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Jordan Chiles shared if she has ever spoken to her teammate Simone Biles about disgraced national team doctor Larry Nassar's sexual abuse. The two were on the USA Women's Gymnastics National Team together and were also on the U.S. Women's Olympics Team together however while they were on the national team together, hundreds of young gymnasts were sexually abused by Nassar.
The former national team doctor was sentenced to 40 to 175 years in prison in 2018 after more than 150 women and girls spoke out against him in court, confirming the sexual abuse that occurred over the last 20 years. The year prior he was sentenced to 60 years in prison for child pornography. Nassar pleaded guilty to molesting girls under the guise of medical treatment. 2017 to 60 years in prison on charges of possessing child sex abuse material.
Of the over 150 victims that Nassar abused, Chiles was not one but her teammate and friend Biles was.
“When that whole thing happened, trust me, I was devastated,” Chiles told PEOPLE. “Still, to this day, I've never talked to her about it. I don't think I ever will talk to her about it because that was her life, and you never know how hard it is on somebody.”
“I think just having my presence was the best thing that I could give to her, rather than sitting down somewhere and having a whole conversation because that's very devastating,” Chiles said. “If we ever have the conversation, I would literally probably [just] cry.”
Biles spoke out the abuse back in 2021 in her opening statement that the USA Gymnastics and the United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee — “failed to do their jobs.” She and the other gymnasts that were abused by Nassar are seeking $1b in damages from the FBI.
“I don't want another young gymnast, or Olympic athlete, or any individual to experience the horror that I and hundreds of others have endured before, during and continuing to this day in the wake of the Larry Nassar abuse,” said Biles per NBC News.
“We suffered and continue to suffer because no one at FBI, USAG or the USOPC did what was necessary to protect us,” she said. “We have been failed, and we deserve answers. Nassar is where he belongs, but those who enabled him deserve to be held accountable. If they are not, I am convinced that this will continue to happen to others across Olympic sports.”
Simone Biles and Jordan Chiles' Friendship
Chiles and Biles met in over a decade ago and the seven-time Olympic gold medalist encouraged her to train at her gym at the World Champions Centre in Texas. The two have spoken about how they lean on one another through tough times.
“I mean, I brought it up some days [because some] are better than others when you’re at practice,” Chiles told Us Weekly last year. “I think the real thing was we understand each other, whether we have to talk to each other or not, we’ll ask each other if we’re OK.”
“Mental health is such a huge thing right now, so we want to make sure everybody’s OK in each and every way,” Chiles added. “But when it came to that, I kind of kept that to myself. It was more so, I told my parents or my siblings because I really didn’t know [if I’d try to nab an Olympics slot]. I was like, ‘What do I do?’ But yeah, once it got closer, I was like, ‘Nah, this is what I’m doing. This is how we put everything into this.’”
