he was, i think that's what made that so funny. >> as i quickly learned, creating original meme humor is harder than you might think. >> this is good. i like this. >> there's so much expression going on. >> i would say, this is like, when my husband asks, are you mad? >> when you try and console her and tell her to calm down at the same time. it can't be three words, but it can't be a hundred words. i like to give a situation and then the way you would feel about it. >> reporter: george has had a life-long love for making people laugh. evening dipping his toes into stand-up comedy a decade ago. >> a pretty funny story about -- >> reporter: but it was short-lived, deciding to pursue a decidedly unfunny career instead. >> i sell fence for a fence company that my friend started. i have a lot of downtime. i'm waiting for appointments, an

appointment just finished. i'm in the car the majority of the day. >> reporter: so is that where you come up with these memes? >> that's where i'm making them, yeah. >> reporter: two years ago, his page caught the eye of the fat jewish who quickly started reposting tank's original content, including this homage to beyonce. >> i got a thrill out of it and i wanted that feeling more. >> reporter: instagrammers like the fat jewish and others have built lucrative businesses around their accounts, posting advertisements and endorsing products. >> let's talk about the money. because people are trying to figure out how to monetize the huge followings they have. >> the offers are not so attractive that i can't say no. >> what are you getting? >> 1500 bucks, a thousand bucks. >> for you to post their products? >> their contents. >> reporter: besides a thousand dollars a week, he says he's

turned down most advertising offers. >> if i'm taking that trust that i built with my followers and i'm totally violating that by throwing up an ad for something that has nothing to do with me, i feel like it's not worth the money for me. >> reporter: but he has received some cool perks along the way. after posting a meme about red bull, the company began sending him free cases of the drink. >> thank you. >> reporter: there's one thing he'll be promoting for sure, his new book. tell me about the new book. happy is the new rich. >> the book is essentially a collection of thoughts. i was never like obsessed with making more money or getting a bigger house or getting nicer clothes. my thing was always, how can i enjoy what i have more now? that's why this page has come to mean so much now. i feel like giving people an escape even for a second is a service that i can provide.

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and finally here tonight, "the bachelor" is not the only reality show where the contestants roll around on the yard together. >> don't be [ bleep ] rude! >> tired of the kardashians and keeping up with their cat fight? >> i'll hurt you. >> don't do that. >> now you can keep up with a new kind of cat fight. meet the cat-dashians. four felines living it up in this over-sized doll house. the live stream is helping the icelandic cat lovers society find forever homes for these four-legged friends. these rescue kittens are capturing the hearts of thousands on the internet, but they're not the first cats, of course, to go viral. take tebow the cat and his

hammock experiences. or cotton ball who likes to hide in jars. and of course we cannot leave out grumpy cat. keeping up with the cat-dashians is putting a new spin on the tried and true cat video, real life cuteness with real-world stakes. thank you for watching abc news tonight. as always, we're online 24/7 at abc news.com and our our "nightline" facebook page. thanks again for watching and goodnight.