Gymnast McKayla Maroney Claims She Was Sexually Abused By Team USA Doctor

Gymnast McKayla Maroney Claims She Was Sexually Abused By Team USA Doctor

McKayla Maroney is one of many others who are coming forward with their sexual assault stories on Twitter with the #MeToo movement.

In her open letter she posted to Twitter today, the former member of the Team USA Gymnastics team (the Fierce Five) claims that she was abused by the team’s doctor at the time, Dr. Larry Nassar.

If his name sounds familiar, it should — he’s currently facing 22 counts of first-degree criminal sexual conduct from 125 women and he has already pleaded guilty to federal child pornography charges in July.

“People should know that this is not just happening in Hollywood. This is happening everywhere,” McKayla writes in her letter. “Wherever there is a position of power, there seems to be potential for abuse.”

She continues, “Dr. Nassar told me that I was receiving ‘medically necessary treatment that he had been performing on patients for over 30 years.’ 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’.”

McKayla remembers a terrifying night in particular: “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.”

Read her full letter below:

Like Just Jared Jr. on FB
Photos: WENN
Posted to: McKayla Maroney