WASHINGTON – Olympian Jordyn Wieber testified before the Senate Subcommittee on Consumer Protection, Product Safety, Insurance, and Data Security on Wednesday afternoon.
The hearing was titled: "Olympic Abuse: The Role of National Governing Bodies in Protecting Our Athletes."
"This week's hearing is a critical step forward in our investigation into the serious systemic abuses across generations of young athletes," said Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), the subcommittee's ranking member. "Former gymnasts and their families sat down with me and Chairman Moran to share their deeply personal stories, further underscoring the urgency of rooting out appalling abuse in amateur sports. I continue to be in awe of the incredible bravery of the athletes who have spoken out to help advance this investigation - and to ensure no child athlete has to suffer again."
The hearing provided a forum for survivors of abuse to discuss specific concerns and challenges in preventing abuse within their respective sports. Athletes had an opportunity to provide lawmakers with advice on overseeing the implementation of the recently enacted "Protecting Young Victims from Sexual Abuse and Safe Sport Authorization Act of 2017" (P.L. 115-126), authorizing an independent entity to investigate and prevent abuse of athletes.
Witnesses:
- Ms. Jordyn Wieber, Gymnast and Olympic Gold Medalist (London, 2012)
- Ms. Jamie Dantzscher, Gymnast and Olympic Bronze Medalist (Sydney, 2000)
- Ms. Bridie Farrell, Speedskater and 2014 Olympic hopeful
- Mr. Craig Maurizi, Figureskater
Jordyn Wieber testifies after filing lawsuit
Back in January, U.S. gold medalist Jordyn Wieber admitted that she, too, was abused by Larry Nassar.
Now she has filed her own lawsuit against Nassar, the United States Olympic Committee and USA Gymnastics, and Michigan State University.
Wieber, 22, said the abuse happened on campus at Michigan State and at USA Gymnastics events around the world. Her lawsuit claims these organizations were more interested in their reputation, donations and recruiting new members than the safety of young athletes.
"I think there were people who knew and chose to stay silent. Do i think it was everyone? Absolutey not. But I do believe there were people who knew," said Wieber.
Her attorney said USA Gymnastics failed to follow their own rules and regulations. They want an independent party to step in.
"If you're allowing people inside to address the problem, it won't work," said attorney Vince Finaldi. "I think the victims need to have a voice in that process if we're really going to fix it."
Meanwhile, Wieber and three other Olympians will be testifying Wednesday. The Senate Committee will focus on how national governing bodies can better protect athletes from abuse.
Here is a statement from Michigan State University spokesperson Emily Guerrant:
"MSU is committed to coming to a resolution for the survivors. We are deeply sorry for abuse the survivors suffered at the hands of Larry Nassar and are working to make sure that something like this can never happen again. Improvements to our reporting practices, sexual assault investigations and employee training procedures are all underway. In addition, we’re working to add more counseling and therapist staff positions and to reduce the response times for complaints."
You can view the full complaint below.
WARNING: There is some graphic language in the complaint.