*Simone Biles on Wednesday blamed the “entire system” for the sexual abuse by disgraced gymnastics doctor Larry Nassar.
In emotional testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee, Biles said that she didn’t want another young athlete to experience the horror that she and hundreds of other gymnasts endured.
“I don’t want another young gymnast, Olympic athlete, or any individual to experience the horror that I and hundreds of others have endured before, during, and continuing to this day,” Biles said.
“To be clear, I blame Larry Nassar — and I also blame an entire system that perpetrated his abuse,” she continued.
The Judiciary panel is holding the hearing following the release of a Justice Department inspector general report that faulted the FBI for not responding to the allegations against Nassar with the urgency they required. McKayla Maroney, Maggie Nichols and Aly Raisman also testified before Congress Wednesday about what they say were failures in FBI’s handling of Nassar’s sexual abuse case.
Biles said that while she was competing in Rio as part of the 2016 Olympic team, neither USA Gymnastics nor the FBI ever contacted her parents that investigations were ongoing. She said that those who were tasked with ensuring the safety of gymnasts “failed to do their jobs.”
“Nassar is where he belongs, but those who enabled him deserve to be held accountable,” she continued. “If they are not, I am convinced that this will continue to happen to others across Olympic sports.”
Watch Biles’ testimony below:
Olympic gymnast McKayla Maroney testified that she feels betrayed by FBI agents, after they failed to investigate Nassar, despite her telling them he had sexually abused her.
FBI Director Chris Wray told the Senate panel that the actions of the agents who botched the investigation are inexcusable, and he announced that one of the agents “no longer works for the bureau in any capacity.”
“I’m deeply and profoundly sorry,” Wray said.
Maroney recalled how in 2015 she spent three hours on the phone telling the FBI the details of her story that her own mother had not even heard, including accounts of sexual abuse she endured during the Olympic games in London by Nassar, whom she described as “more of a pedophile” than he was a doctor.
But it was not until July of this year, however, that she said the Justice Department inspector general revealed in a scathing report what the FBI actually did with the information she provided: Failing to document it for a year and a half, and misrepresenting what she told them about her experiences.
Watch her rip the FBI’s response below:
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