Senators seek answers from USA Gymnastics, Michigan State over sex abuse scandal

Sens. Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) and Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) are seeking answers from USA Gymnastics and Michigan State University over their handling of sexual abuse complaints against Dr. Larry Nassar, who was sentenced Wednesday to up to 175 years in prison.

“Recent reports and revelations from Dr. Nassar’s sentencing hearings provide ample evidence that USAG and MSU were negligent in acting on reports of Nassar’s abuse of more than 140 young women,” the senators wrote to Kerry Perry, the president of USA Gymnastics.

This week, Larry Nassar was sentenced to 40+ years for sexually abusing over 150 young women. @SenBlumenthal & I are demanding answers from @USAGym, U.S. Olympic Committee & @michiganstateu regarding their systemic failures & their plans to protect athletes from sexual abuse. pic.twitter.com/Urmji202Wc

— Senator Jerry Moran (@JerryMoran) January 25, 2018

The senators, who are the top two members of a Senate subcommittee that oversees athlete protection, expressed concern that Olympic gold medalist McKayla Maroney was paid to sign a nondisclosure agreement that included a $100,000 fine if she spoke out about Nassar. 

{mosads}USA Gymnastics said it would not fine Maroney if she spoke out, which she did in a statement read in the courtroom.

Moran and Blumenthal asked Perry about USA Gymnastics’s reporting protocols, Maroney’s nondisclosure agreement, the organization’s general use of nondisclosure agreements and its handling of reports related to Nassar. 

More than 150 women testified in recent days that Nassar sexually abused them while he worked as a doctor for USA Gymnastics and Michigan State University. He was sentenced Wednesday to 40 to 175 years in prison.

The NCAA will investigate Michigan State’s handling of complaints against Nassar. University President Lou Anna Simon resigned Wednesday night over the scandal.