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U.S. Olympian Says Team Doctor Molested Her

Oct 18, 2017  •  Post A Comment

Adding her voice to the #MeToo movement that has spread since allegations of sexual misconduct surfaced in connection with Harvey Weinstein, gold medal-winning U.S. Olympic gymnast McKayla Maroney has accused former USA Gymnastics team doctor Larry Nassar of molesting her.

Maroney, who won a gold medal as part of the “Fierce Five” U.S. Women’s Olympic Gymnastics Team, along with an individual silver medal in the vault, at the London Games in 2012, published a Twitter post containing her allegations, which you can read below. The post encourages other victims of abuse to speak out.

Time magazine notes that Nassar “is currently awaiting sentencing after pleading guilty to federal child pornography charges.”

“Several of Maroney’s teammates have accused Nassar of abuse while they were minors, but Maroney is the highest-profile gymnast yet to come forward,” Time reports. “Nassar, who was team doctor for USA Gymnastics from 1996 to 2015, is due to stand trial over charges of sexually assaulting nine girls, to which he has pleaded not guilty.”

The Time report adds: “Nasser, an osteopath, allegedly abuses gymnasts under the guise of ‘treatment’ that included inserting his bare finger in the vagina.”

USA Gymnastics issued a statement in response to Maroney’s post, saying: “USA Gymnastics admires the courage of those, like McKayla Maroney, who have come forward to share their personal experiences with sexual abuse. Because of their strength in coming forward, predators can be held accountable for their actions. We, like so many others, are outraged and disgusted by the conduct of which Larry Nasser is accused. We are sorry that any athlete has been harmed during her or his gymnastics career.”

Here’s Maroney’s Twitter post …

One Comment

  1. There is another part of this story that continues to not be covered. What was going on at Michigan State University where this doctor called home for almost 20 years and was reported as a molester many times. The athletic director and female president of the university continue to fail to address this, and delay addressing it, hoping it will go away. And the press continues to let them get away with not addressing this issue.

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