Olympic gold medalist McKayla Maroney has alleged that she was repeatedly molested, beginning when she was 13 year old, by former USA Gymnastics doctor Larry Nassar, who already faces 22 counts of first-degree criminal sexual conduct and could receive a sentence of life in prison.
Maroney spoke out today on twitter as part of the "#MeToo" movement on social media, detailing specific instances where she was taken advantage of, including a time when Nassar gave her a sleeping pill and she woke up in his hotel room.
"Dr. Nassar told me that I was receiving 'medically necessary treatment that he had been performing on patients for over 30 years,'" Maroney wrote. "It started when I was 13 years old, at one of my first National Team training camps, in Texas, and it didn't end until I left the sport. It seemed whenever and wherever this man could find the chance, I was 'treated.'
"It happened in London before my team and I won the gold medal, and it happened before I won my silver [in vault in London]."
"For me, the scariest night of my life happened when I was 15 years old," Maroney wrote in her Twitter post. "... 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."
USA Gymnastics released a statement shortly after McKayla Maroney's tweet on Wednesday, adding they are "outraged and disgusted" by Nassar's alleged conduct.
"We are strengthening and enhancing our policies and procedures regarding abuse, as well as expanding our educational efforts to increase awareness of signs to watch for and reporting suspicions of abuse, including the obligation to immediately report," USA Gymnastics wrote. "USA Gymnastics, its members and community are committed to working together to keep our athletes as safe as possible."
According to ESPN, attorneys representing 125 women who are suing Nassar agreed in August to take the cases to mediation, a step that could result in a settlement. Nassar has already pleaded guilty to federal child pornography charges and is in jail, awaiting a Nov. 27 sentencing in that case.
