Many of the athletes accused Nassar of abusing them at Karolyi Ranch, a well-known gymnastics training camp in Texas. In the latest episode of Facebook Watch and Religion of Sports’Simone vs Herself, Biles spoke about her experiences at the facility and how Nassar — an osteopathic physician — often got access to her and other gymnasts.
“At the ranch, obviously stuff went down,” Biles said in the episode, which began streaming this week. “It was always called our ‘fifth station.’ You had poles, vaults, beam, floor, then therapy was your last station to get your body taken care of.”
“All those years, nobody ever told us what sexual abuse was,” Biles continued. “So we didn’t really feel like we were going through it or victims.”
According toIndianapolis Star, Nassar performed “osteopathic manipulation” on his patients. The practice involves doctorsusing their handsto diagnose illness and injury. In her experience, Biles said she initially had a difficult time admitting she had been abused.
“A lot of us didn’t go to school, we were homeschooled. So it’s not like we had a lot of people to talk about it with,” she recalled in the episode. “I remember asking one of my friends, ‘Hey, have I been sexually assaulted?’ and I thought I was being dramatic at first, and she said, ‘No, absolutely.’ "
“I said, ‘Are you sure? I don’t think so,’ " Biles recounted during the episode. “Because I feel like in those instances, I was one of the luckier ones because I didn’t get it as bad as some of the other girls I knew.”
Simone Biles.simone biles/instagram
“I was like super depressed, I didn’t want to leave my room, and I didn’t want to go anywhere. I kind of just shut everybody out. I don’t know, it was probably hard for me,” she said.
“I remember being on the phone with my agent, and telling my mom and my agent that I slept all the time,” Biles added during theSimone vs Herselfepisode. “Because sleeping was better than offing myself. It was my way to escape reality. Sleeping was like the closest thing to death for me at that point, so I just slept all the time.”
Biles is sharing her story to help other women and girls who may in danger of an abuser.
RELATED VIDEO: #SeeHer Story: Simone Biles
Watch the full episode onFacebook, during which Biles also looks back on some of her past leotards and their meanings and her training now.
If you or someone you know is considering suicide, please contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255), text “STRENGTH” to the Crisis Text Line at 741-741 or go tosuicidepreventionlifeline.org.
source: people.com
