Lynn Raisman, the mother of Olympic gymnast Aly Raisman, blasted Tom Izzo over his comments about Larry Nassar and Michigan State’s president.
After Michigan State’s 85-57 win over Indiana on Friday, Izzo faced questions about school president Lou Anna K. Simon. Simon has come under heat for the way she and the school handled accusations of sexual abuse by Nassar, a former osteopathic physician at the school who worked as an athletic trainer. Nassar is accused of sexually abusing over 100 athletes at Michigan State and USA Gymnastics, including Raisman.
In his comments on the matter, Izzo expressed empathy towards the victims, but also said he hoped the right person was convicted, indicating he wasn’t completely sold on Nassar being a serial child abuser. He also expressed support for Simon.
Izzo has been a coach at Michigan State since 1983 and became the Spartans’ head basketball coach in 1995. He is one of the most respected figures in athletics in the state, as well as one of the most respected college basketball coaches in the country.
Izzo’s comment that he hoped they got the right guy did not sit well at all with Raisman, who blasted the coach on Twitter Saturday.
Raisman has a good reason for the tweet. Izzo’s comment about hoping they got the right person could not be worse. Nassar already has pleaded guilty to felony child pornography charges and several sexual assault charges. Over 100 people have come forward to share their stories of how Nassar abused them.
Aly Raisman, who has won six Olympic medals in gymnastics for the USA, was one of the victims to speak in court on Friday and address Nassar.
Several other USA Gymnastics national team members have accused Nassar of sexually abusing them, including McKayla Maroney, Jordyn Wieber, Simone Biles and Gabby Douglas. Biles and Douglas, teammates on the “Final Five” gymnastics team, had previously gotten into a social media tiff over victim shaming. Douglas was among those who later stepped forward as one of Nassar’s victims.
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