Gymnast Dominique Dawes won medals at three Olympic games, 1992, 1996, and 2000. One of Dawes' teammates in the Sydney 2000 Olympics, Jamie Dantzscher, is one of the dozens of women who have accused Nassar of sexual abuse. Dawes, 9 months pregnant with twins, went public with a heartfelt statement today on social media.
Dawes wrote that she never experienced abuse, but that she sees how the culture of women's gymnastics—where the athletes are teenage girls—made it possible.
"I've known & trusted Dr. Larry Nassar for over 20 years (treated by him as an athlete for nearly a decade)," Dawes wrote. "Hearing the stories from these brave survivors of sexual abuse is truly horrifying. Believe me when I say this, the culture of the sport made it ripe for a predator to do what he did—the unthinkable. The dreams of these young girls (starting even from class level to Olympic level), are not solely in their hands—they're in the hands of the adults in power. "
Her full post is below
