As announced by her lawyers on Friday morning, the Olympic gymnast Aly Raisman has been reported to have sued the USA Gymnastics and the U.S. Olympic Committee over her alleged sexual abuse by Larry Nassar, the former Team USA gymnastics physician.
Raisman spent months requesting the USA Gymnastics and the U.S. Olympic Committee to get serious about giving a long hard look into the matter of how Larry Nassar’s abusive conduct was allowed to run unscrutinized for so long. Frustrated by lack of progress, she filed a lawsuit against both the organizations in California on Wednesday.
Larry Nassar, the claimed child molester, has been reportedly accused by more than 260 girls and women of sexual abuse. According to the filed lawsuit, he has assaulted Raisman numerous times between the years 2010 and 2015, including the period at the 2012 Summer Games in London, where Raisman had won two gold medals and a bronze medal as a member of the team known as the “Fierce Five.” Raisman’s former team members Gabby Douglas, Simone Bile, and McKayla Maroney also have claimed alleged sexual abuse by Nassar. McKayla Maroney to have sued the U.S. Olympic Committee and USA Gymnastics.
Raisman said in a statement that it has become prominent that these organizations have no intention of properly addressing the issue. She further added that without a solid understanding of how the things happened, it is delusional to think sufficient changes could be implemented and in the meantime, many young athletes continue to train and compete for every day in the same broken system.
The Olympic organization stated in writing that they were extremely sorry that any athlete had been hurt by the despicable crimes of the convicted Larry Nassar and that the USA Gymnastics is committed enough to doing everything it can to prevent the misconduct from taking place again by making bold decisions and abiding by the highest standards of care.
