Olympic gold medalist Aly Raisman filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Olympic Committee and USA Gymnastics on Wednesday, March 1, stating that both organizations knew that team doctor Larry Nassar was sexually abusing her and other athletes.
“At this time, they remain willing to conduct a full investigation, and without a solid understanding of how this happened, it is delusional to think sufficient changes can be implemented,” the 23-year-old said in a statement obtained by NBC News on Friday. “I refuse to wait any longer for these organizations to do the right thing. It is my hope that the legal process will hold them accountable.”
Raisin’s complaint, filed in California, claims that she was molested at at Karolyi Ranch National Training Center in Texas, at competitions and during the London Olympics in 2012, per ABC News.
The disgraced former physician, 54, was sentenced up to 175 years in prison on January 24 for sexually abusing scores of girls under the guise of treatment.
Raisman confronted Nassar from the stand at his trial in Lansing, Michiga, days before his sentencing, joining more than 150 victims who spoke or provided statements in court. During her 13-minute statement, the six-time medalist addressed Nassar directly. “Larry, you do realize now that we, this group of some you so heartlessly abused over such a long period of time, are now a force and you are nothing? The tables have turned, Larry,” she told him in January. “We have our voices, and we aren to going anywhere.”
In the wake of the sentencing the entire board of USA Gymnastics has resigned. The president and athletic director of Michigan State University, where Nassar worked, also stepped down.
While speaking to Us Weekly on January 31, Raisman called the lack of accountability on the part of USA Gymnastics, the U.S. Olympic Committee and Michigan State University “disrespectful,” “disgusting” and “scary.”
She added: “Those three organizations, they did not handle it correctly. So it’s very concerning.”
