Raisman in her suit contends the USOC knew or should have known about the Nassar abusegetty images
Gold Medal-winning gymnast Aly Raisman is suing the USOC six weeks after focused the nation's attention on the group's “bungled response" to the Larry Nassar scandal, according to Connor & Fitzpatrick of NBCNEWS.com. Raisman contends the USOC "knew or should have known" that Nassar was "molesting her and other young athletes under the guise of medical treatment.” Raisman's move comes days after the USOC announced CEO Scott Blackmun was “stepping down.” Raisman in a statement said that the USOC and USA Gymnastics are “stonewalling on the question of what they knew about Nassar's predatory behavior.” Raisman: “I refuse to wait any longer for these organizations to do the right thing. It is my hope that the legal process will hold them accountable and enable the change that is so desperately needed.” Connor & Fitzpatrick note Nassar's victims are “skeptical that a review conducted by a law firm chosen and paid by the USOC can be truly independent.” Raisman's suit also named USA Gymnastics, which has said that it had “no inkling of Nassar's crimes” until former national team member Maggie Nichols reported the abuse in '15 and “kept the allegations secret because it believed the FBI wanted it that way.” The lawsuit alleges that the NGB asked Nassar to “stop constantly taking photos of gymnasts before Nichols' complaint and should have suspected he was a pedophile” (NBCNEWS.com, 3/2). McKayla Maroney, Raisman's teammate on the '12 Olympic team, "named the USOC as a co-defendant in a lawsuit she filed last December." The USOC is "conducting an independent review" of when Blackmun and other execs "learned the details about abuse cases at USA Gymnastics and whether they responded appropriately" (AP, 3/2).
FIRST MALE VICTIM COMES FORWARD: USA TODAY's Tom Schad notes Jacob Moore on Wednesday became the "first known male victim to file suit" against Nassar for sexual assault. In one of six amended complaints filed in federal court Wednesday, Moore "claims that he was sexually abused and harassed by Nassar" in '16 (USATODAY.com, 3/2).
BLACKMUN MADE RIGHT MOVE: In Colorado Springs, Woody Paige writes Blackmun “ultimately made the most appropriate decision for himself,” the USOC and the organization's future and, “most important, the myriad American Olympic women athletes who have been sexually abused, harassed, scarred physically and mentally, exploited and victimized for decades.” The Olympic movement “must move in an innovative, resolute direction.” The USOC certainly “needs fresh leadership, perspective and attitude” (Colorado Springs GAZETTE, 3/2).
