Olympic gold medalist Simone Biles is opening up for the first time publicly about how she’s coping with having to relive the sexual abuse she suffered at the hands of former USA Gymnastics doctor Larry Nassar.
“I’m on anxiety medicine now because I had a lot of ups and downs throughout the year and trying to figure out what was wrong,” Biles said Tuesday on “Good Morning America.” “I go to therapy pretty regularly.”
“It’s not easy but the people surrounding me are some of the best so it makes it a little easier,” she added.
In January, Nassar was sentenced to up to 175 years in prison for sexually abusing over 150 gymnasts — including Biles, 21. In January, she wrote about Nassar in a letter on Twitter.
“I too am one of the many survivors that was sexually abused by Larry Nassar,” said the athlete. “Please believe me when I say it was a lot harder to first speak those words out loud than it is now to put them on paper. There are many reasons that I have been reluctant to share my story, but I know now it is not my fault.”
Continued Biles, “For too long I’ve asked myself, ‘Was I too naive? Was it my fault?’ I now know the answers to those questions. No. No, it was not my fault. No, I will not and should not carry the guilt that belongs to Larry Nassar, USAG, and others.”
The four-time Olympic gold medalist made history recently when she became the first female gymnast to win four World Championships. She also graces the cover of ESPN The Magazine’s blockbuster year-end issue.
