Olympic champion Gabby Douglas says she was abused by USA Gymnastics doctor

Gabby Douglas has become the third Olympic gold medalist to say she was abused by USA Gymnastics team doctor Larry Nassar.

Douglas was widely criticized last week when she appeared to blame survivors of abuse, saying that saying that women should “dress modestly and be classy” to avoid enticing “the wrong crowd”. Those comments were in response to Aly Raisman, the US team captain at the London and Rio Games, who said she had been abused by Nassar.

Douglas, a three-time Olympic gold medalist, later said sorry for those comments, and followed them up with an Instagram post on Tuesday. “I know that no matter what you wear, it NEVER gives anyone the right to harass or abuse you. It would be like saying that because of the leotards we wore, it was our fault that we were abused by Larry Nassar,” she 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 extremely painful.”

Her representative later confirmed to USA Today that Douglas was indicating she had been abused by Nassar.

Douglas and Raisman’s allegations come after McKayla Maroney, their team-mate from the 2012 Olympic gold medal-winning team known as the Fierce Five, detailed years of abuse by Nassar under the guise of treatment from the age of 13 until her retirement from the sport last year.

Nassar, an osteopath who spent nearly 30 years as trainer and national medical coordinator with the USA Gymnastics program, is now in prison in Michigan after pleading guilty to possession of child abuse images. He faces 22 counts of first-degree criminal sexual conduct involving at least seven victims, in addition to being sued by over 125 women in civil court who claim he sexually assaulted them under the guise of treatment, and could receive a life sentence in prison.

USA Gymnastics has come under fire over its handling of sexual abuse cases in the wake of the Nassar scandal and an Indianapolis Star investigation that revealed the failure to report to authorities many allegations of abuse against coaches and staff at some of its over 3,500 clubs across the country.

The intensified pressure led to the resignation of Steve Penny as president earlier this year, but not without a reported $1m severance package that drew sharp criticism from Raisman.