Jordan Chiles reveals why she and Simone Biles have never discussed Larry Nassar abuse scandal
Jordan Chiles has revealed how she supported fellow Team USA gymnast Simone Biles when the extent of disgraced doctor Larry Nassar’s sexual abuse was uncovered.
Chiles and Biles both trained at the now-closed Karolyi Ranch National Team Training Center in Huntsville, Texas where hundreds of gymnasts suffered sexual abuse at the hands of the pedophile doctor.
While Chiles was never one of Nassar’s victims, Biles was one of more than 150 gymnasts who were abused by the former national team doctor during his 30-year career.
And Chiles, who won gold with Biles in the team event at the Paris Olympics last summer, has now detailed the moment she discovered that her friend had been abused by Nassar.
‘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.’
In 2019, Biles revealed that the trauma of the assaults had left her struggling with suicidal thoughts.
Jordan Chiles detailed the moment she discovered Simone Biles had been sexually abused
Larry Nassar, former national team doctor, sexually abused hundreds of gymnasts
She hit the headlines at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics for her shock withdrawal, which she later hinted was in part due to the sexual abuse she had suffered from Nassar.
At the time, she admitted that she was ‘sleeping all the time’ because it was ‘the closest thing to death’, while revealing that she was undergoing therapy in order to deal with the abuse.
Chiles explained how she supported her friend and teammate through the ordeal.
‘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.’
Nassar admitted to sexually assaulting the athletes when he worked at Michigan State University and USA Gymnastics.
The doctor also admitted to possessing child pornography, and more than 100 women sought over $1billion from the federal government for the FBI’s failure to stop him.
He was sentenced in federal court in 2017 to 60 years in prison on charges of possessing child sex abuse material. The following year, Nassar was sentenced to up to 175 years and up to 125 years, respectively, in two separate Michigan courts for molesting female gymnasts under his care.
Biles and Chiles competed alongside each other for Team USA at the 2021 and 2024 Olympics
In 2018, USA Gymnastics terminated its agreement with the Karolyi coaches’ camp after the abuse was uncovered in an investigation.
Biles publicly broke her silence in January 2018, revealing in a powerful tweet that she was one of Nassar’s victims.
In her statement, she also shared her heartbreak over having to continue to train at Karolyi Ranch, the former USA Gymnastics national training center where she and other gymnasts were abused by the disgraced doctor.
‘It took me a long time to write that, probably a couple of days, because every time I would go to write, I would start balling, and I couldn’t get through it,’ she said.
