Aly Raisman. (Rich Fury/Getty Images)
BOSTON (WBZ-AM) -- At Wednesday night's ESPY Awards ceremony, more than 100 victims of USA Gymnastics doctor Larry Nassar took the stage to accept the Arthur Ashe Courage Award.
Olympic gymnast and Needham native Aly Raisman took center stage, speaking for many of those victims. Raisman told the crowd that many of those victims had spoken out about the abuse, but that nobody listened--for years.
"All those years, we were told, 'You are wrong. You misunderstood. He's a doctor. It's okay, don't worry, we've got it covered.' ... The intention? To silence us in favor of money, medals, and reputation. But we persisted, and finally, someone listened and believed us," she said.
As she wrapped up her speech, Raisman spoke directly to others who have survived abuse.
"We may suffer alone, but we survive together," she said.
WBZ NewsRadio 1030's Carl Stevens (@carlwbz) reports