this is "nightline." >> tonight, the courage of champions. >> how much is a little girl worth? >> the usa gymnasts tell their story of abuse by the team's doctor. >> it was like serving innocent children up to a pedophile on a silver platter. >> and the cost of the fbi's failure. >> it took them 14 months to report anything. >> will anyone be held accountable? plus pure poetry. the young star of the inauguration, amanda gorman. >> a country that is bruised but whole, benevolent but bold, fierce and free. >> speaks of her inspiration. >> did you know that we as a nation, we were in need of healing at that time? >> absolutely. i can also say i was in need of

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but simone biles and her former teammates were not before congress to talk about their olympic achievements. instead, they were telling wrenching stories of abuse, demanding answers and action. here's abc's congressional correspondent rachel scott. >> raise your right hand. >> reporter: emotional and deeply personal testimony today from some of the most elite gymnasts in the world. >> to be clear, i blame larry nassar. and i also blame an entire system that enabled and perpetrated his abuse. >> these individuals clearly violated policies and were negligent in executing their duties. >> nasser found more than 100 new victims to molest. it was like serving innocent children up to a pedophile on a silver platter. >> reporter: the women testifying before the senate today, as it investigates the fbi's neglect and inaction on abuse accusations against dr.

larry nassar, the former head physician for the u.s. women's gynastics team. >> this hearing is one of our last opportunities to get justice. we ask that you do what is in your power to ensure those that engaged in wrongdoing are held accountable under the law. >> to see the emotion, to see their hearts out there, to hear every word about the horrors of what they went through -- i'm not sure we've seen anything quite like that. >> reporter: over the course of several decades, hundreds of women and girls accuse nassar of sexual abuse. during that time he also treated athletes at michigan state, and several gymnastics clubs. the doctor using his hand to penetrate them, claiming that was part of the medical treatment. he was convicted and sentenced to hundreds of years in prison, but hard questions remain about why it took so long to bring him to justice. >> over the past few years, it has become painfully clear how a survivor's healing is affected by the handling of their abuse.

and it disgusts me that we are still fighting for the most basic answers and accountability over six years later. >> the cover-up of my abuse and the fbi's failure to interview me more than a year after my complaint are well documented. we now know there was no real fbi investigation occurring. >> michaela marona said she gave a painful, detailed three-hour interview over the tone to the fbi telling nassar once abused her for hours during an overseas trip. >> i began crying at the memory over the phone, and there was just dead silence. i was so shocked at the agent's silence and disregard for my trauma, after that minute of silence he asked, "is that all?" those words in itself was one of the worst moments of this entire process for me. >> reporter: marone says she also detailed how nassar preyed on female athletes like her,

paying he put her last on his treatment roster to maximize his time alone with her. >> this was very clear, cookie-cutter pedophilia and abuse. this is important because i told the fbi all of this. and they chose to falsify my report and to not only minimize my abuse, but silence me yet again. >> reporter: simone biles acknowledging the pressure she felt to compete in the tokyo games last summer in order to keep a spotlight on this case. pressure that also led her to withdraw from several events. >> as the lone competitor in the recent tokyo games who is a survivor of this horror, i can ensure you that the impacts of this man's abuse are not ever over or forgotten. i worked incredibly hard to make sure that my presence could maintain a connection between the failures and the competition at tokyo 2020. that has proven to be exceptionally difficult burden for me to carry. >> reporter: after the fbi was made aware of the allegations against nassar in 2015, he

continued seeing and abusing patients for more than a year. until former gymnast rachel denhollander went public. >> just after my 13th birthday, he abused me between 10 and 13 times, penetrated me vaginally and 18 ally. >> reporter: she filed a complaint and shared her story with the "indianapolis star." >> within hours we had women calling the tip line that was set up, by the end of the day 12 other survivors had come forward. >> reporter: in july this year the department of justice's inspector general released the findings of its investigation into how the fbi handled the case. reports say senior officials in the fbi indianapolis field office where usa gymnastics was headquartered failed to respond with urgency that the allegations required and failed to mitigate the ongoing threat posed by nassar. doj inspector general michael

horowitz found as the controversy blew up, fbi officials did not take responsibility for their failures, instead, trying to cover it up, providing incomplete and inaccurate information when questioned about their response. >> i'm deeply and profoundly sorry to each and every one of you. and 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 is inexcusable. >> reporter: fbi director christopher wray today confirming the termination of one agent involved in the case. that agent had been fired just two weeks ago. wray did not oversee the fbi during the nassar investigation, but he was pressed on why nassar was not stopped sooner. >> i don't have a good explanation for you. it is utterly jarring to me. it is totally inconsistent with what we train our people on. >> reporter: horowitz confirming the fbi agents who handled maroney's case lied during his investigation. >> what we do at that point is

make the referral to prosecutors, to assess them, because that's who needs to make the decision wloor there will be charges brought. >> reporter: nassar was indicted december 2016 on federal child pornography charges. as lawsuits piled up against him. >> how do you plead? >> guilty. >> reporter: nassar pled guilty to seven counts of first degree criminal sexual assault on ten girls. three of those charges involving victims under the age of 13. the testimony from 156 women and girls who confronted their monster in court at a sentencing hearing was the first time the world heard the full extent of nassar's depravity. >> you are pure evil. >> without my knowledge or consent, i had engaged in my first sexual experience by kindergarten. >> you used my body for six years for your own sexual gratification. >> reporter: the women who had launched the woman, rachel denhollander, was the last to testify. >> you have fashioned for yourself a prison that is far,

far worse than any i could ever put you in. and i pity you for that. >> reporter: nassar was sentenced to 60 years in federal prison on child pornography charges. up to 175 years in michigan state prison. michigan state university agreed in 2018 to a $500 million settlement with hundreds of nassar's accusers. while usa gymnastics has proposed a $425 million settlement. neither entity admitted to wrongdoing as part of that settlement. nassar is currently serving his federal sentence in a florida prison. the women testifying today want federal agents involved in the case to pay a price too. >> we also want to see -- >> excuse me -- >> -- him at least be federally prosecuted, to the fullest extent, because they need to be held accountable. >> this story is, let's hope, a watershed moment in gymnastics. i will always remember the stage of the espy awards when they won

the arthur ashe courage award, the victims and survivors of larry nassar. they came from stage left and stage right. and it was breathtaking. in its horror, in its awfulness. for future generations, let's certainly hope that usa gymnastics has been able to right some of these wrongs. >> all we are asking for is that when a child goes into gymnastics or goes to school that they can be spared abuse. we've been victim-shamed online over and over again. we've been gaslit, we've been made to feel that we don't matter. and i never want another child to feel that way again. >> our thanks to rachel. up next, the young poet whose words wowed a nation. amanda gorman, the difference she wants to make.

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ourselves, where can we find light in this never-ending shade? >> reporter: almost overnight she's become a cultural icon. >> when i came back from d.c., literally stepped onto my street, already i was being recognized. >> reporter: from talk show appearances -- >> please welcome amanda gorman. >> reporter: to gracing the cover of "vogue." >> right now i'm doing hair and makeup for a cover shoot that is today. >> reporter: to being the first poet ever to perform at the super bowl. >> today we honor our three captains. >> reporter: and now cochair of the met gala, the oscars of the fashion world. >> she's a fantastic subject. and so poised and in control for a person of her age. >> i think if you want to say coronation, i think that's a perfect way to sort of really describe the ascent of amanda gorman. >> i cannot wait to talk to you, i've been looking forward to this. amanda, what a year.

what a year you're having. how's it going? >> it's going very well, thank you for asking. >> when you think of january 20th, the emotions. can you just convey to us what you were feeling at the time? >> i can honestly say i was on emotional overload on january 20th. full of anxiety, excitement, gratitude, fear. >> did you know that we as a nation, we were in need of healing at that time? >> absolutely. i can also say i was in need of healing. a country that is bruised but whole, benevolent but bold, fierce and free. we will not be turned around or interrupted by intimidation. it was in no way something that was ornamental or a flourish. i had some real work to do. for there is always light, if only we're brave enough to see it. if only we're brave enough to be it.

i remember being in my hotel room that night, seeing tweets from barack obama, michelle obama, hillary clinton, about me. and i went -- girl, wow. >> reporter: gorman first fell in love with the written word as a young girl growing up on the west side of los angeles with her twin sister gabrielle. >> for me, poetry's always been cool, electric, wonderful. >> reporter: her curiosity encouraged by her mother, joan, a public school english teacher. >> from the age 5 or 6, i would wake up so early in the morning that not even my mom was up, and she had to pay me to stay in bed, to write. i would write for hours and hours and hours. >> reporter: her dedication pays off. amanda soars academically. at the age of 16, she becomes the first-ever youth poet lawyer yet of los angeles. >> from a young age my lips

learned the bittersweet honey of language, its heavy, rich significance left thirsty. >> reporter: years later, at harvard university, amanda's poe treat garners further recognition. in 2017, amanda is named the first youth poet laureate of the united states. her work put on display here at the prestigious morgan library. when they said they wanted your work here among the greats, what was that moment like for you? >> that was amazing. and it was really the first time that anyone had said, hey, let's put your work kind of in historical context. and so to have it alongside people like mozart, my handwriting, it's a -- it's an incredible thing. >> you are still blazing such a trail. how do you present yourself in knowing that we are looked upon differently? >> i think what gets me up in the morning and so exciting is that there's going to be other young writers, pretty distinct from me, who are a blessing to the world because of it.

>> amen do that. brave enough. brave enough. >> all right, friends. speaking of brave, we're going to be sharing our poems. but guess what? we have a surprise. let's give a drumroll, all right? amanda gorman. >> hi! >> whoa. >> they're looking surprised. >> they're very surprised. i'm so excited because i heard that you all have some poems yourself about bravery. and i can't wait to hear them. >> we're all brave. and i ask myself what it means to be brave. a voice to be heard and a body to be seen. >> the bravery in me, bravery is battling against the tides of fear. bravery is the willingness to step out of your comfort zone to help someone. >> i get the most profound teaching moments when i'm with younger students who are always

teaching me new things and making me even more excited to write. so i would love to mentor and be mentored continuously. >> thank you! >> thank you, amanda! >> bye! >> reporter: an autobiographical line in the poem she read on inauguration day speaks to the future amanda sees for herself. >> where a skinny black girl descended from slaves and raised by a single mother can dream of becoming president. >> are you going to be brave enough in 2036? >> oh -- um. absolutely. >> reporter: for all the intention in her words, amanda is just as intentional with her fashion. including her approach to this year's met gala. and the theme is "in america." >> i wanted to do something which was about america and something which is about kind of the world and looking at where the united states can be in terms of being a welcoming

chorus on that. we kind of reimagined the statue of liberty. dressed by vera wang, who did a phenomenal dress. that was my way of kind of allying myself with, i feel, a symbol, which for so many people, particularly immigrants, signifies the ways in which we can open our doors to the underserved, to kind of diverse people. >> what do you want for those coming behind you? >> i want people to be able to dream and also accomplish things that i have not. i have so many young girls come up to me and say, i want to be you when i grow up. i'm like, no, you want to be you when you grow up. we already have an amanda gorman what we need is the next you, capital letters. >> our thanks to robin. and you can catch the full special "amanda gorman, brave enough" with robin roberts on hulu. up next, spacex blasts off

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the rocket spacex inspiration 4 blasted off from the kennedy space center in florida. a billionaire, a pediatric cancer survivor, a data engineer, a geo scientist make up the crew. the first time a crew of civilians will orbit the earth, and they will go farther into space, 360 miles, than the international space station, circling the planet for three days before splashing down. congratulations. that's "nightline" for this evening. catch our full episodes on hulu. we'll see you right back here,