Well-respected four-time Olympic gymnastics champion Simone Biles has joined the ranks of more than 140 other female athletes who have bravely revealed that they were sexually abused by disgraced Team Doctor Larry Nassar. In an emotional post on the social media platform Twitter, Simone Biles used the hashtag #MeToo to reveal that she is yet another one of Nassar's young female victims. Simone Biles's revelation comes amid Larry Nassar's criminal sexual conduct court case. Nassar pleaded guilty to 7 counts in November 2017 and faces sentencing on Tuesday.
The charges under which Nassar currently stands trial date back as early as 1998, and involve victims under the age of 13-years-old.
A painful revelation
In her emotional Twitter post, Simone Biles says that she was prompted to share her story after more than 140 other sexual abuse survivors have come forward, including several of her friends. Referring to the "horrific experience" that has caused her to feel "broken," the four-time Olympic champion says that she is no longer afraid to reveal her story.
Admitting that she has been reluctant to share her story of sexual abuse at the hands of the now disgraced team doctor, Simone Biles said she originally wondered if she had been "too naive" or if the abuse had been her fault.
Now 20 years old, the Olympic champion says that she now realizes the answers to her questions are a resounding "No" and that she refuses to continue to "carry the guilt that belongs to Larry Nassar."
A powerful co-conspirator
While the blame for the shocking cases of sexual misconduct lies firmly with Larry Nassar, Biles and other victims and survivors also place a fair amount of the blame on USA Gymnastics.
In her twitter post, Simone Biles mentions that Nassar was someone she was "TOLD to trust," and goes on to say that the guilt stemming from the abuse should not be carried by herself and the other victims, but lies with Larry Nassar and USA Gymnastics.
Another victim, fellow Olympic Gold medallist McKayla Moroney, says that she was abused by Nassar since before she was 13-years-old and that she was paid for her silence by USA Gymnastics.
In 2017, USA Gymnastics promised to implement 70 policy changes as a result of an independent investigation into the allegations.
Biles and the more than 130 other victims and survivors of abuse at the hands of Nassar will wait with the rest of the world to see the result of the former team doctor's sentencing on Tuesday.
