McKayla Maroney, a U.S. Olympic gold medallist has made a damning revelation how a former USA Gymnastics doctor Larry Nassar, sexually abused her over several years, beginning at the age of 13 when she was invited to a national team training camp.
Maroney wrote on Twitter that Nassar, who has been accused of assaulting at least 140 girls and women, abused her under the guise of medical treatment.
Nassar is on trial in Michigan, facing sexual assault charges and awaits sentencing on federal charges.
The abuse continued until she left the sport, Maroney said. “It seemed whenever and wherever this man could find the chance, I was “treated.”
The 21-year-old from Long Beach, Calif., said she was abused before her U.S. team won gold at the 2012 London Olympics and before she won silver on the vault.
Maroney also described an incident that she said occurred at the 2011 world championships in Tokyo, when she was 15.
She said Nassar had given her a sleeping pill “and the next thing I know I was all alone with him in his hotel room getting a ‘treatment.’ I thought I was going to die that night.”
She posted on the tweet describing the abuse early Wednesday morning with the #MeToo hashtag.
“People should know that this is not just happening in Hollywood,” Maroney wrote. “This is happening everywhere.
“Wherever there is a position of power, there seems to be potential for abuse. I had a dream to go to the Olympics, and the things that I had to endure to get there were unnecessary and disgusting.”
Maroney dreamed of becoming an Olympian while watching the 2004 Olympics. “From the outside looking in, it’s an amazing story. I did it. I got there, but not without a price,” she wrote.
Read more: USA TODAY
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