Olympic gold medalist Aly Raisman is suing the U.S. Olympic Committee and USA Gymnastics in a California court, alleging that the USOC "was aware, at the highest levels of its organization" that former team doctor Larry Nassar sexually abused U.S. gymnasts.
Raisman filed the lawsuit in Santa Clara Superior Court on Wednesday, according to online court records. The 23-year-old is one of the more than 260 women and girls who have publicly accused Nassar of sexual abuse, and she has called for an independent investigation of the USOC and USA Gymnastics.
In a statement released by her attorney's office Friday, Raisman said she could not "wait any longer for these organizations to do the right thing."
"My highest priority has been to push for change, so future generations of athletes will be safer," Raisman said in the statement. "It has become painfully clear that these organizations have no intention of properly addressing this problem. After all this time, they remain unwilling to conduct a full investigation, and without a solid understanding of how this happened, it is delusional to think sufficient changes can be implemented. Meanwhile, thousands of young athletes continue to train and compete every day in this same broken system.
"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."
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The lawsuit, which also lists former USAG president Steve Penny and former board chairman Paul Parilla as defendants, claims that the USOC knew that Nassar had abused gymnasts "as early as 2015." Raisman alleges that "personnel and/or employment records ... reflect numerous incidents of inappropriate sexual contact and conduct" by Nassar, and that he was disciplined by USAG and USOC for taking photographs of young female gymnasts.
The lawsuit further claims that the USOC and USAG did not effectively implement safety policies and procedures nor inform Michigan State, which also employed Nassar as a doctor, about his misconduct.
"As part of Defendants' conspiratorial and fraudulent attempt to hide Nassar's propensity to sexually abuse children, and prior sexual misconduct with children, from public scrutiny and investigation, Defendants implemented various measures designed to make Nassar's conduct harder to detect," the lawsuit alleges.
Nassar is serving a 60-year sentence at a federal prison in Tucson, Ariz., on child pornography charges. The 54-year-old also pleaded guilty to sexual assault charges in two Michigan counties earlier this year and was handed concurrent sentences of 40 to 175 years and 40 to 125 years in prison.
McKayla Maroney, another member of the "Fierce Five" that won team gold at the 2012 London Olympics, has also filed suit against USA Gymnastics and the USOC. She alleged in December that USAG paid her in an attempt to prevent her from publicly accusing Nassar of sexual abuse.
John Manly, the attorney representing both Maroney and Raisman in their respective lawsuits, accused the USOC and USAG of conspiring to silence victims and cover up Nassar's widespread abuse.
"A simple fact is this: If USA Gymnastics and the U.S. Olympic Committee had followed their own bylaws, policies and procedures designed to protect children from sexual abuse, Ms. Raisman never would have met him, never would have been 'treated' by him and never would have been molested by him," Manly said in part of the statement.
Spokespeople for the USOC and USAG did not immediately respond to a request for comment from USA TODAY Sports on Friday morning.
Contact Tom Schad at tschad@usatoday.com or on Twitter @Tom_Schad.
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