Raisman calls for changes

ANAHEIM — Aly Raisman is ready to talk about “the elephant in the room.” And the six-time Olympic medal-winning gymnast thinks it’s time USA Gymnastics makes some sweeping changes in the wake of dozens of allegations of sexual abuse by former national-team doctor Larry Nassar.

The scandal has left one of the U.S. Olympic movement’s marquee programs scrambling and Raisman, 23, shaken. Now, she is the highest-profile athlete to publicly reprimand the organization.

Raisman, who was around Nassar regularly 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 call 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.”

“I feel like there are a lot of articles about it, but nobody has said, ‘This is horrible, this is what we’re doing to change,’ ” Raisman said Saturday shortly after she and other members of the “Final Five” that won team gold at the 2016 Olympics were inducted into the USA Gymnastics Hall of Fame.

USA Gymnastics said in a statement that 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. Men set world team: Two-time Olympian Sam Mikulak and 2016 bronze medalist Alex Naddour both overcame injuries to make the six-man 2017 worldchampionship team announced Sunday. Donnell Whittenburg, an alternate on the 2016 Olympic team and a two-time worldchampionship team member, also made the squad that will travel to Montreal in October.

Yul Moldauer, who won the all-around title at the U.S. championships on Saturday, made his first world-championship team. Eddie Penev and Marvin Kimble also will compete for the Americans.