Simone Biles says she fears athletes will never get the answers they need from USAGymnastics over abuse.- The 24-year-old says she believes the organization will "hide" the answers to protect itself.
- Biles is one of over 368 gymnasts who have alleged to have been sexually abused by the organization's staff.
Simone Biles says she fears she will never get the answers she needs from USA Gymnastics because the organization is hiding them to protect itself.
Biles, 24, was one a of a number of athletes who were verbally and sexually abused while involved in elite gymnastics in the USA.
According to IndyStar, more than 368 gymnasts, most of whom were minors at the time, have alleged that they were sexually assaulted "by gym owners, coaches, and staff working for gymnastics programs across the country."
In January 2018, former USA Gymnastics physician, Larry Nassar, was sentenced to 175 years in prison for the sexual assault of more than 265 minors dating back to 1993. Biles was among the most high profile athletes who publicly accused Nassar of abuse.
John Geddert, who was head coach of the women's gymnastics team in 2012 and worked closely with Nassar, was charged with sexual assault and human trafficking last month. On the day charges against him were publicly announced, Geddert died by suicide.
Despite the charges against Nassar and Geddert, however, Biles says the full extent of the abuse remains unknown.
"We need to know who knew what, when, and how we can stop this from ever happening again," she told Texas Monthly when asked about the potential of an independent investigation into USA Gymnastics.
"We need the enablers to be gone, because if they're still in the system, or still working or profiting, we need them to be completely done," Biles added.
Asked if she believes the full truth will ever come to light about the scale of abuse in gymnastics in the US, Biles added: "No, they're [USA Gymnastics] gonna hide it because it's their organization, and they're protecting them."
Early in March, Olympic champion gymnast Aly Raisman, one of those abused by Nassar, called for an independent investigation into the organisation to fully uncover the truth.
In response to Raisman's comments, USA Gymnastics told CNN that it has "fully cooperated" with six independent investigations that have been led by "several congressional committees" and an "independent law firm."
In her Texas Monthly interview, Biles also pleaded with people on social media with to stop tagging her and other survivors in news stories related to the abuse.
"It's triggering, because sometimes I don't want to see it," she said.
"Obviously, I hear about it. My agent will inform me and then I have my parents informing me, but I don't need a constant reminder every ten minutes. People are just constantly tagging me.
"For this instance, it was about John Geddert. He's going to turn himself in. And then, unfortunately, he did commit
"It's just another knife to your stomach, because we still don't have all the answers we need."
Biles is the most decorated gymnast in world championship history, having won an astonishing 25 medals, 19 of which have been gold.
She won four gold medals at the 2016 Rio Olympics, and is primed to win more in at the Tokyo Games this summer, after which she is expected to retire from elite competition.