The desperation to win Olympic medals was so severe for USA Gymnastics, its athletes found themselves at the mercy of their alleged abuser, who used kindness as a form of manipulation.
“Your coaches are just always watching you. And wanting to keep you skinny. And there’s just other things about the culture that are also messed up that he used against us,” McKayla Maroney said of Larry Nassar in a forthcoming “Dateline” interview, airing Sunday.
Maroney, 22, who competed in the 2012 summer games in London, recalled how the disgraced Olympic doctor often would come to the aid of her and teammates, including fellow Fierce Five member Jordyn Wieber.
“I think I would’ve starved at the Olympics if I didn’t have him bring me food,” Maroney said.
Nassar’s simple gestures shielded a disturbing ulterior motive. Maroney claims he would take advantage of the gymnasts’ insecurities, depicting himself as a savior of sorts, in the midst of competitions.
“[He would] buy me a loaf of bread,” she said.
Maroney accused Nassar, 54, of sexual abuse last fall in the wake of the #MeToo movement, alleging he molested her “hundreds” of times, beginning when she was 13 years old.
“It seemed whenever and wherever this man could find the chance, I was ‘treated.’ It happened in London before my team and I won the gold medal, and it happened before I won my silver,” Maroney said in a statement.
Among the horrors was an account from the 2011 world championships in Tokyo, where Nassar allegedly provided a then-15-year-old Maroney with a sleeping pill.
“He’d given me a sleeping pill for the flight, and the next thing I know, I was all alone with him in his hotel room getting a ‘treatment.’ I thought I was going to die that night,” Maroney said.
Nassar is serving a 60-year sentence in a Tuscon, Ariz., federal prison on child pornography charges. He also was sentenced to 40 to 175 years in Michigan, as well as 40 to 125 years on sexual assault charges. More than 200 women have come forward accusing Nassar of abuse.
Maroney broke her silence on Nassar publicly Tuesday, during a Q&A at the New York Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children’s luncheon.
“We knew that Larry was a monster, and learning from everything that has come out, I never should have met him. The USA Gymnastics, MSU and the USOC continued to look away to protect their reputations. All they cared about was money, medals, and it didn’t seem like there was anything else,” Maroney said.