{"id":89780,"date":"2017-11-22T08:44:53","date_gmt":"2017-11-22T12:44:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/stateofthenation2012.com\/?p=89780"},"modified":"2017-11-22T08:46:17","modified_gmt":"2017-11-22T12:46:17","slug":"89780","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stateofthenation2012.com\/?p=89780","title":{"rendered":"Just how many female Olympic champions were abused by the team doctor?"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Gabby Douglas is a three-time Olympic gold medallist<\/p><\/div><\/p>\n

BBC<\/p>\n

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Gabby Douglas has become the third member of the USA’s London 2012 Olympic gold medal-winning team to say she was abused by team doctor Larry Nassar.<\/p>\n

Douglas, 21, had been\u00a0accused of blaming victims<\/i><\/a>\u00a0last week, after saying that women should “dress modestly” to avoid enticing “the wrong crowd”.<\/p>\n

She apologised for the comments, which came after\u00a0team-mate Aly Raisman<\/a>revealed she was abused by Nassar.<\/p>\n

And a representative has since confirmed Douglas was also a victim.<\/p>\n

Team-mate McKayla Maroney, who was part of the ‘fierce five’ who won gold in London, has also come forward to say she had been molested by Nassar.<\/p>\n

In a statement posted on Instagram, captioned ‘please hear my heart’, Douglas offered support to her team-mates and said: “I didn’t publicly share my experiences as well as many other things because for years we were conditioned to stay silent and some things were extremely painful.”<\/p>\n

Nassar was involved with the USA team for nearly three decades and worked with the gymnasts at four Olympic Games.<\/p>\n

He is due in court on Wednesday, having pleaded guilty to child pornography charges, and is reportedly set to be jailed for 25 years under a deal agreed with prosecutors over 22 criminal sexual misconduct charges he is facing.<\/p>\n

Nassar’s case was part of a scandal which saw USA Gymnastics president Steve Penny resign last year. Penny was accused by victims of failing to quickly notify authorities about abuse allegations.<\/p>\n

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Douglas posted this statement on Instagram on Tuesday<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n