Simone Biles says Larry Nassar ‘Took a part of me that I can’t get back’
The Olympic gold medalist opens up about abuser's sentencing on 'TODAY' show
The Olympic gold medalist opens up about abuser's sentencing on 'TODAY' show
Olympic gold medalist Simon Biles appeared on Megyn Kelly Today Wednesday morning to talk about the sentencing of former USA Gymnastics doctor Larry Nassar.
Biles had come out earlier this month to say that she had been abused by Nassar. During her appearance, she was visibly emotional as she said, “It feels like he took a part of me that I can’t get back.”
But she expressed her hope for healing, saying, “It will all come back with time.”
Biles also expressed her admiration for Judge Rosemarie Aquilina, who recently sentenced Nassar to 40 to 175 years for his long history of abuse.
“The judge is my hero because she gave it to him straight and didn’t let him get any power over the girls,” Biles said, according to NBC News.
“I wish she would have just given him a crazy number like 3,000 years or something, but other than that, she was a boss and she was absolutely amazing.”
–After Simone Biles’ sexual abuse revelation here’s what parents need to know to keep kids safe–
The dramatic sentencing
“I just signed your death warrant,” Judge Aquilina said at the sentencing, according to The New York Times. “You do not deserve to walk outside of a prison ever again.”
Many of Nassar’s victims were teenagers at the time of the abuse. Some were Olympians, and some were even gold medalists. Several criticized USA Gymnastics and Michigan State University for not taking action when they reported Nassar.
Although Nassar said he was “shaken” by victim testimony in his trial, the judge wasn’t convinced. Specifically, she pointed to a letter he had submitted to the court last week claiming that he would not be mentally able to handle the number of impact statements.
The letter contained such gems as “The media convinced them everything I did was wrong,” and “Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned.” He also claimed that he was a good doctor because his patients kept coming back for treatment.
“You have not yet owned what you did,” Aquilina said. “You still think somehow you are right, that you are a doctor, that you don’t have to listen, and that you did treatment? I wouldn’t send my dogs to you, sir.”
