Report: FBI, U.S. Olympic Committee 'fundamentally failed' to protect athletes from Nassar's abuse

'They put medals and money above morals,' Blumenthal said

A new congressional report claims organizations like the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the U.S. Olympic Committee failed the athletes who were abused by imprisoned former sports physician Larry Nassar, according to NBC News.

The report said those organizations "fundamentally failed" to protect athletes. Two senators who are part of the subcommittee that spent 18 months investigating are Democrat Richard Blumenthal and Republican Jerry Moran. They went a step further and described what those organizations did as a cover-up.

"There are also profiles in cowardice and concealment because people looked the other way and they put medals and money above morals," Blumenthal said.

The report stated that between the summer of 2015 and September 2016, Olympic organizations knew of Nassar's abuse and concealed it, leading to the abuse of dozens of other athletes.

Leslie Miller said that's when the abuse of her daughter, Emma Ann's, was the worst. They've both been outspoken about their concerns over why it took more than a year after the FBI was alerted to the abuse for Nassar to be arrested.

"It's more about the changing of society and taking people's words like valuing and believing," Emma Ann Miller said.

The report also stated that neither the FBI nor the USOC notified Michigan State University, where Nassar worked. It also said MSU had opportunities to put an end to Nassar's abuse and did not.

This report could lead to legislation that would require more congressional oversight of the Olympic institutions. The senators told NBC that this could lead to criminal prosecution of those involved.


About the Authors:

Jason is Local 4’s utility infielder. In addition to anchoring the morning newscast, he often reports on a variety of stories from the tragic, like the shootings at Michigan State, to the off-beat, like great gas station food.

Kayla is a Web Producer for ClickOnDetroit. Before she joined the team in 2018 she worked at WILX in Lansing as a digital producer.