Gabby Douglas Says She Also Was Abused by Gymnastics Team Doctor
Gabby Douglas, the Olympic gymnast who was criticized last week for placing some of the onus on women to avoid sexual harassment, apologized again on Tuesday and said that she, too, had been abused by a team doctor.
Ms. Douglas, 21, drew angry responses on Friday after she wrote on Twitter that it was a woman’s responsibility “to dress modestly” so as not to attract “the wrong crowd.” She later apologized for that comment, noting that “regardless of what you wear, abuse under any circumstance is never acceptable.”
In a statement she posted on Instagram four days later, Ms. Douglas reiterated that “no matter what you wear, it NEVER gives anyone the right to harass or abuse you.”
Then, in drawing an analogy, Ms. Douglas suggested she was one of the many gymnasts who contend that they had been abused by Lawrence G. Nassar, a former team doctor for U.S.A. Gymnastics.
“It would be like saying that because of the leotards we wore, it was our fault that we were abused by Larry Nassar,” Ms. Douglas wrote. “I didn’t publicly share my experiences as well as many other things because for years we were conditioned to stay silent and honestly some things were very painful.”
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