'We are a force and you are nothing': Aly Raisman sheds no tears as she faces Larry Nassar in court, telling her 'pathetic' abuser she has regained her strength and is no longer a victim in astonishing impact statement


  • Aly Raisman delivered a powerful victim impact statement on Friday, speaking at time on behalf of all the woman abused by Larry Nassar 
  • 'Larry, we are a force and you are nothing,' said the six-time Olympic medalist, who showed no sign of weakness and shed not a single tear 
  • Judge Rosemarie Aquilina later told Raisman: 'You're one of the strongest survivors I have ever seen' 
  • Gold-medal winning gymnast Jordyn Wieber was the first person to speak in court, where she publicly revealed she was a victim of Nassar
  • 'The hardest thing I ever had to do was process that I was a victim of Larry Nassar,' said Wieber 
  • Judge Aquilina announced on Friday that the sentencing would now last until at least Tuesday, with 120 women asking to read statements


  • Aly Raisman reclaimed her power and eviscerated her abuser Larry Nassar as she stared down the pedophile doctor and delivered a remarkable impact statement on Friday.
    The six-time Olympic medalist turned heads earlier in the day when she made a surprise appearance at the Michigan court where Nassar is being sentenced, just before the hearing was to start.
    She entered the courtroom with another surprise guest, fellow Fierce Five teammate Jordyn Wieber, who grew up in the area and was just 8 when she began working with Nassar.
    Wieber would be the first to speak, revealing publicly for the very first time that she too was sexually assaulted by Nassar.
    'I'm a victim of Larry Nassar,' stated an emotional but incredibly composed Wieber at the start of her statement.
    Raisman made her remarks later in the day and delivered what was without question the most powerful speech of the week.
    'I am here to face you, Larry, so you can see I've regained my strength,' said Raisman. 
    'That I am no longer a victim. I am a survivor.'  
    Raisman shed not a single tear and showed no sign of weakness as she spoke, looking right at Nassar the entire time. 

    Making her mark: Aly Raisman delivered a powerful victim impact statement on Friday, speaking at time on behalf of all the woman abused by Larry Nassar

    Making her mark: Aly Raisman delivered a powerful victim impact statement on Friday, speaking at time on behalf of all the woman abused by Larry Nassar

    Standing tall: 'Larry, we are a force and you are nothing,' said the six-time Olympic medalist, who showed no sign of weakness and shed not a single tear
    Standing tall: 'Larry, we are a force and you are nothing,' said the six-time Olympic medalist, who showed no sign of weakness and shed not a single tear

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    Breaking her silence: Jordyn Wieber was the first person to speak during day four of Larry Nassar's sentencing on Friday, revealing she was a victim of the doctor for the first time
    Breaking her silence: Jordyn Wieber was the first person to speak during day four of Larry Nassar's sentencing on Friday, revealing she was a victim of the doctor for the first time

    Support system: Wieber and Raisman shared a hug after she spoke while the entire courtroom burst into applause

    Won't back down: Raisman stares down Larry Nassar in court on Friday (left with Jordyn Wieber on right)
    Won't back down: Raisman stares down Larry Nassar in court on Friday (left with Jordyn Wieber on right)

    Coward: Larry Nassar once again hid behind his hands for much of the proceedings on Friday (above)
    Coward: Larry Nassar once again hid behind his hands for much of the proceedings on Friday (above)
    'I didn't think I would be here today,' said Raisman, who had previously announced her statement would be read in court by a member of the district attorney's office. 
    'I was scared and nervous. It wasn't until I listened to the other brave survivors that I realized I needed to be here.'
    She did not detail her abuse, and said only that Nassar's grooming began when the two were in Australia, and that she was eventually manipulated into believing that the doctor's 'inappropriate touch would heal my pain.'

    Raisman knows better now she said in her statement. 
    'You never healed me. You took advantage of our passions and our dreams,' said Raisman. 
    'Imagine feeling like you have no power, and no voice. Well you know what Larry, I have my power and my voice,and I will use them.' 
    Raisman also used her time in court to speak on behalf of all the victims in the case.
    'The tables have turned, Larry. We are here. We have our voices, and we are not going anywhere, said Raisman.
    'And now, Larry, it’s your turn to listen to me.' 
    Raisman proceeded to call Nassar 'pathetic,' among other things, for the letter he sent the judge earlier this week complaining about the toll these impact statements were taking on his mental health. 
    'You are pathetic to think that anyone would have any sympathy for you. You think this is hard for you? Imagine how all of us feel,' Raisman told Nassar.
    When she had finished, Judge Rosemarie Aquilina shared a few words with the brave survivor.
    'You were never the problem, but you are so much the solution,' said Judge Aquilina. 
    'You are unstoppable. You are part of an unstoppable growing force, an unstoppable, strong, loud voice. The effects of your voice are far-reaching. It's not just in this courtroom, but worldwide.'
    Judge Aquilina then told Raisman: 'You're one of the strongest survivors I have ever seen.'

    Raisman and Wieber spent the entire day in the courtroom, returning after lunch in a show of support for the other women who were sharing their stories that day. 
    It was Wieber who walked to the podium to start the day, revealing for the first time that she was one of the many young women who was sexually assaulted by Larry Nassar.  
    Wieber fought back tears as she addressed her abuser, who as he has done for the past few days hid his hands.
    'I thought that training for the Olympics would be the hardest thing I would ever had to do,' said Wieber.
    I thought that training for the Olympics would be the hardest thing I would ever had to do. But in fact, the hardest thing I ever had to do was process that I was a victim of Larry Nassar.
    -Jordyn Wieber, 22 
    'But in fact, the hardest thing I ever had to do was process that I was a victim of Larry Nassar.'
    'It has caused me to feel shame and confusion,' said Wieber of her abuse when she took the podium at the start of the day.
    'I have spent months trying to think back on my experience and wonder how I didn't know what was happening to me and how I became so brainwashed by Larry Nassar and everyone at USA Gymnastics. Both whom I thought were supposed to be on MY side.'
    Wieber, as many women have done before her this week, noted that Nassar was not the only person who should be held accountable for these horrifying acts.
    'Larry Nassar is accountable. USA Gymnastics is accountable. The U.S. Olympic Committee is accountable,' said Wieber.
    'My teammates and friends have been through enough and now it's time for change. The current gymnasts should not have to live in anxiety and fear as I did.'
    Wieber, 22, later told the court that her abuse began when she was 14, and went on for years, stating: 'He did it time after time, appointment after appointment.'
    She later noted: 'The worst part is I had no idea he was sexually abusing me.'

    Raisman proceeded to call Nassar 'pathetic,' among other things, for the letter he sent the judge earlier this week complaining about the toll these impact statements were taking on his mental health. 
    'You are pathetic to think that anyone would have any sympathy for you. You think this is hard for you? Imagine how all of us feel,' Raisman told Nassar.
    When she had finished, Judge Rosemarie Aquilina shared a few words with the brave survivor.
    'You were never the problem, but you are so much the solution,' said Judge Aquilina. 
    'You are unstoppable. You are part of an unstoppable growing force, an unstoppable, strong, loud voice. The effects of your voice are far-reaching. It's not just in this courtroom, but worldwide.'
    Judge Aquilina then told Raisman: 'You're one of the strongest survivors I have ever seen.'
    Raisman and Wieber spent the entire day in the courtroom, returning after lunch in a show of support for the other women who were sharing their stories that day. 
    It was Wieber who walked to the podium to start the day, revealing for the first time that she was one of the many young women who was sexually assaulted by Larry Nassar.  
    Wieber fought back tears as she addressed her abuser, who as he has done for the past few days hid his hands.
    'I thought that training for the Olympics would be the hardest thing I would ever had to do,' said Wieber.
    I thought that training for the Olympics would be the hardest thing I would ever had to do. But in fact, the hardest thing I ever had to do was process that I was a victim of Larry Nassar.
    -Jordyn Wieber, 22 
    'But in fact, the hardest thing I ever had to do was process that I was a victim of Larry Nassar.'
    'It has caused me to feel shame and confusion,' said Wieber of her abuse when she took the podium at the start of the day.
    'I have spent months trying to think back on my experience and wonder how I didn't know what was happening to me and how I became so brainwashed by Larry Nassar and everyone at USA Gymnastics. Both whom I thought were supposed to be on MY side.'
    Wieber, as many women have done before her this week, noted that Nassar was not the only person who should be held accountable for these horrifying acts.
    'Larry Nassar is accountable. USA Gymnastics is accountable. The U.S. Olympic Committee is accountable,' said Wieber.
    'My teammates and friends have been through enough and now it's time for change. The current gymnasts should not have to live in anxiety and fear as I did.'
    Wieber, 22, later told the court that her abuse began when she was 14, and went on for years, stating: 'He did it time after time, appointment after appointment.'
    She later noted: 'The worst part is I had no idea he was sexually abusing me.'



    Triumph: Raisman hugs her mother Lynn after delivering her statement on Friday (above)
    Triumph: Raisman hugs her mother Lynn after delivering her statement on Friday (above)
    Proud: 'Even though I'm a victim, I do not and will not live my life as one. I am an Olympian,' said Wieber 
    Proud: 'Even though I'm a victim, I do not and will not live my life as one. I am an Olympian,' said Wieber 
    High price: 'I thought that training for the Olympics would be the hardest thing I would ever had to do,' said Wieber
    Still going: Raisman seemed intent on making sure that Nassar saw her and the other victims in court
    Still going: Raisman seemed intent on making sure that Nassar saw her and the other victims in court

    Wieber also said that she, Raisman and McKayla Maroney discussed the concerns they all had with Nassar's treatment, before revealing that all three kept quiet because they did not want to jeopardize their spot on the Olympic team.
    'Was Larry even doing anything to help my pain? Was I getting the proper medical care? What was he thinking about when he massaged my sore muscles every day?' asked Wieber.
    'Now, I question everything.'
    Even at the pinnacle of her career has been tarnished because of Nassar, with Wieber revealing: 'Our bodies were all hanging by a thread in London. Who was the doctor that USAG sent? The doctor who was our abuser.'
    This is all your fault, we wouldn't be here in the first place if it wasn't for you. You are a coward and a sickening man. You did this to me. You're the one causing all this pain I am a survivor. Here I am today, facing my abuser. I'm finally being heard. I'm no longer hiding my story.
    - Chelsea, 15 
    Wieber is working to move past her abuse she said, and is refusing to let what Nassar did to her define her life.
    'Even though I'm a victim, I do not and will not live my life as one,' said Wieber.
    'I am an Olympian.' 
    Wieber then made a point of stating that her Olympic title carries no weight in this trial.
    'I want everyone, especially the media, to know that despite my athletic achievements, I am one of over 140 women and survivors whose story is important,' said Wieber. 
    'Our pain is all the same, and our stories are all important.  
    Wieber was followed by Chelsea , who is just 15, and started being abused by Nassar three years ago.
    She appeared with her mother as she is a minor, and bravely delivered her tearful statement.
    Chelsea said that she tore a muscle in her stomach when she was 12 and went to see Nassar, noting at one point how he told her to wear loose shorts so that he could have easier access to her body.
    'It's so sickening that he did that to me,' said Chelsea.
    Chelsea went on to call Nassar a 'monster,' and revealed that her love for gymnastics almost disappeared because of his abuse.
    'This is all your fault, we wouldn't be here in the first place if it wasn't for you,' said the teenager.
    'You are a coward and a sickening man. You did this to me. You're the one causing all this pain.'
    She closed out her statement by saying: 'I am a survivor. Here I am today, facing my abuser. I'm finally being heard. I'm no longer hiding my story.' 
    She then asked Judge Aquilina that Nassar receive the maximum sentence. 
    Brave young woman: Chelsea, who is just 15, followed Wieber in court on Friday with her mother by her side (above)
    Brave young woman: Chelsea, who is just 15, followed Wieber in court on Friday with her mother by her side (above)
    Guilt: 'I was older, I should have known,' said Samantha Ursch (above), who admitted that she was focused on pretending that her assault was not real
    Guilt: 'I was older, I should have known,' said Samantha Ursch (above), who admitted that she was focused on pretending that her assault was not real
    Sisters: 'Today, I am a 15-year-old girl, and throughout my years in high school I've struggled. For the longest time, you deprived me of my happiness,' said Maddie (right with parents and sister Kara on left)
    Sisters: 'Today, I am a 15-year-old girl, and throughout my years in high school I've struggled. For the longest time, you deprived me of my happiness,' said Maddie (right with parents and sister Kara on left)
    Samantha Ursch started out her statement by thanks Judge Aquilina for the support she has shown for each of the victims this week, which is the reason why so many have finally agreed to share their stories.
    She was a senior at central Michigan University when she tore her ACL, but got the chance to possibly compote one more time in her final year of college when she managed to get an appointment with Nassar.
    The first meeting went well, but the second happened after hours in his darkened office with no one present.
    He was 'very invasive' said Ursch, who noted she called her mom afterwards becuase she 'felt dirty.'
    You were never the problem, but you are so much the solution. You are unstoppable. You are part of an unstoppable growing force, an unstoppable, strong, loud voice. The effects of your voice are far-reaching. It's not just in this courtroom, but worldwide. You're one of the strongest survivors I have ever seen.
    -Judge Rosemarie Aqulina to Raisman 
    Her mother was concerned, but Ursh never said anything or reported Nassar, and she revealed on Friday that as a result she feels responsible for what happened to some of the victims.
    'I was older, I should have known,' said Ursch, who admitted that she was focused on pretending that her assault was not real.
    As for Nassar, Ursch stated: 'I hope he thinks about how he changed all of our lives. I'm not pretending I didn't happen anymore.'
    Two sisters, Maddie and Kara, spoke next, with their parents having to give permission because both girls were minors.
    Kara, who is 17, spoke about how she felt dirty after Nassar's treatments, revealing he used lubricant and a numbing cream while he molested her.
    Her mother was in the room on one occasion, so Nassar strategically placed towels to obscure the woman's vision while he sexually assaulted her daughter. 
    The abuse stopped when Kara stopped seeing Nassar, but not the depression or suicidal thoughts or nightmares that she would raped in her sleep.
    Her younger sister, who is just 15, comforted Kara at the podium while she spoke about her struggles.
    'The first time I went to see Nassar, I was 12 years old. Being the little gymnast I was, I was beyond excited to have Nassar as my doctor,' said Madeline at the beginning of her statement.
    An injury to her back had left her in constant pain, and rather than go to the hospital Madeline got an appointment with Nassar.
    He told her that he was going to push down on her pubic bone the first time he molested her Madeline said, obscuring the act from her mother by blocking her view with his body.
    When Maddie's father went to the appointments, 'the procedure' was not done by Nassar.
    She was 12 at the time, and one of the last girls to be molested by Nassar.
    When she learned about his crimes, just a few months later, Maddie said that she tried to convince herself she was not a victim.
    'Today, I am a 15-year-old girl, and throughout my years in high school I've struggled,' said Maddie.
    'For the longest time, you deprived me of my happiness.'
    Brave: Anya Gillengarten was abused by Nassar when she was 16, and worried about coming forward because she is an employee at Michigan State University
    Brave: Anya Gillengarten was abused by Nassar when she was 16, and worried about coming forward because she is an employee at Michigan State University
    Anya Gillengarten was treated by Nassar when she was 16, shortly after the gymnast was in a automobile accident.
    She is now 33, and struggled with coming forward and speaking out on Friday because she is an employee at Michigan State University.
    'My name is Anya. I am not a number,' she said to start her statement.
    She has never been to see a doctor she revealed since she was abused by Nassar at his office, despite suffering from a number of medical conditions.
    'People keep telling me I need to smile, as apparently I always have a scowl on my face,' she said in court.
    That scowl comes after years pof depression and fear amd suicidal thoughts, all thre result of Nassar's abuse.
    'Larry stole my childhood, my innocence, my virginity and my self worth,' said Gillengarten.'
    'I hated myself. I still do. I was in a spiral of depression.'
    A number of victims have criticized Michigan State University these past four days.
    The school was Nassar's employer until September 2016, and failed to report a number of concerns about Nassar to authorities.
    The university's board of trustees acknowledged that criticism Friday, asking Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette to conduct an outside review of its actions.
    'We are making this request because we believe your review may be needed to answer the public's questions concerning MSU's handling of the Nassar situation,' the trustees said in a letter to Schuette.
    'These questions grew louder this week with the victim impact statements.'
    Victims: Nassar abused at least four members of the Fierce Five (l to r: Raisman, Maroney, Douglas and Wieber with their all-around team Gold in 2012)
    Victims: Nassar abused at least four members of the Fierce Five (l to r: Raisman, Maroney, Douglas and Wieber with their all-around team Gold in 2012)
    Wieber's decision to come forward was applauded by Judge Rosemarie Aquilina, who for the fourth straight day continued to address each victim after they spoke in court. 

    She told the young woman that despite her wish to play down her fame, what she did in court on Friday would inspire countless other young girls and women. 

    Wieber is retired from competitive gymnastics and now coaches the team at UCLA, where one of her athletes is fellow Fierce Five member Kyla Ross. 

    Larry stole my childhood, my innocence, my virginity and my self worth. I hated myself. I still do. I was in a spiral of depression.
     -Anya Gillengarten, 33
    She is now the fourth member of the five-person London squad to reveal she was assaulted by Nassar, following Maroney, Raisman and Gabby Douglas.

    Maroney had her impact statement read in court on Thursday and Raisman is expected to deliver her thoughts on Nassar later in the day on Friday.

    Simone Biles, a member of the 2016 Rio team, also came forward to reveal she was one of Nasar's victims earlier this week.

    Maroney revealed in a lawsuit filed last month that she received $1.25 million from the organization in December 2016.

    The two-time world-champion vaulter agreed to sign a non-disclosure agreement as part of the deal, which imposes a $100,000 fine should she ever speak about Nassar or the abuse she suffered at the heads of the disgraced doctor.

    Maroney, who was represented by Gloria Allred when she accepted that settlement, said that she was in desperate need of the money due to her deteriorating psychological state and need for treatment as a result of the abuse she suffered at the hands of Nassar.

    She said at one point she was even thought about taking her own life.

    Maroney is now suing USA Gymnastics - with her legal team arguing that it was illegal for the organization to have her sign a clause demanding her silence about her molestation.

    FULL TEXT OF ALY RAISMAN VICTIM IMPACT STATEMENT

    Aly Raisman delivers her statement in court on Friday (above)
    Aly Raisman delivers her statement in court on Friday (above)
    Thanks your honor thank you for the opportunity  to make this statement here today and thank you for providing the time and  flexibility for all the other brave survivors to make their statements. Each survivor deserves to be heard equally. 
    I didn't think I would be here today I was  scared and nervous it wasn't until I  started watching the impact statements  from the other brave survivors that I  realized I too needed to be here.
    Larry  you do realize now that we, this group of women you so heartlessly abused over  such a long period of time are now a  force, and you are nothing. 
    The tables  have turned Larry. We are here, we have  our voices and we are not going anywhere. And now Larry, it's your turn to listen. 
    To me there is no map that shows you the pathway to healing. Realizing that you're a survivor of sexual abuse is really  hard to put into words. I cannot adequately capture the level of disgust I feel when I think about how this happened.
    Larry you abused the power and trust I and so many others placed in  you and I am not sure I will ever come  to terms with how horribly you  manipulated and violated me. 
    You are the USA Gymnastics national team doctor, the Michigan and the United  States Olympic team doctor. You were  trusted by so many and took advantage of countless athletes and their families 
    The effects of your actions are  far-reaching. Abuse goes way beyond the  moment, often haunting survivors for the rest of their lives, making it difficult to trust and impacting their relationships. 
    It is all the more devastating when such abuse comes at the hand of such a highly regarded doctor since it  leaves survivors questioning the  organizations and even the medical  profession itself upon which so many rely.
    I am here to face you Larry so you  can see I've regained my strength. That  I'm no longer a victim, I'm a survivor. I  am no longer that little girl you met in  Australia, where you first began grooming  and manipulating.
    As for your letter yesterday, you are pathetic to think that  anyone would have any sympathy for you. You think this is hard for you? Imagine  how all of us feel. Imagine how it feels  to be an innocent teenager in a foreign  country hearing a knock on the door and  it's you. I don't want you to be there  but I don't have a choice. 
    Treatments with you were mandatory. You took advantage of that. You even told on us if we didn't want to be treated by you knowing full well the troubles that would cause for us. 
    Lying on my stomach with you on my bed insisting that you're inappropriate touch would help to heal my pain. 
    The reality is that you caused me a great  deal of physical, mental and emotional pain. You never healed me. You took advantage of our passions and our dreams. You made me uncomfortable and I thought you were weird. But I felt guilty because  you were a doctor so I assumed I was the  problem for thinking badly of you. I  wouldn't allow myself to believe that the problem is you. 
    From the time we were little we are taught we are taught to  trust doctors you are so sick I can't   even comprehend how angry I feel when I think of you. You lied to me and  manipulated me to think that when you   treated me you are closing your eyes  because you had been working hard when  you are really touching me, an innocent child, to pleasure yourself.
    Imagine  feeling like you have no power and no  voice. Well you know what Larry, I have  both power and voice and I am only beginning to just use them. All these brave women have power and we will use our voices to make sure you get what you deserve. A life of suffering spent replaying the words delivered by this powerful army of survivors.
    I am also here to tell you to  your face Larry that you have not taken  gymnastics away from me. I love this  sport and that love is stronger than the  evil that resides in you and those who  enabled you to hurt many people.
    You  already know you're going away to a  place where you won't be able to hurt  anybody ever again, but I am here to tell  you that I will not rest until every  last trace of your influence on this  sport has been destroyed like the cancer it is. 
    Your abuse started 30 years ago, but that's just the first reported  incident we know of. If over these many  years just one adult listened and had  the courage and character to act this  tragedy could have been avoided. I and so many others would have never ever met  you Larry. You should have been locked up  a long long time ago.
    Fact is we have no idea how many people you victimized or  what was done or not done that allowed  you to keep doing it and to get away with it for so long. 
    Over those thirty years when survivors came forward, adult after adult - many in positions of authority - protected you, telling each survivor it was okay that  you weren't abusing them. In fact many adults had you convince the survivors  that they were being dramatic or had  been mistaken.
    This is like being violated all over again? How do you sleep at night? 
    You are the decorated by USA Gymnastics and the United States Olympic Committee, both of which put you on advisory  boards and committees to come up with policies that will protect athletes from this kind of abuse. 
    You are the person they had quote take  the lead of athlete care. You are the  person they say quote provided the foundation for our medical system. I cringe to think that your influence  remains in the policies that are  supposed to keep athletes safe.
    To believe in the future of gymnastics is to believe in change, but how are we to believe in change when these organizations aren't even willing to acknowledge the problem it's easy to put out statements talking about how athlete's care is the highest priority, but they've been saying that for years. 
    And all the while this nightmare was happening.
    False assurances from organizations are dangerous especially when people want so badly to believe them. They make it easier to look away  from the problem and enable bad things to continue to happen. 
    And even now after all that has happened USA Gymnastics has the nerve to say the very same things it  is said all along. Can't you see how  disrespectful that is can't you see how  much that hurts. 
    A few days ago USA Gymnastics put out a statement attributed to its president and CEO Kerry Perry saying she came to listen  to the courageous woman and said quote, their powerful voices leave an indelible imprint on me and will impact my  decision as president and CEO every day. 
    This sounds great miss Perry but at this  point talk is cheap. You left midway through the day and no one has heard from you or the board 
    Kerry, I have never met you and I know  you weren't around for most of this but  you accepted the position of president  and CEO of USA Gymnastics and I assume  by now you are very well aware of the  weighty responsibilities you've taken on. 
    Unfortunately, you've taken on an  organization that I feel is rotting from  the inside, and while this may not be  what you thought you were getting into,  you will be judged by how you deal with it.
    A word of advice: continuing to issue statements of empty  promises thinking that will pacify us  will no longer work. Yesterday, USA  Gymnastics announced that it was  terminating its lease at the ranch where  so many of us were abused. I am glad that  it is no longer a national team training site but USA Gymnastics neglected to mention that they had athletes training  there the day they released the statement. 
    USA Gymnastics where is the honesty? Where is the transparency? Why must the manipulation continue? Neither USA Gymnastics nor the USOC  have reached out to express sympathy or  even offer support. Not even to ask: 'How  did this happen? What do you think we can do to help?' 
    Why have I and others here probably not heard anything from the leadership at  the USOC? Why has the United States Olympic  Committee been silent? Why isn't the USOC here right now? 
    Larry was the Olympic doctor and he molested me at the 2012 London Olympic Games. They  say now they applaud those who have  spoken out, but it's easier to say that now. When the brave women who started speaking out back then, more than a year  after the USOC says they knew about  Nassar, they were dismissed.
    At the 2016 Olympic Games, the president of the USOC  said that the USOC would not conduct an  investigation and even defended USA  Gymnastics as one of the leaders in  developing policies to protect athletes . That's the response a courageous woman gets when she speaks out.
    And when others join those athletes and began speaking  out with more stories of abuse, were they acknowledged? No. It is like being  abused all over again. 
    I have represented the United States of America in two  Olympics and have done so successfully. Both USA Gymnastics and the United  States Olympic Committee have been very  quick to capitalize and celebrate my  success, but did they reach out when I  came forward? No. So at this point talk is worthless to me. 
    We're dealing with real  lives in the future of our sport. We need to believe  for this sport to go on. We need to  demand real change and we need to be  willing to fight for it. 
    It's clear now that if we leave it up to these  organizations, history is likely to  repeat itself. To know what changes are needed requires us to understand what  exactly happened and why it has happened.
    This is a painful process but it's the  only way to identify all the factors  that contributed to this problem, and how  they can be avoided in the future. it is the only way to learn from these  mistakes and make gymnastics a safer sport. 
    If ever there was a need to fully  understand a problem it is this one  right now to accept that problem is  limited to just what we know now is  irresponsible delusional even each new  day seems to bring a new survivor. 
    We have no idea just how much damage you caused Larry and we have no idea how deep these problems go. Now is the time to acknowledge that the very person who  sits here before us now, who perpetrated the worst epidemic of sexual abuse in the history of sports, who is going to be locked up for a long long time, how this monster was also the architect of policies and procedures that are supposed to protect athletes from sexual abuse.
    For both USA Gymnastics and the  USOC  if we are to believe in change we must first understand the problem and  everything that contributed to. Now is not the time for false reassurances, we need an independent investigation of exactly what happened, what went wrong and how it can be avoided for the future. 
    Only then can we know what changes are needed, only then we believe such changes are real. 
    Your honor, I ask you to give Larry the strongest  possible sentence, which his actions deserve. By doing so you will send a  message to him and to other abusers that they cannot get away with their horrible crimes. They will be exposed for the evil they are and they will be  punished to the maximum extent of the law. Let this sentence strike fear in anyone who thinks it is  okay to hurt another person.
    Abusers, your time is up. The survivors are here  standing tall and we are not going  anywhere. And please your honor, stress  the need to investigate how this happened so we can hold accountable  those who empowered and enabled Larry Nasser. So we can repair and once again believe in this wonderful sport. 
    My dream is that one day everyone will know what the words mean to signify. But they will be educated and able to protect themselves from predators like Larry so that they will never ever ever have to say the words me too. Thank you.


    1 comment:

    1. Not sure if I even believe any women who accuse men of sexual abuse anymore . . .

      ReplyDelete

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