Olympic Gymnast Aly Raisman Reveals Sexual Abuse by Team Doctor Larry Nassar
Six-time Olympic medalist Aly Raisman is the latest U.S. gymnast to allege that she was sexually abused by Larry Nassar, who worked as the women’s gymnastics national team doctor for decades.
Raisman is the second member of the 2012 Olympic gold-medal winning team to come forward with allegations against Nassar. McKayla Maroney detailed her story in a Twitter post last month. Raisman will discuss her experience with Nassar on 60 Minutes on Sunday, and details her experiences in her book Fierce, which will be released on Nov. 14.
Raisman, who is now 23, was 15 when first treated by Nassar, who is currently in jail awaiting sentencing after pleading guilty to three federal child pornography charges in July. He faces 22 state charges in Michigan and has been sued by more than 130 women in civil lawsuits filed by gymnasts and other athletes he treated while working with USA Gymnastics and while at Michigan State University. Those suits claim he sexually abused athletes under the guise of medical treatment.
In her interview with 60 Minutes, Raisman says she spoke to FBI investigators about Nassar after competing at the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro in 2016. On the eve of the Games, The Indianapolis Star had revealed that USA Gymnastics had a policy of not reporting sexual abuse complaints unless they were filed by the victims themselves or by a parent.
Raisman is advocating changes at USA Gymnastics, the sport’s governing body, which is responsible for selecting world and Olympic teams and whose members include gyms around the country. “I am angry,” she says on the program. “I just want to create change so [that young girls] never, ever have to go through this.”
In a statement responding to Raisman’s comments, USA Gymnastics says it has adopted new policies that require “mandatory reporting” if sexual abuse is suspected. “USA Gymnastics is very sorry that any athlete has been harmed…we want to work with Aly and all interested athletes to keep athletes safe.”
