Gymnastics

Roughly 90 women, including four-time Olympic gold medalist Simone Biles, seek a settlement in excess of $1 billion from the FBI over its handling of the allegations against former USA Gymnastics team doctor Larry Nassar.

According to Ed White of the Associated Press, the women say the FBI failed to act with the proper urgency to stop Nassar after becoming aware of sexual assault allegations against him in 2015.

Nassar, who was a doctor at Michigan State University, was not arrested until the fall of 2016 following an investigation by MSU police.

Nassar was sentenced to up to 175 years in prison in 2018 for molesting seven young gymnasts and later received a sentence of up to 125 years on three further counts of criminal sexual conduct. He had previously been sentenced to 60 years in prison on child pornography charges.

Per White, USA Gymnastics informed the FBI in 2015 that three gymnasts said Nassar had sexually assaulted them.

The FBI did not launch a formal investigation at the time, nor did it inform federal or state authorities. It also failed to inform state authorities in Michigan when it opened an investigation in 2016 even though Nassar was still working at Michigan State University at the time.

FBI Director Christopher Wray admitted the FBI erred in its handling of the Nassar investigation while speaking to Congress last year: "I'm especially sorry that there were people at the FBI who had their own chance to stop this monster back in 2015 and failed. And that's inexcusable."

Multiple settlements have already been reached in relation to Nassar. The U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee gave victims $380 million last year.

Additionally, Michigan State reached a $500 million settlement in 2018 with more than 300 women and girls who said Nassar sexually assaulted them.

In 2018, Eaton County Circuit Court Judge Janice Cunningham said 265 known victims of Nassar had been discovered.

Among the notable gymnasts who seek a settlement from the FBI are Biles, Aly Raisman and McKayla Maroney.

Biles is one of the greatest gymnasts of all time, having won five gold medals in the all-around at the world championships and one Olympic gold in the all-around. Biles is a four-time gold medalist and has won seven medals overall at the Summer Games.

Raisman twice won Olympic gold in the team event and once in the floor exercise, along with three other Olympic medals, including silver in the all-around in 2016.

Maroney won team gold and silver in the vault at the 2012 London Olympics as part of the "Fierce Five" U.S. Olympic team.

Olympic superstar Simone Biles and Houston Texans safety Jonathan Owens are getting married. 

The couple announced on social media that Owens proposed Monday:

"Appreciate my dawg @don_julio314 for helping me set everything up, she really had no clue what was coming 😂 @zofrost you went crazy on this one bro really made the night special," Owens wrote on Instagram about the proposal. 

Biles and Owens made their relationship public in August 2020. 

Biles is one of the most decorated U.S. athletes in Olympic history. She has seven career Olympic medals, tied with Shannon Miller for the most ever by an American in gymnastics. The 24-year-old won four gold medals at the 2016 Games in the all-around, vault, floor exercise and team event. 

Owens just finished his third season with the Texans. He was originally undrafted out of Missouri Western in 2018 before signing with the Arizona Cardinals. 

After being waived the Cardinals in August 2019, Owens joined the Texans practice squad. The 26-year-old made his NFL debut in Week 11 of the 2019 season, playing eight snaps on special teams against the Indianapolis Colts. 

Owens has appeared in 13 games combined over the past two seasons. He recorded his first career interception in a Week 16 win over the Los Angeles Chargers this season. 

Having already won gold in the Olympics, Suni Lee made her first all-around performance at Auburn University one to remember.

The American gymnast won the all-around event for the Tigers with a score of 39.700 to carry them to a narrow 197.525-197.125 victory over ninth-ranked Alabama on Friday night.

Per Tom Green of AL.com, Auburn's score Friday was the second-highest team total in school history (197.750 in 2015 vs. Georgia).

In addition to her triumph in the all-around, Lee shared the top spot in the individual balance beam (9.975) and bars (9.925).

Despite her success against the Crimson Tide, Lee said she is still working her way back into peak form.

"I think I was expecting too much of myself, and I feel like I just had to do everything for everybody, and this time I actually wrote in my journal before the competition and was telling myself to go up there and enjoy it and just be myself," she said, per Green.

Auburn entered the week ranked eighth in the nation by the College Gymnastics Association. Friday's win moved the Tigers to 4-0 this season, and their next competition will be at LSU on Feb. 5.

Lee enrolled at Auburn over the summer after competing for Team USA at the Olympics in Tokyo. The 18-year-old won three medals, including gold in the women's all-around.

Reigning Olympic all-around champion Suni Lee said recently that she has received negative reactions from the Hmong community for being in an interracial relationship.

The 18-year-old Lee is an Asian American with connections to the Hmong community, which originated in China before migrating to Laos and Thailand. She is dating USC safety Jaylin Smith, who is Black.

According to Scott Stump of Today, Lee posted photos of herself and Smith on Instagram on Dec. 26. Shortly thereafter, TikTok user alixphom, who describes himself as "half Hmong," made a video in which he supported the relationship, writing: "I know that Sunisa will be judged by certain eyes in the Hmong Community because her man is Black. LOVE is LOVE, no matter what race or gender you are. Keep doing you QUEEN."

Lee responded in the comments, writing: "This makes me so happy. I've received so much hate. They support me when it's beneficial for them never when it comes to my happiness. Thank you!"

Comments on her Instagram post were disabled.

Lee was born and raised in Saint Paul, Minnesota, to a Hmong mother, Yeev Thoj, who immigrated to the United States from Laos as a child. Lee was also raised by father John Lee, who is also Hmong-born and moved to the United States as a child, from the age of two.

After qualifying for the 2021 U.S. Olympic gymnastics team, Lee established herself as a top contender to win gold when teammate Simone Biles dropped out of the all-around competition to focus on her mental health. After landing top-five scores in all four disciplines, Lee became the fifth consecutive American woman to win Olympic all-around gold and the first Asian American woman to ever win the event.

Lee also won a silver medal in the team event and bronze in the uneven bars.

Following the Olympics, Lee competed on Dancing with the Stars, finishing in fifth place and second among the athletes involved.

Lee officially signed her letter of intent with Auburn University in late 2020 and is set to begin competing for the Tigers this year.

American gymnast Simone Biles was among the honorees for People magazine's People of the Year for 2021.

The outlet said Biles "redefined what it means to win in sports and "changed the way we think about athletes' mental health."

The 24-year-old carried massive expectations on her shoulders heading into the 2021 Summer Olympics in Tokyo. She won four gold medals in 2016 and built a resume to make her arguably the greatest gymnast ever.

Biles briefly withdrew from Team USA in the middle of the Olympics, citing the strain it was placing on her mental health, which in turn affected her performance. Having earned a silver in the team competition before withdrawing, she returned for the balance beam and won bronze.

Biles later told The Cut's Camonghne Felix she didn't think she should've competed in the Olympics at all in retrospect. She was among the many victims of former USA Gymnastics doctor Larry Nassar, and that influenced her decision to continue along a qualifying track.

"I should have quit way before Tokyo, when Larry Nassar was in the media for two years. It was too much," she said. "But I was not going to let him take something I've worked for since I was six years old. I wasn't going to let him take that joy away from me."

During the Olympics and in the aftermath of the event, Biles served to underscore the importance of maintaining one's mental health and knowing when to take a step back.

United States Olympic gold medal-winning gymnast Sunisa Lee said she was the victim of an anti-Asian attack recently. 

In an interview with Yerin Kim of PopSugar.com, Lee said she was out with a group of friends, all of whom are of Asian descent, when a group of people in the car drove by them yelling racial slurs before one of them pepper-sprayed her on the arm.  

"I was so mad, but there was nothing I could do or control because they skirted off," Lee said of her reaction. "I didn't do anything to them, and having the reputation, it's so hard because I didn't want to do anything that could get me into trouble. I just let it happen."

There has been a dramatic rise in the number of anti-Asian hate crimes reported across the United States since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.

According to Sakshi Venkatraman of NBC News, FBI statistics show there were 279 reported hate crimes against Asians in 2020. That represents a 73 percent increase from 2019 when there were 161 reported. 

Multiple athletes of Asian descent have said they experienced racist taunts over the past year. Former NBA player Jeremy Lin wrote on his personal Facebook page in February (h/t ESPN's Nick Friedell) he was "called 'coronavirus' on the court" by an opposing player during a G League game. 

Per Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium, the G League identified the player and handled the matter internally with Lin's support. 

Cleveland infielder Yu Chang tweeted out a series of racist messages he received on social media after an April game against the Chicago White Sox.

Lee won three medals as part of the U.S. women's gymnastics team at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo. She became the first Hmong-American to qualify for the Olympics. The 18-year-old won the gold medal in the women's all-around. 

Former United States Olympic gymnast Aly Raisman tweeted her support for former Chicago Blackhawks prospect Kyle Beach on Thursday after he came forward as the previously unnamed player in an investigation into the Blackhawks' handling of a 2010 sexual assault allegation against a former coach.

Raisman, who previously came forward as a victim of sexual assault by former USA Gymnastics team doctor Larry Nassar, tweeted the following:

Beach, who was previously referred to as "John Doe" in a lawsuit against the Blackhawks, announced Wednesday that he was the player who told the organization he had been sexually assaulted and harassed by then-Blackhawks video coach Brad Aldrich in 2010.

Per ESPN's Emily Kaplan, an independent investigation conducted by Chicago-based law firm Jenner & Block determined that the Blackhawks took no action when Beach reported the abuse.

Appearing Wednesday on TSN (h/t Kaplan), Beach said he "buried" the secret for 11 years and that it "destroyed me from the inside out."

Six-time Olympic medallist Raisman, 27, was one of several United States gymnasts who came forward about being victims of Nassar. Thanks to testimony from Raisman, Simone Biles, McKayla Maroney and others, Nassar was convicted of multiple sexual assaults and will spend the rest of his life in prison.

Although Aldrich was quietly allowed to resign from the Blackhawks following the 2009-10 season, his name is on the Stanley Cup and he was permitted to have the traditional day with the Cup after Chicago won it in 2010.

With the police not being informed of Beach's allegation and there being no record of it in Aldrich's performance reviews, he was able to continue working in hockey. In 2014, he was sentenced to nine months in prison for sexually assaulting a high school hockey player while volunteering at the school.

The 31-year-old Beach never appeared in an NHL game for the Blackhawks. He currently plays professionally in Germany.

Simone Biles took a valuable lesson away from her experience at the Tokyo Olympics over the summer. 

Speaking to USA Today's Nancy Armour, Biles said she learned more about herself at this year's Games than she ever knew before. 

"How courageous, how brave I am," she said. "Because I always like to fake bravery. But I really think that solidified me being brave, speaking up for myself and just putting myself first."

Biles was originally set to take part in five events in Tokyo, including the team all-around, individual all-around, vault, floor exercise and balance beam.

During the team competition, the 24-year-old withdrew after posting a 13.766 score on the balance beam because she didn't feel mentally fit to compete. 

"After the performance I did, I just didn't want to go on," she told reporters about the decision. "I have to focus on my mental health. I just think mental health is more prevalent in sports right now."

Biles explained that her original vault routine called for 2.5 twists, but she only made it through 1.5 because she "just got a little bit lost in the air." 

Team USA went on to win the silver medal in the event. 

Biles later withdrew from the all-around, vault and floor exercise for the same reason. The Ohio native did participate in the balance beam, winning the bronze medal. 

During the Olympics, Biles also revealed her aunt died on Aug. 1. 

One month after the Games ended, Biles was one of four Olympians who testified before a Senate Judiciary Committee about the abuse suffered at the hands of former USA Gymnastics team doctor Larry Nassar. 

Competing in her second Olympics, Biles tied Shannon Miller for most career medals won by an American female gymnast (seven).    

Decorated gymnast Simone Biles has yet to commit to the 2024 Olympics in Paris, but it looks as though she's warming up to the idea.

In the most recent episode of the Facebook Watch and Religion of Sports series Simone vs Herself, Biles' head coach Cecile Canqueteau-Landi hinted at the possibility of Biles returning.

"Actually, she texted me a couple days ago and she said, 'Ha ha, tell me why I'm thinking of 2024.' ... I said, 'Unfinished business?' And she responded with, 'Maybe,'" Canqueteau-Landi said.

Biles participated in the Tokyo Olympics but withdrew from five finals to focus on her mental health. She competed in the balance beam and won a bronze medal, giving her seven career Olympic medals, which is tied with Shannon Miller for most all-time by an American gymnast.