Aly Raisman calls out USA Gymnastics once again
Ever since revealing this past November that she was sexually assaulted by disgraced former USA Gymnastics and Michigan State University physician Larry Nassar, two-time Olympic gymnast Aly Raisman has been on a verbal onslaught of the people and institutions that defended, enabled and protected the 55-year-old sexual predator.
Among these institutions is USA Gymnastics, and they have been at odds with the 24-year-old Needham, Massachusetts native over the last several months because of the fact that she constantly calls them out for various reasons pertaining to the fallout from the Nassar scandal.
Raisman is certainly not backing down in her fight to hold them accountable and to force them to create change so that nothing along the lines of what Nassar was able to do to more than 330 individuals is ever able to be done to anybody ever again.
Once again, Raisman called out and ripped the sport's governing body. Here is what the three-time Olympic gold medalist had to say this time, according to WCBV.
"USA Gymnastics needs to top saying it's the 'new' USA Gymnastics. You can't be the ‘new USA Gymnastics’ if you really don't care and you're not even reaching out. I'm very grateful that I am being heard, because I know there are so many people out there that they speak up and they're not being heard, and that's unacceptable."
Raisman was originally not going to deliver a victim impact statement at Nassar's Ingham County, Michigan sentencing hearing this past January, but she ended up doing so. Not only did she end up doing so, but she did so by delivering a statement that generated national attention almost immediately.
The six-time Olympic medalist is one of 169 people who delivered a victim impact statement during that seven-day sentencing period that resulted in Nassar being issued a state prison sentence for between 40 and 175 years on seven sexual assault charges.
Of those 169 people, 156 of them have accused Nassar of sexual assault. The other 13 people delivered victim impact statements on the behalves of those who have done so.
Ever since delivering her victim impact statement, Raisman has arguably been the most outspoken critic of the people and institutions that defended, enabled and protected Nassar for more than two decades while he was sexually assaulting hundreds of his patients under the guise of medical treatment.
So while Nassar is set to spend the rest of his life in prison, as he was also sentenced to 60 years in federal prison this past December on three child pornography charges and between an additional 40 and 125 years in state prison in February on three more sexual assault charges, one thing remains clear.
Aly Raisman is not going to let up when it comes to calling out USA Gymnastics until they make some serious changes to ensure that future gymnasts are protected from sexual predators like Nassar.
Proof of this is in her recent comments and several other comments that she has made over the last several months, and based on these comments, it does not appear that USA Gymnastics are even close to getting to where she wants them -- and where future generations are going to need them -- to be.