Earlier this month, Olympic gold medalist Aly Raisman alleged sexual abuse by former Team USA Gymnastics doctor Larry Nassar while she was a teenager. In doing so, Raisman joined teammate McKayla Maroney, who made similar allegations that Nassar performed “treatments” upon her in his hotel rooms, which was coded language for “sexual assault.” The subject grew problematic last Friday when teammate Gabby Douglas replied to a Raisman tweet in what some viewed to be a victim-blaming manner.
Douglas has since apologized for the wording of her tweet about favoring demure clothing. She is now addressing the matter further (and apologizing again while hoping that she doesn’t sound “insincere”) with an Instagram post that reveals her own allegations against Nassar. Some excerpts:
“I didn’t view my comments as victim shaming because I know that no matter what you wear, it NEVER gives anyon the right to harass or abuse you. It would be like saying that because of 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 were 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.
“Please forgive me for not being more responsible with how I handled the situation … 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.”
Nassar is currently awaiting a federal sentence on child pornography charges. He’s also on trial in Michigan for sexual assault charges relating to over 140 other women and girls who have made strikingly similar allegations against him. Following trial and sentencing, Nassar could be imprisoned for life.
Read Douglas’ full Instagram post below.