Olympic champion Aly Raisman attacks USA Gymnastics over sexual abuse case

Aly Raisman, the six-time Olympic medal winning gymnast, has called for sweeping change in USA Gymnastics in the wake of dozens of allegations of sexual abuse against former team doctor Larry Nassar, who she called a “monster”.

Nassar spent nearly 30 years as an osteopath with the USA Gymnastics program and is now in prison in Michigan after pleading guilty to possession of child pornography. Nassar is still awaiting trial on separate criminal sexual conduct charges in addition to being sued by over 125 women in civil court who claim he sexually assaulted them under the guise of treatment. Nassar has pleaded not guilty to the assault charges and the dozens of civil suits filed in Michigan are currently in mediation.

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Raisman, who was around Nassar regularly at the team’s training facility in Texas, declined to talk about whether she was treated improperly by Nassar. “I feel like there’s a lot of articles about it, but nobody has said, ‘This is horrible, this is what we’re doing to change,’” Raisman said on Saturday.

While USA Gymnastics is taking steps toward creating a safer environment for its athletes, Raisman doesn’t believe it is doing nearly enough openly enough.

“What people don’t realize is that this doctor was a doctor for 29 years,” Raisman. “Whether or not he did it to a gymnast, they still knew him. Even if he didn’t do it to you, it’s still the trauma and the anxiety of wondering what could have happened. I think that needs to be addressed. These girls, they should be comfortable going to USA Gymnastics and saying ‘I need help, I want therapy. I need this.’”

USA Gymnastics launched an independent review of its policies in the wake of the allegations against Nassar and reporting by the Indianapolis Star that highlighted chronic mishandling of abuse allegations against coaches and staff at some of its over 3,500 clubs across the country. In June the federation immediately adopted 70 recommendations proffered by Deborah Daniels, a former federal prosecutor who oversaw the review. The new guidelines require member gyms to go to authorities immediately, with Daniels suggesting USA Gymnastics consider withholding membership from clubs who decline to do so.

Raisman pointed to the reported $1m severance package given to former president Steve Penny after he resigned under pressure in March as proof that the organization has not handled the issue properly.

“I thought, ‘Wow, why couldn’t they create a program?’” Raisman said. “A million dollars is a lot of money. They could do a lot of things to create change. They could create a program. They could even contact all the families that have come forward and say ‘Can we help your kid with therapy?’”

Lynn Raisman, Aly’s mother, said USA gymnastics needs to “get rid of the people who knew and looked the other way.”

Aly Raisman stressed there’s a difference between her criticism of USA Gymnastics and the sport as a whole. “Everyone is important,” Raisman said. “It doesn’t matter if you’re the Olympic champion or you’re an eight-year-old that goes to gymnastics in Ohio, or wherever you are in the US. Every single kid is important and I want USA Gymnastics to do a better job with that.”

USA Gymnastics said in a statement late on Saturday it welcomes Raisman’s passion, adding it’s “appalled” by the accusations against Nassar. “We are taking this issue head-on, and we want to work with Aly and all interested athletes to keep athletes safe,” USA Gymnastics said.