McKayla Maroney Says She Was Sexually Abused by Former USA Gymnastics Doctor

Olympic gold medal-winning gymnast McKayla Maroney tweeted Wednesday that former USA Gymnastics doctor Larry Nassar sexually abused her for years.  

Maroney went public with the allegations in the following tweet:

USA Gymnastics later issued a statement provided to Bleacher Report by Jill Martin of CNN:

“USA Gymnastics admires the courage of those, like McKayla Maroney, who have come forward to share their personal experiences with sexual abuse. Because of their strength in coming forward, predators can be held accountable for their actions. We, like so many others, are outraged and disgusted by the conduct of which Larry Nassar is accused. We are sorry that any athlete has been harmed during her or his gymnastics career.

“We are strengthening and enhancing our policies and procedures regarding abuse, as well as expanding our educational efforts to increase awareness of signs to watch for and reporting suspicions of abuse, including the obligation to immediately report. USA Gymnastics, its members and community are committed to working together to keep our athletes as safe as possible.”

Nassar is facing 15 first-degree criminal sexual conduct charges, and his trial is set to begin in December.

In July, Nassar pleaded guilty to child pornography charges and could face 22-to-27 years in prison when he is sentenced in December.

The 21-year-old Maroney said that the assaults began when she attended a USA Gymnastics training camp at the age of 13 and continued until she retired from gymnastics last year.

Per Maroney, Nassar masked the abuse by calling it "treatment," and said she was sexually assaulted by him prior to her standout performance at the 2012 Olympics.

The Long Beach, California, native was part of the Fierce Five U.S. women's gymnastics team that won team gold at the 2012 Summer Games in London.

She also took individual silver in the vault.

Injuries took a toll on Maroney following the 2012 Olympics, and after missing action in 2014 and 2015 due to a knee injury and other ailments, she stepped away from the sport.