To hear the survivors of Larry Nassar
I carry with me an enormous amount of guilt every single day of my life, thinking to myself that if I had only spoken up and asked a question or said something to my parents at the time, so many of these beautiful souls who have spoken in this very room over the past week would not have been subjected to this pain through Larry’s abuse of their bodies.
I was a victim of Larry Nassar but I will not let that define me. I am strong. I will go on and live the life I plan to live. We can all take our lives back knowing that you, Larry, will never be able to put your hands on an innocent young girl again.
You, Larry, are the reason why if a boy tries to talk to me or if a man I’ve never been around is in the same room I get red in the face or freak out inside. I try to act as if I’m okay when I’m not.
I gag at the thought of ever thinking of you as a saint, for sacrificing time for us. It was not a volunteered sacrifice for you. It had a price we were unaware we were paying.
As a Christian I believe everyone serves a purpose on this earth. I think the defendant’s purpose was to draw attention to child predators so we can start the fight to stop them, see all these great suffers as the win to shut down the bad guys.
Words cannot begin to explain the absolute terror that you have imposed upon the lives of all of us innocent suffers. But I owe it to myself, to my sister, biological and to the rest of my sister survivors, to tell my story as best I can because we will not be silenced by you any longer.
Before the trial I was in denial that what he did had any affect on me. I remember my doctor sitting me down a year ago and asking me if I had been assaulted by Larry. I had no idea what she was talking about. As she explained, I was filled with confusion and uneasiness. He had done that to me.
Gymnastics isn’t just about fancy leotards, beautiful medals, trophies you can get from winning a competition, it’s blood, sweat, lots of tears, and long hours, but we all loved it. It was our life.
I have always put what you did to me in a dark place in my heart, locked up to never be discovered by anyone. That was until I learned I was not alone and the disgusting, horrible truth. I was horrified to realize that what you have done over the decades was not just to me.
I want you to know you have not defeated me. I am joining the strongest source of women and making change so this type of sexual abuse is never tolerated or ignored.
