Tragic Details About Aly Raisman

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00:00Allie Raisman is a two-time U.S. Olympic gymnast with six medals to her name, but Raisman

00:05is known as a trailblazer in gymnastics both in the gym and behind the scenes for another

00:09important reason.

00:11In November 2017, Allie Raisman spoke to 60 Minutes about the sexual abuse she suffered

00:15at the hands of the U.S. Olympic team's doctor, Larry Nassar.

00:19The violations began when she was just 15 and continued through the 2012 London Olympics.

00:23"...you don't want to let yourself believe, you know, I am a victim of sexual abuse.

00:30It's really not an easy thing to let yourself believe that."

00:33New to the senior level of gymnastics at the time, Raisman said she wasn't taught to question

00:37abusive behavior or the fact that she was examined alone by Nassar.

00:40However, Raisman noted that Nassar gained her trust by grooming her, telling 60 Minutes,

00:44"...he would always bring me desserts or gifts.

00:46He would buy me little things, so I really thought he was a nice person.

00:49I really thought he was looking out for me.

00:50I want people to know, just because someone is nice to you, it does not make it okay for

00:54them to ever make you uncomfortable."

00:56The gymnast didn't go into further details about Nassar's abuse.

00:59However, according to Time Magazine's reporting on the experiences of Raisman and other gymnasts,

01:03Nassar rarely used gloves during appointments, and the sexual abuse was performed under the

01:07guise of fake medical treatments.

01:09Larry Nassar was sentenced to 40 to 175 years in prison for criminal sexual conduct on January

01:1524, 2018.

01:16At the sentencing hearing, Judge Rosemarie Aquilina allowed any of the 100-plus athletes

01:21who had accused Nassar of abuse over the years to address him and the court if they desired.

01:25Allie Raisman elected to speak, but she struggled with the decision, noting that it was only

01:29watching the testimony of fellow survivors that made her realize she needed to address

01:32Nassar, too.

01:33Calling Nassar a monster who took advantage of everyone's trust, she said in part,

01:37Larry, you do realize now that we, this group of women you so heartlessly abused over such

01:41a long period of time, are now a force and you are nothing.

01:44I am also here to tell you to your face, Larry, that you have not taken gymnastics away from

01:48me.

01:49Let this sentence strike fear in anyone who thinks it is okay to hurt another person.

01:53Abusers, your time is up.

01:55A large portion of her statement admonished the USA Gymnastics Organization and the U.S.

02:00Olympic Committee for allegedly enabling Nassar's abuse for years after women came forward

02:04with allegations.

02:05She asked for change within a sport that was, quote, rotting from the inside, and requested

02:08that Nassar be punished to the fullest extent of the law.

02:11Raisman's statement was comprehensive and strong, but she later told the Today Show that

02:15she treated testifying as if it were a competitive meet in order to get through it.

02:18Afterward, Raisman admitted,

02:19I was sick.

02:20I almost passed out.

02:21I had the worst headache for hours.

02:23She later told Shape Magazine,

02:24You've seen all the brave women and all the brave girls who are speaking at the sentencing

02:28this week.

02:29I think we're going to change the sport forever, and hopefully we can get to a point where no one

02:32in the future has to save me, too, ever again.

02:36Ali Raisman has been vocal about the fact that organizations like U.S. Gymnastics and

02:39the U.S.

02:40Olympic Committee allegedly enabled Larry Nassar's crimes, in part by forcing senior gymnasts to

02:44train for the Olympics in subpar and unsafe conditions at the Texas ranch owned by former

02:48famed coaches Bella and Marta Karoli.

02:51Speaking with The Washington Post, Raisman claimed that gymnasts were forced to sleep in

02:54bunk beds that had stained blankets and were sometimes crawling with bugs.

02:57She also alleged that they were given cheap food to eat, like powdered eggs for breakfast,

03:01they were not given bottled water to drink, and they were sometimes forced to shower without

03:04soap.

03:05Raisman said the girls did not ask for what they needed for fear of being reprimanded,

03:08adding,

03:09Now that I'm away from the sport, it makes me so angry that we were that afraid to ask

03:12for soap.

03:13From athletic trainers to fellow gymnasts, several people have confirmed Raisman's claims

03:17of unsafe training conditions, while she also alleged that these same conditions made

03:20it easy for Nassar to be alone with young women and abuse them, sometimes in their beds.

03:24Raisman's former teammate, Simone Biles, confirmed that she had been abused by Nassar at the

03:28Ranch, according to Reuters. USA Gymnastics no longer uses Karoli Ranch for training, as

03:32of January 2018. Meanwhile, the couple claims they were unaware of Nassar's abusive behavior.

03:38Former U.S. Olympic gymnastics coach John Geddert, who advised the 2012 London team and

03:42was suspended by USA Gymnastics in 2018, died by suicide in February 2021. His arraignment

03:48on several charges for crimes allegedly committed between 2008 and 2016 was imminent. Michigan

03:53Attorney General Dana Nessel stated,

03:54It is alleged that Geddert used force, fraud, and coercion against the young athletes for

03:59financial benefit to him. The victims suffer from disordered eating, including bulimia and

04:03anorexia, suicide attempts and self-harm, excessive physical conditioning, repeatedly being forced

04:08to perform even when injured, extreme emotional abuse, and physical abuse, including sexual

04:13assault.

04:14It's unknown if Ali Raisman is a direct victim of Geddert's, as he wasn't her personal coach,

04:17but his death is partly why she keeps fighting for an independent investigation into USA Gymnastics

04:22and the U.S. Olympic Committee. Noting that Larry Nassar worked at Geddert's gym, Raisman

04:26claimed that many powerful men within the U.S. Gymnastics were enabling each other.

04:30Raisman told CNN's New Day,

04:31"'Monsters don't thrive for decades without the help of people, and we need to understand

04:35what happened, how this happened. We really need a fully independent investigation, and

04:39there has not been one.'"

04:40While USA Gymnastics claim they have been cooperative with six independent investigations, Raisman alleged

04:44that they were withholding information, saying,

04:46"'The scope of the investigation matters. I don't know why USA Gymnastics is saying

04:50they're cooperating.'"

04:52While speaking with Today in 2020, Ali Raisman revealed that she deals with PTSD related to

04:56the sexual abuse and allegedly poor training conditions she lived through while she was

05:00a member of USA Gymnastics. She told Today,

05:02"'One of the things I've struggled with the most from coming to terms with the sexual abuse

05:06is struggling to really trust my gut and really believing myself when I feel like something

05:09is wrong.'"

05:10Noting that she has to ask others for confirmation often when she feels like a situation is uncomfortable,

05:15Raisman revealed that she is working through this in therapy.

05:17"'Therapy is so crucial and is so helpful to healing.'"

05:23Having become an advocate for mental health care and awareness, Raisman even partnered

05:27with Senvelo, an app that provides people with mental health support. She told Shape,

05:30"'I know I have been outspoken. I know I have done a lot of interviews about the abuse.

05:34But it doesn't mean it's easy for me. It doesn't mean that it gets easier every time I speak

05:37about it. I think when dealing with anxiety, it's important to talk about it even though

05:41it's uncomfortable. Speaking about her book, Fierce, How Competing for

05:44Myself Changed Everything," which came out in 2017, Raisman added to Shape,

05:48"'I felt like if I was going to write a book, it was important to include abuse stories because

05:52although it was horrific what I and so many others went through, I think that together

05:55we're creating an army.'"

05:57Allie Raisman is a two-time Olympic gymnast and a three-time gold medalist, but she has

06:01also had to deal with body shaming from strangers in public. Back in 2017, the former gymnast

06:06shared an incident that happened at an airport on Twitter, posting,

06:08"'Lady at TSA. Gymnast? I recognize you by your biceps. Man at TSA. I don't see any muscles

06:14and continues to stare at me. How rude and uncomfortable.'"

06:17She continued,

06:17"'I work very hard to be healthy and fit. The fact that a man thinks he can judge my arms

06:21pisses me off. I am so sick of this judgmental generation.'"

06:24Raisman later shared with Shape that even Olympic gymnasts feel insecure sometimes, saying,

06:28"'Everyone struggles with some insecurity. I know sometimes people act like they don't,

06:32but I think it's really important to remember that everyone struggles with it, no matter who you are.'"

06:36Allie Raisman's dog Milo was scared of fireworks on the 4th of July holiday weekend and ran away

06:41on July 3rd, 2021, leading the former Olympian to share now-deleted pleas on Twitter in hopes

06:46that fellow Boston residents would help her find him. Raisman even asked People to put flyers up,

06:50and at one point offered a reward for a safe return. She posted,

06:53"'I'm devastated. Milo is my everything. I feel like a piece of me is missing.'"

06:57Thankfully, there is a happy ending to the story. Raisman tweeted on July 9th,

07:01"'Heroes! Milo is safe. I have him.'"

07:04She also thanked the Good Samaritans who found Milo and returned him to her, adding,

07:07"'We'll share more soon, but for now, going to snuggle with my everything.'"

07:10A week later, the former gymnast celebrated Milo's first birthday on Instagram, writing

07:14alongside a white-heart emoji,

07:15"'Happy first birthday to my favorite! Thankful for you every single day.'"

07:19If you or anyone you know has been a victim of sexual assault, help is available. Visit the

07:24Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network website or contact RAINN's National Helpline at 1-800-656-HOPE.

07:30That's 1-800-656-4673.

Tragic Details About Aly Raisman

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