Olympic medalist Simone Biles is calling out the USA Gymnastics for not protecting more than 300 athletes against sexual abuse from former team doctor Larry Nassar over a two-decade timespan.
Wednesday during a workout at the Sprint Center in Kansas City, Missouri, Biles told reporters the USA Gymnastics failed at their job, The Hill reported.
“We had one goal and we did everything they asked us for, even if we didn’t want to. And they couldn’t do one damn job. You had one job. You literally had one job and you couldn’t protect us,” Biles said holding back tears.
Emotional Simone Biles blasts USA Gymnastics: 'You had 1 job'
Olympian Simone Biles spoke out about the pain she and other gymnasts still carry in the wake of the sport's sex abuse scandal with Larry Nassar. "You had one job, you literally had one job, and you couldn't protect us," Biles told reporters. NBC's Natalie Morales reports for TODAY.
On Sunday, Biles tweeted a response to a report from The Washington Post on the findings of a Senate panel on the negligence of the Olympics and USA Gymnastics officials that enabled the abuse by Nassar.
The more I learn, the more I hurt. USAG failed us. USOC failed us. Many failed us. And they continue to fail us. Real and actual change isn’t easy but it’s clear there’s a lot more work that needs to be done.https://t.co/owRBFtacfn
— Simone Biles (@Simone_Biles) August 5, 2019
A congressional subcommittee was scheduled to introduce legislation Tuesday to ensure the safety of Olympic and amateur athletes in the future. The USA Gymnastics also said they are working on making athletes' safety a priority.
"We at USA Gymnastics have made a lot of progress in strengthening our athlete safety measures and putting our athletes first, but we know we have more to do," USAG president and CEO Li Li Leung said in a statement to The Hill.
"One of our goals is for our athletes to feel comfortable in speaking up and sharing their opinions, and we are listening to what they have to say. We will continue to work hard to demonstrate to Simone and all of our athletes, members, community and fans that we are working to foster a safe, positive and encouraging environment where athlete voices are heard," Leung added.
Nassar abused nearly 300 athletes, including Biles, and was later sentenced to more than 100 years in prison after pleading guilty to sexual assault of minors and child pornography charges.
Biles said she's blessed to have a platform to speak out, but there is still a lot of work to do.
“But it’s not easy coming back to the sport, coming back to the organization that has failed you. But at this point, I just try to think, I’m here as a professional athlete with my club team.”
