On Wednesday, more than 90 American gymnasts filed a lawsuit against the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) seeking $1 billion in damages, accusing it of "negligence" in the sexual abuse scandal. Gymnast Maggie Nichols stated, citing a release from the law firm "Manly, Stewart & Finaldi," that "the FBI knew Larry Nassar posed a danger to children when the abuse I was a victim of was reported for the first time in September 2015." She accused FBI agents of "working" with USA Gymnastics and the U.S. Olympic Committee "for 421 days to conceal this information from the public, allowing Nassar to continue abusing girls and young women."
Larry Nassar, 58, is serving a life sentence for the sexual exploitation of over 300 athletes, most of whom were minors, over two decades from 1996 to 2014, including stars from the teams that competed in the 2012 London and 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics during his tenure at USA Gymnastics as well as Michigan State University and a gymnastics club.
The first complaints against him were filed in July 2015 with the local FBI office in Indianapolis. The investigation was soon dropped, and it took another report in May 2016 for federal authorities to begin new inquiries. The Department of Justice's inspector general stated in a damning report that FBI agents "committed several fundamental errors, violating multiple FBI rules." Despite this, the department announced in late May that it would not prosecute the errant agents.
However, former Olympic champion McKayla Maroney stated in the same release: "I and other victims have been betrayed by all the institutions that were supposed to protect us," referring to the federation, the committee, the FBI, and the Department of Justice. She added: "It is clear that our only path to justice and healing is through legal action."
In September 2021, Maroney, Simone Biles, and Nichols criticized the inaction of sports authorities and police in addressing the allegations against Nassar before a Senate committee. The FBI has not commented on this, referring to the testimony of FBI Director Christopher Wray before the Senate committee last year, where he apologized to the victims and acknowledged that "the fundamental errors made in 2015 and 2016 should never have happened." In December 2021, U.S. sports authorities agreed to pay $380 million in compensation to the victims of Larry Nassar.
