Simone Biles Opens Up About Why She Didn’t Attend Larry Nassar’s Sentencing

– blogged by: @ashleytearra

Recently, former USA Gymnastics physician Larry Nassar received a 40 to 175 years sentence for sexually abusing over 150 young women, including Olympic gymnasts Aly Raisman, Jordyn Wieber, Gabby Douglas, McKayla Maroney, and Simone Biles.

While Raisman and Wieber were among those to deliver powerful statements at Nassar’s sentencing, Biles opted not to attend. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀

In an interview with CNN, the 20-year-old revealed that she actually wasn’t “emotionally prepared” to face her attacker, as she feared that it would take her back.

“I don’t think I was emotionally ready for that, to go see him again, because… I don’t know. That would just not be good. I think–emotionally, I decided that because I need to be in a good place, especially in my gymnastics,” she told the news network. “If I went there, I think it would take me back, and I’m trying to move forward.”

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As of late, the Larry Nassar sex scandal has spread like wildfire, which has made it extremely challenging for Biles to publicly open up about Nassar and the assault.

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“It’s been difficult, and I have a very difficult time talking about it, still. So, I’ll go see someone to get that out of the way and do what I need to do to better me.” Biles admitted.

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However, although she’s been faced with much adversity, Biles is turning the negatives into positives. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀

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She says that it’s actually “inspiring” to see more women speaking out against sexual abuse.

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“It’s very inspiring and very empowering, especially for other girls who have gone through it, to realize that it’s not the end of the world if you speak out, and there will be people in your corner, supporting you… no matter what.”

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Since the scandal went public, three executives of the USA Gymnastics have resigned, which Biles thinks was needed in order for a change to be made.

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“I think if they didn’t resign, there wouldn’t be change, and I think change needs to happen,” she said. “I think there just needs to be further investigation to see why this happened for so long and why this was able to. So, I think starting fresh is a good start.”