Olympian gymnast Aly Raisman has blasted USA Gymnastics for sweeping the allegations of sexual abuse from a former team doctor under the rug.
Raisman is calling for change in the organization in the wake of the scandal surrounding Larry Nassar, who spent nearly 30 years as an osteopath with the USA Gymnastics program.
Nassar is currently in prison for pleading guilty to possession of child pornography and is accused of sexually assaulting more than 125 women under the guise of treatment.
Raisman, 23, who was around Nassar regularly, labeled the doctor as ‘a monster’ on Saturday.
The six-time Olympic medal winner blames USA Gymnastics for failing to stop him and spending too much of the fallout attempting to ‘sweep it under the rug.’
Olympian Aly Raisman (left) blasted USA Gymnastics on Saturday, claiming the program swept the sex abuse scandal surrounding Larry Nassar (right) under the rug. Nassar, who spent nearly 30 years with USA Gymnastics, is accused of sexually assaulting more than 125 women under the guise of treatment
Nassar is currently in prison in Michigan after pleading guilty to possession of child pornography in July.
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.
The disgraced doctor has pleaded not guilty to the assault charges and the dozens of civil suits filed in Michigan are currently in mediation.
Raisman, who was around Nassar at the team’s training facility in Texas and at meets around the globe, declined to talk about whether she was treated improperly by Nassar.
She did agree to speak more generally and called Nassar ‘a monster’ and blames USA Gymnastics for failing to stop him and spending too much of the fallout attempting to ‘sweep it under the rug.’
Raisman said: ‘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, 23, who was around Nassar regularly at the team’s training facility in Texas and at meets around the globe, labeled the doctor as ‘a monster’
Nassar is currently in prison in Michigan after pleading guilty to possession of child pornography in July
Raisman had a wide-ranging interview shortly after she and other members of the ‘Final Five’ who won team gold at the 2016 Olympics were inducted into the USA Gymnastics Hall of Fame.
Raisman served as a captain for both the ‘Final Five’ and the ‘Fierce Five’ that won gold in London in 2012.
While several alleged Nassar victims have come forward, including 2000 Olympic bronze medalist Jamie Dantzscher, Raisman is the highest profile athlete yet to publicly reprimand the organization.
Raisman said she kept quiet waiting after the initial allegations surfaced last summer, waiting for USA Gymnastics to own up to its mistakes.
While it is taking steps toward creating a safer environment for its athletes, she doesn’t believe it is doing nearly enough openly enough, adding she feels USA Gymnastics is trying to get on with business as usual.
Larissa Boyce (left), now 36, revealed how she was one of the first to accuse Team USA Gymnastics doctor Larry Nassar of sexual abuse when she was 16 years old (right), but she was ignored for decades before dozens of other victims came forward
Raisman said: ‘What people don’t realize is that this doctor was a doctor for 29 years.
‘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.
Sydney Olympics bronze medalist Jamie Dantzscher (pictured) was first seen by Nassar at age 13. Detailing her alleged abuse by Nassar, she said: ‘He would put his fingers inside of me and move my leg around’
US national rhythmic gymnastics champion Jessica Howard (right) and US team gymnast Jeanette Antolin (left) have also alleged abuse at the hands of Nassar
The organization also named Toby Stark, a child welfare advocate, as its director of SafeSport. Part of Stark’s mandate is educating members on rules, educational programs, reporting and adjudication services.
USA Gymnastics said in a statement late 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.
Daniels said repeatedly when her review was published in June that she wasn’t hired to make judgments on past missteps, something that doesn’t fly with Raisman.
She pointed to the reported $1million severance package given to former president Steve Penny after he resigned under pressure in March as proof that the organization just doesn’t get it.
‘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?”‘
Raisman said: ‘What people don’t realize is that this doctor was a doctor for 29 years. These girls, they should be comfortable going to USA Gymnastics and saying “I need help, I want therapy. I need this’
Lynn Raisman, Aly’s mother, said USA gymnastics needs to ‘get rid of the people who knew and looked the other way.’
Raisman has used her celebrity and extensive social media reach as a platform to promote positive body image and anti-bullying.
She’s currently living in Needham, Massachusetts working on her autobiography out in November while weighing whether to take a shot at the 2020 Games.
Either way, she wants USA Gymnastics to evolve and stressed there’s a difference between her criticism of USA Gymnastics and the sport as a whole.f
The sport is fine. She loves gymnastics. It’s the parent organization that needs to undergo a transformation. And she’s clear on the message she wants it to send.
‘Everyone is important,’ Raisman said. ‘It doesn’t matter if you’re the Olympic champion or you’re an 8-year-old that goes to gymnastics in Ohio, or wherever you are in the U.S. Every single kid is important and I want USA Gymnastics to do a better job with that.’