Gold medal-winning gymnast Aly Raisman is one of the women who said disgraced doctor Larry Nassar sexually abused them, but when it came time for her to give a statement at his sentencing hearing Friday, she didn’t just criticize him. She also ripped into U.S. Gymnastics, and said the organization ignored the allegations against the defendant. Systematic changes were needed to understand how Nassar was able to get away with abusing women and girls for so many years.
“Now is not the time for false reassurances,” she said. “We need an independent investigation of exactly what happened, what went wrong, and how it can be avoided for the future. Only then can we know what changes are needed. Only then can we know what changes are real.”
U.S. gymnastics did not immediately respond to a Law&Crime request for comment.
Raisman also called out orgnization President Kerry Perry by name. Perry attended court on Wednesday, and released a statement in support of the women, but Raisman didnt’ buy it.
“Kerry, I have never met you, and I know you weren’t around for most of this, but you accepted the position of president and CEO of USA gymnastics and I assume by now you are very well aware of the weighty responsibility you’ve taken on,” she said. “Unfortunately, you’ve taken on an organization I feel is rotting form the inside, and while you may not be what you thought you were getting into, you will be judged by how you deal with it.”
U.S. Gymnastics recently announced cutting ties with Karolyi Ranch in Texas, where much abuse happened, but Raisman said that the organization wasn’t upfront about the fact that it still had athletes training there.
“Where is the honesty?” she said. “Where is the transparency?”
[Screengrab via Law&Crime]
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