Aly Raisman: USA Gymnastics 'Is Rotting From the Inside'

Olympic gymnast rips into Larry Nassar, US Gymnastics, US Olympic Committee
By Michael Harthorne,  Newser Staff
Posted Jan 19, 2018 4:10 PM CST
Aly Raisman to Larry Nassar: 'You Are Nothing'
Former Olympian Aly Raisman confronts Larry Nassar in Circuit Judge Rosemarie Aquilina's courtroom during the fourth day of a sentencing hearing for the former sports doctor, who pled guilty to multiple counts of sexual assault, Friday, Jan. 19, 2018, in Lansing, Mich.   (Matthew Dae Smith /Lansing State Journal via AP)

"The women you so heartlessly abused over such a long period of time are now a force, and you are nothing," Deadspin quotes Aly Raisman as telling Larry Nassar Friday in court. In a blistering 13-minute speech, the Olympic gold medal-winner ripped into the doctor who allegedly molested her and more than 140 others, as well as the organizations she says enabled him. "The tables have turned, Larry," the Lansing State Journal quotes Raisman as saying. "We are here. We have our voices, and we are not going anywhere. And now, Larry, it’s your turn to listen to me.” She told Nassar he deserves "a life of suffering" and was "pathetic to think that anyone would have sympathy" for him after he complained of having to listen to impact statements from dozens of accusers during sentencing for criminal sexual conduct. "I will not rest until every last trace of your influence on this sport has been destroyed like the cancer it is,” Raisman told him.

Raisman called for full independent investigations into USA Gymnastics, which she said "is rotting from the inside," and the US Olympic Committee to find out why Nassar was allowed to thrive. “It’s clear now, if you leave it up to these organizations, history is likely to repeat itself,” Raisman said. Both organizations had received complaints about Nassar's behavior dating back decades. Raisman warned new USAG CEO Kerry Perry that “continuing to issue statements of empty promises thinking that will pacify us will no longer work.” More than 120 women are expected to deliver impact statements to Nassar, who is already serving 60 years for child pornography, CNN reports. Before her statement, Raisman told fellow accuser Kaylee Lorincz, "We're gonna change things so the next generation doesn't have to deal with this." (More Aly Raisman stories.)

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