Report: USA Gymnastics Didn't Ask Simone Biles If She Was Abused by Larry Nassar

An investigator working for USA Gymnastics never interviewed Simone Biles to ask whether she was abused by Larry Nassar, the Wall Street Journal's Louise Radnofsky reported (h/t Nancy Armour of USA Today).

Biles didn't provide a comment to Radnofsky, but her parents, Ron and Nellie, issued a statement to the WSJ: "We continue to struggle with how and why this happened, and every time we hear something new like this, it feels like the harshest of betrayals and it is just too painful for our family to talk about openly."

Biles later addressed the story on Twitter:

Nassar worked as a team doctor for USA Gymnastics. He received concurrent prison sentences of 40 to 175 years and 40 to 125 years in 2018 after pleading guilty to multiple counts of sexual assault.

Biles shared a statement on Twitter to say she was among the gymnasts who had been abused by Nassar.

"For too long I've asked myself, 'Was I too naive? Was it my fault?'" she wrote. "I now know the answer to those questions. No. No, it was not my fault. No, I will not and should not carry the guilt that belongs to Larry Nassar, USAG, and others."

The Indianapolis Star first published in August 2016 an investigation into USA Gymnastics that "uncovered multiple examples of children suffering the consequences, including a Georgia case in which a coach preyed on young female athletes for seven years after USA Gymnastics dismissed the first of four warnings about him."

The Star followed up in September 2016 to report two former gymnasts had accused Nassar of sexual abuse.

Rhonda Faehn, the former senior vice president of USA Gymnastics, provided written testimony in June 2018 as part of an investigation by the Senate Commerce Subcommittee on Manufacturing, Trade, and Consumer Protection. 

Faehn said she had informed then-USAG President Steve Penny of allegations against Nassar in June 2015. A note she had provided to the Senate subcommittee included the names of Biles and Aly Raisman.

Legal representatives for Penny, however, told the Wall Street Journal that Faehn had not provided Biles' name specifically as a possible victim of Nassar.