Olympic medalist Aly Raisman has become the latest member of the Us Women’s Gymnastics team to accuse Dr. Larry Nassar of sexual abuse.
The disgraced Nassar served as the team’s primary physician for several years.
He first treated Raisman when she was just 15 years old.
Raisman’s former teammate, McKayla Maroney, accused Nassar of sexual assault last month,
In an interview with 60 Minutes that’s set to air on Sunday night, Raisman describes her abuse and the ways in which she feels the US Gymnastics program failed Nassar’s victims:
“Why are we looking at why didn’t the girls speak up?” Raisman said in a clip released by CBS today.
“Why not look at what about the culture? What did USA Gymnastics do, and Larry Nassar do, to manipulate these girls so much that they are so afraid to speak up?”
Asked if she’s angry about the way she and her teammates have been treated, Raisman replied:
“I am angry. I’m really upset because it’s been — I care a lot, you know, when I see these young girls that come up to me, and they ask for pictures or autographs, whatever it is, I just — I can’t — every time I look at them, every time I see them smiling, I just think — I just want to create change so that they never, ever have to go through this.”
Now 23, Raisman achieved fame as a member of the “Fierce Five” team of American gymnasts that wowed audiences with their dominant performance at the 2012 Olympics.
Raisman competed again in the 2016 games, bringing her career medal count to six.
On October 18, Maroney first revealed the abuse she had suffered at Nassar’s hands in response to the trending “#MeToo” hashtag.
“It seemed whenever and wherever this man could find the chance, I was ‘treated.’ It happened in London before my team and I won the gold medal, and it happened before I won my silver,” Maroney said at the time.
She went on to describe one encounter with Nassar as “the scariest night of my life.”
Dozens of women have accused Nassar of sexual misconduct, and he is currently awaiting trial on 33 criminal charges, ranging from rape to possession of child pornography.
In a statement issued today, the US Gymnastics program praised Raisman for coming forward with her own account of Nassar’s abuse:
“In the last year, Aly has become an advocate for many issues, and sharing her personal experience of abuse takes great courage,” the statement reads.
“We are appalled by the conduct of which Larry Nassar is accused, and we are very sorry that any athlete has been harmed during her or his gymnastics career.”
The organization concluded:
“Aly’s passion and concern for athlete safety is shared by USA Gymnastics.”
We’ll have further updates on this story as more information becomes available.
