Gabby Douglas alleges she too was abused by former USA Gymnastics team doctor

Gabby Douglas, a member of both the 2012 and 2016 US Olympic gymnastic teams, appears to have joined a list of more than 130 women and girls — more than 100 of them athletes — who have alleged former U.S. team coach Larry Nassar sexually abused them.

She joins her 2012 teammates Aly Raisman and McKayla Maroney in accusing Nassar of abusing them during their time on the team. He was the team doctor for nearly 20 years.

Douglas appeared to make the claim in an Instagram post in which she apologized for a recent Twitter remark that many construed as being insensitive and shaming victims of abuse. In the apology, Douglas writes that she didn’t view her comments as “victim shaming” because “I know that no matter what you wear, it NEVER gives anyone the right to harass or abuse you.” She continues: “It would be like saying that because of the leotards we wore, it was our fault that we were abused by Larry Nassar.”

She goes on to write that “I didn’t publicly share my experience as well as many other things because for years we were conditioned to stay silent and honestly some things were extremely painful,” and acknowledges that many people “didn’t know what [she] was dealing with” but that it’s “important” people know this.

More than half of the 2016 Rio Olympics gymnastics team now alleges being sexually abused by Nassar during their time with the organization.

The impetus for Douglas’ apology was a Twitter post that she had come under fire for a few days earlier, in which she responded to Raisman’s allegations by saying that it’s a woman’s responsibility to be humble and dress modestly so as not to “entice the wrong crowd.”

In the Instagram post she says that she does not “advocate victim shaming/blaming in any way, shape or form!” Douglas already apologized for her misstep once on Twitter, shortly after she was called out by fellow national team competitor Simone Biles.

In that apology, she alluded to Nassar abusing her with a #metoo hashtag that is being used by assault and abuse victims around the internet to show how pervasive these violations are in society.

USA Gymnastics cut ties with Nassar when allegations first became public in 2016, releasing the following statement at the time:

“Dr. Nassar is no longer affiliated with USA Gymnastics. Upon learning of athlete concerns, USA Gymnastics immediately notified law enforcement. Since then, we have cooperated fully with the law enforcement agency, including refraining from making further statements or taking any other action that might interfere with the agency’s investigation. We are grateful to the athletes for coming forward to share their concerns.”

However, the organization has been criticized for not doing more and doing it sooner, something Raisman publicly called them out on in a recent 60 Minutes interview that addressed the abuse and ongoing response by USA Gymnastics. She brought up how nobody was ever present with the girls when they met with the team doctor, despite that being the organizational policy.

Dr. Nassar accepted a plea deal in July that would have him serve a combined sentence of 22-27 years for possession of child pornography, rather than charge him with sexual assault — a widely criticized move prosecutors justified by saying that many of the allegations they heard occurred overseas, where they have no jurisdiction.

In January, 18 athletes sued Nassar, USA Gymnastics, the Michigan gymnastics club Twistars, and Michigan State University, where he worked for many years in addition to his work with Olympic teams. This June, California Senator Dianne Feinstein introduced a bill to help protect athletes from other abuses. The bill refers to USA Gymnastics’ “glaring shortfalls” handling allegations of abuse and aims to ensure “future generations of athletes are better protected from predators.”