Gymnast McKayla Maroney alleges sexual abuse by team doctor
Two-time Olympic medalist McKayla Maroney says she was molested for years by a former USA Gymnastics team doctor, abuse she said started in her early teens and continued for the rest of her competitive career.
Maroney posted a lengthy statement on Twitter early Wednesday that described the allegations of abuse against Dr. Larry Nassar, who spent three decades working with athletes at USA Gymnastics but now is in jail in Michigan awaiting sentencing after pleading guilty to possession of child pornography.
Nassar also is awaiting trial on separate criminal sexual conduct charges and has been sued by more than 125 women alleging abuse.
Nassar has pleaded not guilty to the assault charges, and the dozens of civil suits filed in Michigan are currently in mediation.
Maroney, now 21, says the abuse began while attending a U.S. National team training camp at the Karoyli Ranch in the Sam Houston Forest north of Houston, Texas. Maroney was 13 at the time and wrote that Nassar told her she was receiving “medically necessary treatment he had been performing on patients for over 30 years.” Maroney did not detail Nassar’s specific actions.
Maroney, who won a team gold and an individual silver on vault as part of the “Fierce Five” U.S. women’s team at the 2012 Olympics in London, said Nassar continued to give her “treatment” throughout her career. She described Nassar giving her a sleeping pill while the team traveled to Japan for the 2011 world championships. Maroney says Nassar later visited her in her hotel room after the team arrived in Tokyo, where he molested her yet again.
“I thought I was going to die that night,” Maroney wrote.
Maroney did not immediately return an interview request from The Associated Press. Attorneys for Nassar had no comment.
Maroney says she decided to come forward as part of the “#MeToo” movement on social media that arose in the wake of allegations of sexual misconduct against Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein.