On Wednesday, the Senate Judiciary Committee heard testimonies from Olympic gymnast Simone Biles and her former United States teammates Aly Raisman, McKayla Maroney and Maggie Nichols.

The four gymnasts testified to the Committee that current and former FBI agents who mishandled the bureau’s investigation into former team doctor Larry Nassar should be held accountable. Nassar is serving a de facto life sentence after being convicted of multiple counts of sexual assault and child pornography.

“It truly feels like the FBI turned a blind eye to us,” Biles said during her testimony, breaking down into tears and adding that agents should be federally prosecuted in order to be held fully accountable.

According to a recent report published by the Department of Justice’s inspector general, the FBI agents handling the case failed to respond with the “seriousness and urgency” required following the initial reports of Nassar’s abuse in the summer of 2015. The FBI’s failure to act, it says, enabled Nassar to continue treating patients at Michigan State University and in Lansing, Mich., resulting in more than 70 girls and women being assaulted under the guise of medical treatment.

Maroney, a 2012 Olympian, described Nassar’s abuse in detail on Wednesday. The FBI agent taking her testimony reportedly asked at the end of her statement, “Is that all?” Maroney said she was crushed by the lack of empathy.

“Not only did the F.B.I. not report my abuse, but when they eventually documented my report 17 months later, they made entirely false claims about what I said,” Maroney testified. “They chose to lie about what I said and protect a serial child molester rather than protect not only me but countless others.

“By not taking action from my report, they allowed a child molester to go free for more than a year. They had legal evidence of child abuse and did nothing.”

Raisman backed up Maroney’s testimony, saying that it took over 14 months for FBI agents to contact her after she initially reported Nassar’s sexual assaults to USA Gymnastics in June 2015.

“The FBI made me feel like my abuse didn’t count and that it wasn’t real,” Raisman said.

Christopher A. Wray, who took over as FBI director in 2017, apologized to the gymnasts for the FBI’s failures.

“I’m sorry that so many people let you down again and again,” Wray said Wednesday. “I am especially sorry that there were people at the F.B.I. who had their own chance to stop this monster back in 2015 and failed, and that is inexcusable. It never should have happened, and we are doing everything in our power to make sure it never happens again.”

Wray added that one of the agents initially involved in the case, Michael Langeman, was fired two weeks ago. The other, W. Jay Abbott, voluntarily retired in 2018. Several senators were surprised and disgusted by the fact that Abbott was able to leave the FBI without discipline.

According to the Justice Department’s report, Langeman failed to properly document the interview with Maroney or open an investigation. It was also found that Abbott “violated F.B.I. policy and exercised extremely poor judgment under federal ethics rules.”

Abbott reportedly had been trying to get a job with the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee and had conversations with Steve Penny, who was the president of USA Gymnastics at the time.

But Penny’s attorneys have previously told ESPN that those assertions are “absurd.”

“The only favor that Steve wanted from Agent Abbott or anyone at the FBI was for them to promptly and thoroughly investigate Nassar,” the attorneys said.

Senator Patrick Leahy and others expressed outrage that that those who mishandled the case have not been prosecuted. He said that anyone who “turned a blind eye” to Nassar’s abuse should face criminal charges.

“A whole lot of people should be in prison,” Leahy said.

Biles wants the accountability to extend to officials from USAG and the USOPC.

“To be clear, I blame Larry Nassar, but I also blame an entire system that enabled and perpetrated his abuse,” she said. “This is the largest case of sexual abuse in the history of American sport, and although there has been an independent investigation of the FBI’s handling of the case, neither USAG nor the USOPC have ever been made the subject of the same level of scrutiny.”

Cameron Brink already has her rookie of the year pick for the upcoming WNBA season, and it’s Indiana-bound star Caitlin Clark. 

In the latest edition of Kelley on the Street, host Kelley O'Hara caught up with Brink in New York hours before the Stanford phenom went No. 2 overall to the Los Angeles Sparks at the 2024 WNBA Draft. When O’Hara asked who would win the WNBA's rookie of the year, she answered without pause.

"Caitlin Clark," she said, while a fan commented that she thought Brink would take home the award. Brink later added that the extra foul granted to WNBA players will be "good for me."

"I hope it’s me," Charisma Osborne, who was later drafted by the Phoenix Mercury, said when asked her ROY prediction. "But, I don’t know — we’ll see."

Watch more of Kelley on the Street:

Maria Sanchez issued a statement on Thursday, confirming recent reports that she has requested a trade from the Houston Dash. 

In it, she revealed that the club has been aware of the request "since late March."

"This has all taken a toll and isn’t an easy thing to talk about, but I want to confirm that I’ve requested an immediate trade," she wrote. "My expectations and reasons have been clear. I trust that my current club’s management will honor my decision in a timely manner and proceed with accepting a trade."

"I’m eager to refocus and dive back into what I love most: playing football," she concluded.

Thank you, everyone, for the outpouring of kindness and support. pic.twitter.com/gcnN7dhCJU

— Maria Sanchez (@Maria17_7) April 19, 2024

Reports of Sanchez's trade request first surfaced on ESPN last week, and were later confirmed by multiple sources. 

In December of last year, Sanchez signed a three-year contract with the Dash valued at $1.5 million including bonuses and an option year. It was the largest contract in NWSL history at the time — a figure that would be eclipsed by multiple contracts in the following months. 

Sanchez spent the offseason as a restricted free agent, meaning that Houston could match any other team's offer to retain her rights. Should the Dash trade Sanchez, her current contract terms would remain intact, limiting potential buyers to teams able to afford to take on an inking of that size.

The Dash has yet to address the trade, instead reiterating to ESPN that Sanchez is "under contract, a choice she made in free agency at the end of 2023." 

Both the NWSL trade window and transfer window close tonight, April 19th, at 12 a.m. ET. The window will stay closed through the next 11 regular season games, reopening on August 1st, 2024.

The four-time league champion Seattle Storm unveiled their new practice facility on Thursday, with Storm co-owner Lisa Brummel dubbing Interbay's Seattle Storm Center for Basketball Performance the team’s "new home."

"It's just such a special space," Brummel told Fox 13 Seattle. "I think when the players get here, it's gonna be overwhelming."

The sprawling 50,000-square-foot, $64 million property is just the second designated practice facility to be designed and built expressly for a WNBA team, with the Storm further noting that 85% of all design and engineering team members involved in the project's construction were women and people of color. The finished product holds two professional indoor courts, two 3x3 outdoor courts, a state-of-the-art locker room, and players' lounge, plus designated areas for strength and conditioning, kitchen, dining, and nutrition, and recovery. 

"This facility reflects our commitment to providing our athletes an exceptional environment that supports their growth, health, and performance," said Storm co-owner Ginny Gilder in an official team release. "It’s built for women, by women, embodying our dedication to leading the way in professional women’s sports."

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For their part, the team can't wait to make the faciilty their own.

"It's amazing," Storm guard Jewell Loyd told Fox 13. "Not having to drive everywhere around, knowing you have access anytime of the day to get into the gym, to workout." 

Head coach Noelle Quinn said she predicts the team is "never going to leave this building."

"Which is a good thing for me," she continued. "You talk about having an edge in performance. We want our athletes to not only perform on the court, but get whatever they need."

All of the Storm's staff and operations will now live under one roof, and the team also has plans to launch a youth basketball program operating out of the building.

The Caitlin Clark effect is quickly making its mark on the big leagues, as WNBA host teams around the country rush to upgrade their Fever games to larger arenas in order to accommodate surging ticket sales.

With Clark mere weeks away from her Indiana Fever debut, both the Las Vegas Aces and Washington Mystics have officially relocated their scheduled home games with head coach Christie Sides' squad. On Thursday, the Mystics became the latest to adjust their plans, moving their June 7th matchup from Entertainment & Sports Arena in Southwest DC to the more centrally located — and much larger — Capital One Arena "due to unprecedented demand."

The Mystics home court's capacity taps out at 4,200, while Capital One Arena — home to the Wizards, Capitals, and Georgetown Hoya's Men's Basketball — can fit nearly five times that crowd at some 20,000 spectators.

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"The move to Capital One Arena will allow for additional fans in the stands as well as premium hospitality options, including Suites and the all-new all-inclusive courtside Hennessy Lofts," the team announced via Thursday's press release.

The Aces were one of the first teams to switch venues, aiming to take on the Indiana Fever in front of as many as 20,000 fans inside T-Mobile Arena on July 2nd. That’s a sizable a boost from their home venue, which holds just 12,000.

For those still planning to face the Fever in their home arenas, ticket prices have skyrocketed. Previously scheduled construction has already forced the LA Sparks to relocate their first five games — including their May 24th clash with the Fever — to Long Beach State's Walter Pyramid. The temporary venue is quite the downsize, holding just 4,000 in comparison to Crypto.com Arena's near-19,000. As of Friday, the get-in price for that game started around $400.

Despite fans launching a Change.org petition urging relocation, the Chicago Sky say they're unable to move their June 23rd Fever meeting from Wintrust Arena's 10,000-seat facility to the 23,500-seat United Center due to a concert. Tickets for that game start around $325 as of Friday.