Simone Biles said the sexual abuse she suffered from Larry Nassar “probably” played a role in her bowing out of several competitions at the Tokyo Olympics.
“Now that I think about it, maybe in the back of my head, probably yes [that did affect me],” the 24-year-old superstar gymnast told the “Today” show Wednesday. “There are certain triggers that you don’t even know. And I think it could have [affected me]. I’m not exactly sure, it was just the craziest week.”
Biles was one of more than 150 women to accuse Nassar of molestation, leading to the former doctor for Team USA gymnastics to be sentenced to 40 to 175 years in prison in 2018.
“I knew that still being the face of gymnastics and the USA and everything we’ve brought [against him], it’s not going to be swept under the rug,” said Biles, who is the only Nassar victim still competing for USA Gymnastics. “It will still be a very big conversation. We still have to protect those athletes and figure out why it happened [and] who knew what when.”
Citing her mental health, Biles shockingly pulled out of the team event, the individual all-around, and the floor, bars and vault individual event after experiencing the “twisties” — a mental block that puts a gymnast’s mind and body out of sync — while vaulting during the team competition last week.
Biles, whose aunt unexpectedly died during the Olympics, made a triumphant return to win bronze on the balance beam on Tuesday.