‘I Am Haunted’: National Gymnast Maggie Nichols Testifies in FBI-Nassar Investigation

Olympic gymnasts shared opening statements before Congress on Wednesday, September 15, as the Senate investigated the FBI’s response to allegations of sexual abuse against former team doctor Larry Nassar, now a convicted sex offender. The opening statements were part of a Senate Judiciary inquiry into the FBI’s investigation into allegations of Nassar’s sexual abuse when he was a doctor with USA Gymnastics and at Michigan State University. Simone Biles and McKayla Maroney said the FBI mishandled their reports of abuse. Video streamed live by CSPAN captured emotional testimony from Maggie Nichols, a former USA National Team gymnast. Nichols said that even though her identity was shielded in law enforcement reports, “I want everyone to know that this didn’t happen to Gymnast 2, or Athlete A,” she said. “It happened to me, Maggie Nichols.” Nichols said, “I reported my abuse to USA Gymnastics over six years ago. And still, my family and I received few answers and have even more questions about how this was allowed to occur, and why dozens of other little girls and women at Michigan State had to be abused after I reported. In sacrificing my childhood for the chance to compete for the United States, I am haunted by the fact that even after I reported my abuse, so many women and girls had to suffer at the hands of Larry Nassar.” Nassar was sentenced to 40 to 175 years in prison and was accused of sexual abuse by more than 150 women and girls. Credit: CSPAN via Storyful

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