British Gymnastics mistreatment allegations: Athletes cannot 'heal', says Aly Raisman

Gymnasts will not be able to "heal" if an investigation into allegations of mistreatment in British Gymnastics takes a long time, says Aly Raisman.

American Raisman, 26, is a survivor of the biggest abuse scandal in US gymnastics history.

Several British gymnasts have recently alleged there has been a culture of mistreatment in the sport.

GB Olympic bronze medallist Amy Tinkler said she "would give up that medal to not have gone through what I did".

Tinkler, 20, submitted a complaint over allegations of mistreatment within the sport in December 2019, which was dismissed in August.

"It's so devastating to hear and it's heartbreaking because as a little girl you dream about going the Olympics," three-time Olympic champion Raisman told BBC Sport about her own experience. "It's such a magical thing as a kid.

"Every time an adult enables the abuse, or gaslights you or doesn't believe you, it feels like you're being abused all over again and it's continually traumatising, so the healing and the aftermath of the abuse is so important for people to understand."

The Whyte Review, an independent review into the allegations of mistreatment within British Gymnastics, is under way, with a call for evidence running until Friday.

Raisman, 26, added: "I feel like it is so important for British Gymnastics to really listen to the athletes, listen to the parents, listen to the family and the friends around the athletes and really understand what happened.

"There needs to be accountability. In order for the athletes to believe in real change they need to do the right thing.

"In order to fix the problem, in order to believe in change, there needs to be a complete independent investigation to make sure that we understand exactly why this happened, and in order for the trust to be back in athletes, the athletes need to be in the room and it can't just be like a few conversations over tea.

"It really has to be real, meaningful conversation and really allowing these athletes to be a part of it and empowering them to really want to speak up and share their story, and making an environment where there are no repercussions if an athlete does speak up because that I think is something that athletes are very afraid of."

'It really is a problem with the culture'

Raisman was one of many gymnasts who addressed the court at Larry Nassar's sentencing hearing in 2018. He was sentenced to more than 300 years in jail after being convicted of the abuse of at least 265 women at USA Gymnastics and Michigan State University.

But she has criticised the International Gymnastics Federation (FIG) for being "very quiet" on the abuse allegations that have rocked the sport.

"I have been really disappointed but I guess I'm not surprised," said Raisman.

"I think a lot of the issue with these organisations and the FIG is that these people have been in these positions of power for a really long time and it's time to take a hard look at who's working there and ask important questions like why does the FIG think it's OK to not step in and not do something.

"It's very clear it's not just a few people speaking up, it really is a problem with the culture and I think it's really important for people in leadership to really do the right thing, and if they don't feel like they have what it takes or they don't want to then they really shouldn't be in that position."

In an open letter in July, FIG president Morinari Watanabe said the "bravery" of athletes speaking out gave him hope because "there is a genuine will for change".

"From the bottom to the top of the pyramid, everyone can and must be part of the solution," he said in a later statement. "As the sport´s governing body, the FIG can certainly give the impetus but it is all together that we can build a positive culture where everybody can thrive and fully live their passion for the sport."

Raisman said: "The way that abuse is handled really greatly impacts how we are feeling and so the longer that it takes it really affects our healing and our journey.

"It can be so exhausting and it can be more triggering because we don't have that control. Every time they make a statement that we don't agree with, it just feels like another set of triggers and it can just be really exhausting."

She added: "If our abuse was handled the right way from the beginning I think the trajectory of our healing would be in a very different place.

"And of course if the right precautions and the prevention and education was in place from the very beginning, I don't believe the abuse would have even happened."