Rockstars

Simply put, Simone Biles, McKayla Maroney, and Aly Raisman, and former college champion Maggie Nichols are rockstars. These four women athletes who succeeded at the highest level in their sport were sexually abused, and it appears that the FBI, and others, turned a blind eye.

We should all ask, how did this happen? Yet we all know why it happened because they were women in a girl’s sport. Being able to articulate to an authority what is happening takes so much courage, yet they were ignored. That anger and mistrust have been buried deep inside each one of these women. The toll it has taken on their brain, and overall being is obvious from the testimony we saw this week.

We all know the story because the main abuser, Larry Nasser, is serving a sentence for up to 175 years. These women all mustered up the courage to testify against him before, and here they are again. This time it is different. They were each able to tell stories that many would not particularly shaming the FBI. That takes serious courage.

My heart ached to see each of these women tell their stories of abuse again. It was the entire gymnastics system that let them down. Seeing each of them rise above it and call a spade a spade is inspiring. These women are rockstars, and I hope that their truth changes for the many women entering any sport and others in the years to come.