VIDEO: Simone Biles Sounding off on USA Gymnastics is Everything We Needed to Hear
By Sean Facey
The US Women's Gymnastics team has had a tumultuous time over the past year. The revelations of Larry Nassar's horrifying abuse of athletes and his subsequent conviction brought about both relief and outrage. That's what makes four-time Olympic gold medalist Simone Biles' thoughts on the disgusting inaction of USA Gymnastics so refreshing to hear. You'll want to check this out:
Emotional @Simone_Biles expresses frustration toward USA gymnastics at the 2019 U.S. Championships. pic.twitter.com/eM9ameQw6e
— Olympic Channel (@olympicchannel) August 7, 2019
"It's hard coming here for an organization having had them fail us so many times," she said in reference to the lack of action in response to the numerous reports by athletes of Nassar's abuse. "They had one damn job...you had one job and you didn't protect us."
Her visceral words speak to the pain felt by all of the athletes who suffered at the hands of Larry Nassar while the people who were charged with helping them sat idly by.
The more I learn, the more I hurt. USAG failed us. USOC failed us. Many failed us. And they continue to fail us. Real and actual change isn’t easy but it’s clear there’s a lot more work that needs to be done.https://t.co/owRBFtacfn
— Simone Biles (@Simone_Biles) August 5, 2019
Such negligence has left far too many innocent people with deep psychological wounds that may never fully heal.
It's good that she chose to let loose. USA Gymnastics needs to be held accountable for how they approached the situation, and the best way for that to happen is for people like Biles to speak out.