Aly Raisman filed a lawsuit against USOC and USA Gymnastics on Wednesday, claiming they didn’t do enough to protect her against Larry Nassar’s sexual abuse.
According to the lawsuit, Raisman stated that the organizations “knew or should have known” about Nassar’s inappropriate acts.
Nassar worked for USA Gymnastics for almost 30 years before he was fired in 2015 over allegations of his behavior. He worked at Michigan State University through the fall of 2016 before federal charges were filed against him. Raisman said USOC and USA Gymnastics let Nassar continue to sexually abuse athletes by failing to notify the university about his actions.
Raisman didn’t originally plan to go to court, but she said it felt like it was her duty to push forward because she believes USA Gymnastics and USOC didn’t do enough to protect athletes against Nassar.
“I refuse to wait any longer for these organizations to do the right thing,” Raisman said in a statement. “It is my hope that the legal process will hold them accountable and enable the change that is so desperately needed.”
USA Gymnastics has drastically reshaped their organization in the last year. Former president Steve Penny resigned last March and chairman of the board Paul Parilla and the rest of the board stepped down last January. USOC is currently conducting an independent review on former CEO Scott Blackmun to determine if he responded to the abuse allegations appropriately.
However, Raisman doesn’t think either organization is doing enough to protect future athletes.
“It has become painfully clear that these organizations have no intention of properly addressing this problem,” she said. “After all this time, they remain unwilling to conduct a full investigation, and without a solid understanding of how this happened, it is delusional to think sufficient changes can be implemented.”
Nassar was sentenced to 175 years in prison in January on seven counts of criminal sexual misconduct in the first degree. Raisman had a chance to address his actions that day.
“You are so sick, I can’t even comprehend how angry I feel when I think of you,” Raisman said during her sentencing statement. “The tables have turned Larry. We are here, we have our voices, and we are not going anywhere. And now, Larry, it’s your turn to listen to me.”
Nassar was sentenced in two other cases recently. In December 2017, the judge sentenced him to 60 years in prison for possession of child pornography. In early February, he received 40 to 125 years in prison for three more criminal sexual conduct cases.
To read more about sexual assault cases in the news, find more on Cohen & Cohen.
