Aly Raisman just destroyed the doctor who allegedly abused her and other gymnasts
Aly Raisman just called out not only the doctor who allegedly sexually abused her and a reported 150 other gymnasts, but also the athletic organizations that allowed him to continually violate countless girls for decades.
“You do realize now the women you so heartlessly abused over such a long period of time are now a force, and you are nothing,” Aly said at the beginning of her speech to the judge presiding over Nassar’s case..
Aly went on to describe meeting Nassar in Australia as a child, pointing out that she thought he was weird, but trusted him because she’d been taught to trust doctors.
“Imagine how it feels to be an innocent teenager from a foreign country hearing a knock on the door, and it’s you,” she said. “I don’t want you to be there, but I don’t have a choice. Treatments from you were mandatory and you took advantage of that… I wouldn’t allow myself to believe the problem was you.”
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She not only called out Nassar, but also the organizations that failed to stop him: USA Gymnastics and the US Olympic Committee. She added that they still haven’t apologized to her.
“I have represented the USA in two Olympics and have done so successfully,” she said, “and both USA Gymnastics and the US Olympic Committee have been very quick to capitalize and celebrate my success. But did they reach out when I came forward? No.”
No one really knows how many girls Nassar victimized, Aly pointed out, because so many adults in power convinced survivors that Nassar hadn’t actually abused them. If he had been stopped earlier, many girls and women would have been spared.
“If over these years just one adult listened and had the courage and character to act, this tragedy could have been avoided,” she said. “I and so many others would have never met you.”
Also, Nassar was so high up in the USA Gymnastics organization that he helped create policies designed to protect athletes, Aly said.
“This monster was also the architect of policies and procedures that are supposed to protect athletes from sexual abuse,” she said.
For this reason, Aly believes USA Gymnastics is “rotting from the inside,” adding that she “will not rest until every last trace of [Nassar’s] influence on this sport has been destroyed like the cancer it is.”
Dr. Larry Nassar pled guilty to 10 counts of first-degree criminal sexual conduct in November of last year. He’s also pled guilty to federal child pornography charges, and has been sentenced to 60 years in jail for those charges. He was the Olympic team’s physician since 1997.
He’s now in the middle of a four-day sentencing hearing for the criminal sexual conduct charges. During this time, his victims are reading statements to the judge presiding over his case. After hearing their statements, the judge will decide how to sentence Nassar — most likely, this will shake out with a lengthy jail sentence.
One more disgusting detail: Nassar tried to get out of the sentencing by saying it would be too mentally taxing to listen to the victims. The judge shot him down hard.
Aly said she was inspired to come forward after seeing so many other women speak of the abuse to the judge. Raisman’s fellow Olympic team members Simone Biles and McKayla Maroney have also come forward to allege that Nassar abused them.