Raisman disappointed in USA Gymnastics
Three- time Olympic gold medalist Aly Raisman criticized USA Gymnastics and the U. S. Olympic Committee for their response to the sport’s sexual abuse crisis, saying she feels as if they’re more concerned about sweeping it under the rug or protecting themselves legally than making sure it never happens again.
In a joint interview with USA TODAY Sports and the Associated Press on Saturday, Raisman said revelations of widespread abuse by longtime team physician Larry Nassar and the reaction by the governing bodies has colored how she views her sport.
“The people at the very top, that work at the office every single day at USA Gymnastics, they need to do better,” Raisman said.
“It’s making me sad,” she added. “I’m here to support my teammates because we got inducted to the Hall of Fame and I’m here to support the girls who are competing. I love the Olympics, I love gymnastics, I love the sport.
“But I don’t support how USA Gymnastics is handling everything right now.”
Nassar pleaded guilty last month to federal child pornography charges and faces 22 to 27 years in prison when he’s sentenced Nov. 27. He still faces 33 charges of criminal sexual conduct in Michigan and has been sued by more than 125 women and girls who said Nassar sexually abused them during medical appointments.
USA Gymnastics has been named in some lawsuits and the USOC is a party in at least one, accused of not doing enough to protect gymnasts from the abuse. After a far- reaching review of the federation’s practices, former federal prosecutor Deborah Daniels said USA Gymnastics needed a “complete cultural change,” putting the priority on the safety and well- being of athletes rather than world and Olympic medals.
“It doesn’t matter if you’re the Olym- pic champion or you’re an 8- year- old that goes to gymnastics in Ohio, or wherever you are in the United States,” Raisman said. “Every single kid is important, and I want USA Gymnastics to do a bet- ter job with that.”
Raisman declined to detail her interactions with Nassar, and she said she waited until now to speak out in part because she’d been hoping to see substan- tive efforts to change by USA Gymnastics or the USOC.
So far, though, she has been disappointed.
“I just would like a little more accountability from USA Gymnastics and the USOC,” she 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 to change.’ ”
USA Gymnastics adopted all 70 recommendations made by Daniels and is in the process of implementing them. It also hired a director of SafeSport, who will coordinate education efforts for the federation.
But Raisman said she was never contacted by Daniels or heard from anyone at SafeSport. Daniels said after her report was released that she did not review past cases to see where USA Gymnastics failed.
“It can’t just be about we’re making sure the athletes feel safe now. It has to be going back and apologizing and going to these families and going to all these gymnasts and saying, ‘ What made you feel unsafe? What can we do for the next generation?’ ” Raisman said. “They need to be calling up all of these people that have come forward and say, ‘ Can you please help us and tell us what part of it was wrong? What part made you feel unsafe? What could we do differently?’
“You can’t really create change unless you ask the other gymnasts that have come before, what can they do to help?”
While Jamie Dantzscher, a bronze medalist at the Sydney Olympics who has said she was abused by Nassar, has spoken out publicly, Raisman is the highest- profile athlete to level criticism. She won three medals each at the London and Rio Games and appeared on Dancing With the Stars.
“It’s important to speak up for something and it’s right,” she said. “More people need to talk about it, and I just feel that it’s not getting enough attention in the sport. That’s what bothers me. I want these young girls to know. It should have never ever happened, and I think that needs to be discussed more.”