- On Tuesday, Olympic gymnast Gabby Douglas accused former team doctor Larry Nassar of sexual abuse.
- The two-time gold medalist wrote in an Instagram post that she didn’t share her stories sooner because she was “conditioned to stay silent.”
- Douglas’ allegations come several days after she was accused of victim-shaming her former teammates Aly Raisman, who has also accused Nassar of alleged abuse.
Over the weekend, Gabby Douglas tweeted a message that appeared to criticize her former teammate Aly Raisman. The two-time gold medalist was dragged through the mud on Twitter, with many accusing her of victim-shaming Raisman and others who’ve come forward with abuse allegations against former team doctor, Larry Nassar. Now, Douglas has not only released an apology, but alleged that Nassar abused her as well.
In an Instagram post shared Tuesday, Douglas apologized for her Tweet and shared her story of alleged abuse at the hands of Nassar. She explained that the day before she sent her tweet, she was at an event with girls who look up to her as a role model. Douglas wrote:
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 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 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.
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Douglas’ post makes her the third member of the 2012 “Fierce Five” gymnastics team to come forward with allegations against Nassar. McKayla Maroney came forward in early October as part of the #MeToo social media campaign. Raisman made allegations against Nassar earlier this month. Nassar is currently facing criminal charges that he molested other gymnasts, along with counts of possessing child pornography. He has denied the charges.
Though Maroney has been silent since coming forward, even deleting her social media accounts, Raisman has continued to criticize both Nassar and USA Gymnastics, which she says went to great lengths to protect the doctor over young female members of the team.
“I kept reaching out saying I wanted to meet with [the private investigator] again, because I had time to process it, I realized it was really bad,” Raisman said in an interview with “Today.” “I was basically told to keep it quiet, and that they were handling it.”
Raisman has been equally vocal on Twitter, writing on Saturday that she would not “put up with any woman or girl being shamed for wanting to wear a skirt, dress, etc.”
“STOP VICTIM SHAMING,” Raisman wrote. “It is because of you that so many survivors live in fear.”
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We are all in this together. If we are going to create change I need all your help. pic.twitter.com/q9d12z0KHn
Douglas responded in a now deleted tweet that said, “It is our responsibility as women to dress modestly and be classy. Dressing in a provocative/sexual way entices the wrong crowd.”
Many took Douglas’ message as a form of victim-shaming and a slap in the face to her former teammate, including Simone Biles, who competed with both women on the 2016 Olympic women’s gymnastics team.
“Shocks me that I’m seeing this but it doesn’t surprise me,” Biles wrote. “Honestly seeing this brings me to tears bc as your teammate I expected more from you & to support her.”
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shocks me that I’m seeing this but it doesn’t surprise me… 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 pic.twitter.com/CccTzhyPcb
You can read Douglas’ full Instagram post below:
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’m about to say as insincere, but I still want 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 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 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
If you are a victim of sexual assault, you can visit RAINN or call its hotline at 1-800-656-4673 to receive confidential support from a trained staff member.
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