USA Gymnastics attorney negotiated cover story with Nassar: report

USA Gymnastics officials reportedly agreed to provide excuses for former Olympic doctor Larry Nassar when he missed pre-Olympic events while under investigation for child sexual abuse in 2015.

According to emails obtained by the IndyStar this week, Nassar asked USA Gymnastics attorney Scott Himsel to cover for him twice: first asking if officials could say that he was “sick” and then if they could say he was focusing on his private practice.

“Can we just say that i am sick?” Nassar wrote in one email to Himsel. “That would make more sense to everyone. Would that be ok?”

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In both instances, Himsel agreed to have the organization use the explanations that Nassar had requested, according to the newspaper.

The revelation adds to scrutiny surrounding USA Gymnastics and how it handled the probe into Nassar’s sexual abuse of minors before the information became public.

At a hearing about sexual abuse of Olympic athletes earlier this week, lawmakers slammed Kerry Perry, the CEO of USA Gymnastics, for the organization’s failure to protect Nassar’s victims.

“How can you work for an organization like this?” Rep. Buddy Carter (R-Ga.) asked Perry during the House Energy and Commerce subcommittee hearing.

Carter also asked Perry and the acting chief executive of the U.S. Olympic Committee, Susanne Lyons, to explain how their organizations plan to address allegations of sexual abuse moving forward.

Perry, speaking publicly for the first time since she took over the position six months ago, apologized for the organization’s failure to protect Nassar’s victims.

“Every day that I wake up, I think, ‘How do we make sure as an entity that we are doing everything we can to protect our athletes?’” she said. 

Himsel and USA Gymnastics declined to comment for the IndyStar story.

The newspaper noted that USA Gymnastics has repeatedly said that athlete safety is its highest goal and that it did not disclose the Nassar probe because the FBI had asked it to remain silent. The FBI declined to comment for the report.