U.S. gymnast Simone Biles will testify Wednesday before a U.S. Senate committee that is evaluating the mistakes the FBI made in investigating the sexual abuse committed by Larry Nassar when he was the national team doctor. of gymnastics.
The U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee announced Monday that Biles and three world champions will participate in a hearing Wednesday, though they will do so by videoconference due to pandemic restrictions.
Biles’ testimony comes after, in mid-July, an internal report from the Justice Department revealed that the FBI did not respond with the urgency and seriousness needed to the charges against Nassar, who used his position as a doctor to abuse athletes and hide it.
Bils, 24, who has won 19 world titles, has been very critical of the way the federation (USA Gimnastics) and the US Olympic and Paralympic Committee handled allegations of abuse against Nassar and is part of ‘about 140 athletes who have filed a complaint against the two organizations.
In a recent interview with Vogue magazine, Biles revealed that when the Tokyo Olympics were postponed for a year, she felt “shattered” by the prospect of having to spend another year with the American federation. of gymnastics.
“I cried and thought I couldn’t stand being another year with USA Gymnastics,” said the multi-champion, who just starting the Tokyo Olympics withdrew from the first final, putting on the table the mental health issues that they threaten elite athletes.
In addition to Biles, three gymnasts who denounced Nassar’s abuse will also testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee.
One of these athletes, McKayla Maroney, who won a gold and a silver medal at the 2012 London Olympics, signed a confidential agreement in late 2016 with the American Gymnastics Federation to receive a compensation of $ 1.25 million.
Another is Maggie Nichols, who was the first to point to the U.S. Gymnastics Federation for abuse in 2015 and recently starred in a Netflix documentary called “Athlete A,” the name the researchers used to refer to her and protect her identity.
The latest is Aly Raisman, captain of the US Olympic team at the 2012 and 2016 Olympics and who has narrated her experience in a book published in 2017.
More than 350 women are believed to have been abused by Nassar, who received an effective life sentence by a Michigan court in 2018, for sexually abusing dozens of young gymnasts. He is also serving a 60-year prison sentence for a federal conviction for child pornography.