McKayla Maroney, the two-time Olympic medalist who became instantly famous for her “not impressed” face after barely missing out on the gold in one of her 2012 Olympic competitions, says she was molested by her team doctor right before that competition — and many other times throughout the several years she was in his care.
“I was molested by Dr. Larry Nassar, the team doctor for the US Women’s National Gymnastics Team, and the Olympic Team,” Maroney wrote in a statement posted to Twitter Tuesday night. “For me, the scariest night of my life happened when I was 15 years old. I had flown all day and night with the team to get to Tokyo. He’d given me a sleeping pill for the flight, 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.”
#MeToo pic.twitter.com/lYXaDTuOsS
— mckayla (@McKaylaMaroney) October 18, 2017
Maroney said she came forward following the explosive Harvey Weinstein reports because she was “inspired” by the droves of women, both famous and not, who have come forward as a part of the viral #MeToo campaign to speak publicly about sexual harassment and assault they have been subjected to by men in power.
Nassar was arrested in 2016 on child pornography charges, NBC News reports, and police seized material featuring girls as young as six. The FBI also reportedly found footage that allegedly shows Nassar abusing girls himself. ESPN reports that Nassar as awaiting a Nov. 27 sentencing in the child pornography case, while simultaneously, attorneys representing 125 are suing Nassar. The outlet notes that it’s unclear whether or not Maroney is one of these women.
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