ESPN reports that in a 60 Minutes interview to air Sunday, Raisman alleges she was abused by Nassar, who she started seeing when she was 15. The details of her abuse are covered in her upcoming book Fierce. Raisman has been calling on USA Gymnastics to change its leadership, which has been slow to make changes or acknowledge their culpability. She would like to see the chairman of the board, Paul Parilla, step down.
“I am angry,” Raisman told “60 Minutes.” “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.”
The organization gave a statement to 60 Minutes saying that it was “very sorry that any athlete has been harmed” and added “we want to work with Aly and all interested athletes to keep athletes safe.”
Investigations have revealed that USA Gymnastics has long enabled predators by failing to properly pursue allegations, and allowing accused abusers to circulate from gym to gym without proper vetting. The organization also never informed Michigan State University about the circumstances under which he left USA Gymnastics (concerns had been raised over inappropriate medical exams), allowing him to continue to work with young girls for years.
