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Simone Biles suggested on Wednesday that sexual abuse by disgraced former US gymnastics doctor Larry Nassar may have led to his brief withdrawal from Olympic events in Tokyo.
Biles first suggested that Nassar’s abuse weighed heavily on her when she retweeted a supportive message from a gymnastics trainer that detailed everything the superstar gymnast has had to face in her life.
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In an interview with NBC’s “Today”, presenter Hoda Kotb suggested that Biles may have faced the pressure of being the only gymnast shrouded in Nassar abuse to compete in the Olympics. Biles said she wanted to make sure Nassar’s abuse “weren’t buried under the rug,” but admitted it could have added extra pressure on her shoulders.
“Come to think of it, maybe in the back of my mind, probably, yes, because there are certain triggers. You don’t even know it, and I think it could have,” he said. she declared.
“I knew that still being the face of gymnastics and America and everything we brought, it wouldn’t be buried under the mat, and it would still be a really big conversation.”
Biles discussed Nassar’s abuse in an episode of the Facebook series “Simone Against Herself” before the start of the Olympics. She said she found it hard to come to terms with the idea that she had been abused.
SIMONE BILES REVEALS SHE IS FACING A FAMILY TRAGEDY DURING THE TOKYO OLYMPIC GAMES
“A lot of us didn’t go to school, we were homeschooled. So it’s not like we have a lot of people to talk to about it,” Biles said in the episode. “I remember asking a friend of mine, ‘Hey, was I sexually assaulted?’ and I thought I was dramatic at first, and she said, ‘No, absolutely.’
“I said, ‘Are you sure? I don’t think so.’ Because I feel like in those cases I was one of the lucky ones because I didn’t have as badly as some of the other girls I knew. “
She said that coming to terms with the fact that she had been abused by Nassar, she began to feel depressed.
“I was like super depressed, didn’t want to leave my room and I didn’t want to go anywhere. I kind of left everyone out. I don’t know, it was probably difficult for me”, a- she declared. added.
“I remember being on the phone with my agent and telling my mom and agent that I slept all the time. Because sleeping was better than going away myself. my way of escaping reality. Sleeping was like the closest thing to death for me at the time, so I was sleeping all the time. “
In 2018, Biles released a statement saying Nassar had abused her.
“I’m not afraid to tell my story anymore. I too am one of the many survivors who were sexually assaulted by Larry Nassar. Please believe me when I say it was much harder say these words out loud at the start than today. put them on paper. There are many reasons why I was reluctant to share my story, but now I know it is not my fault, ”she said in the statement.
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Nassar was convicted and sentenced to 175 years in prison for sexually abusing Olympic gymnasts.
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