Simone Biles to USA Gymnastics: You Literally Had One Job and Didn't Protect Us
Four-time Olympic gold medalist Simone Biles is calling out USA Gymnastics in the aftermath of the Larry Nassar abuse scandal.
Biles, who is preparing for this weekend's U.S. Gymnastics Championships, got emotional on Wednesday when asked why she thinks it's important to keep speaking out about the scandal.
"It's hard coming here for an organization having had them fail us so many times," she said. "We had one goal and we did everything they asked us for, even when we didn't want to. And they couldn't do one damn job. You had one job. You literally had one job and you didn't protect us.
"And it's just really sad, every time I go to the doctor or training I get worked on, it's like I don’t want to get worked on," she added. "But my body hurts. I'm 22 and at the end of the day that's my fifth rotation. And I have to go through therapy but it's just hard and we try to work through it. It will take some time.
"I'm strong. I'll get through it. But it's hard."
Biles' words for USA Gymnastics come after her tweet on Sunday in response to a congressional report investigating the actions of USAG and the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee. The congressional panel concluded the negligence of the USOC and USAG enabled Nassar's abuse.
"The more I learn, the more I hurt," Biles said. "USAG failed us. USOC failed us. Many failed us."
Biles is one of more than 150 girls who were sexually abused by Nasser under the guise of medical treatment during his tenure with USAG and Michigan State. He was sentenced to 175 years of prison for his sexual abuse and sentenced to 60 years in federal prison for possession of child pornography.