Simone Biles Wore a Teal Leotard to Support Sexual Assault Survivors
Simone Biles completely crushed it at the U.S. Gymnastics Championships, which took place in Boston over the weekend. She won literally every gold medal, making her the first woman to win all five golds at the event since Dominique Dawes in 1994. Her victory was significant for another reason, too: Teal is the designated color for sexual abuse survivors, and she wore a teal leotard during the competition to send a powerful message of solidarity to [survivors])https://www.teenvogue.com/story/self-care-tips-for-sexual-assault-survivors) everywhere.
“(The color) is for the survivors,” Simone, who designed the leotard herself, told the Associated Press. “I stand with all of them and I think it’s kind of special to unite (people).” She said that she came up with the idea to wear a teal leotard at the championships eight months ago, right around the time when she revealed that she is among the victims of former USA Gymnastics team doctor Larry Nassar.
“Please believe me when I say it was a lot harder to first speak those words out loud than it is now to put them on paper,” she wrote in a tweet at the time. “There are many reasons that I have been reluctant to share my story, but I know now it is not my fault.”
On January 24, Judge Rosemarie Aquilina sentenced Nassar to 40 to 175 years in prison after hearing testimony from 156 women who accused him of sexual abuse, many of whom said he did it under the guise of medical treatment while acting as Team USA’s doctor. Nassar had pleaded guilty to seven counts of criminal sexual conduct and admitted to using his position as a doctor to molest girls.
In addition to Simone, Nassar’s alleged victims include gymnasts Gabby Douglas, McKayla Maroney, Aly Raisman, and Jordyn Wieber. Both Aly and Jordyn delivered searing testimony in court, while McKayla’s statement was read out loud by a prosecutor.
While Simone decided not to testify, she responded to the news of Nassar’s sentence by thanking the judge and praising the survivors who did speak in court. “To Judge Aquilina : THANK YOU, YOU ARE MY HERO,” she wrote on Twitter. “& Shout out to all of the survivors for being so brave & speaking like the queens that you are while looking at that monster. He will no longer have the power to steal our happiness or joy. I stand with every one of you 💛”
Wearing that teal leotard is one of the ways she has continued to do just that.
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