Gabby Douglas Says Larry Nassar Abused Her As Well In New Statement
Three-time Olympic gold medalist Gabby Douglas revealed that she was also abused by former USA Gymnastics team doctor Larry Nassar.
Her latest comments come after she apologized for a tweet about Olympic teammate Aly Raisman’s stance on sexual assault victims. Douglas issued the following statement in an Instagram post captioned "please hear my heart":
"First, I want to reiterate my apology for responding the way that I did to a comment that one of my teammates posted. I know some of you may take what I am about to say as insincere, but I still wanted to provide context.
The day before I commented, I was at an event where hundreds of children and young adults came to spend an evening with me. It's very humbling when many people look up to you as an example. I take my job as a role model very seriously and i always want to do my best to represent all the best qualities that a role model should embody. I admit there are times that I fall short.
I didn't view my comments as victim shaming because I know that no matter what you wear, it NEVER gives anyone the right to harass or abuse you. It would be like saying that because the leotards we wore, it was our fault that we were abused by Larry Nassar. I didn't publicly share my experiences as well as many other things because for years we were conditioned to stay silent and honestly some things were extremely painful. I wholeheartedly support my teammates for coming forward with what happened to them.
I understand that many of you didn't know what I was dealing with, but it is important to me that you at least know this. I do not advocate victim shaming/blaming in any way, shape or form! I will also never support attacking or bullying anyone on social media or anywhere else.
Please forgive me for not being more responsible with how I handled the situation. To every other individual that commented to or about me hatefully, I apologize that I let you down too. I will never stop promoting unity, positivity, strength, being courageous and doing good instead of evil. I have learned from this and I'm determined to be even better.
All my love,
Gabby"
Last Friday, Douglas quote tweeted a tweet by Raisman on victim shaming and said: “It is our responsibility as women to dress modestly and be classy. Dressing in a provocative/sexual way entices the wrong crowd.”
The tweet was shared by Douglas' 2016 Olympic teammate and gold medalist Simone Biles with a screenshot and message that said,"honestly seeing this brings me to tears bc as your teammate I expected more from you & to support her. I support you Aly & all the other women out there! STAY STRONG."
Douglas later issued an apology for her initial tweet.
“I am deeply sorry for coming off like I don’t stand alongside my teammates,” she wrote. “Regardless of what you wear, abuse under any circumstance is never acceptable. I am WITH you. #metoo”
In an interview with 60 Minutes and in her new book, Raisman revealed that she was abused by Nassar. In October, McKayla Maroney posted her on statement on Twitter as part of the #MeToo movement on social media and detailed her own allegations of abuse by Nassar. Douglas, Maroney and Raisman were all members of the 2012 U.S. Olympic team in London. Raisman and Douglas continued competing for another Olympic cycle and were joined by Biles in Rio de Janeiro.
Nassaar remains in prison and awaits sentencing in Michigan. He is also preparing for a trial in December over sexual assault charges involving nine girls.
