All the athletes and coaches were cramming together under tiny tents, and soon I was even closer to Alberto and Mary. He lit into her for her poor performance, blaming her weight. Nobody under the tent stood up for her. Nobody challenged Alberto’s power. I felt too frightened to say something while Alberto was there—a shameful weakness of resolve I still regret to this day. In 2019, when Mary came forward in an opinion documentary for the New York Times, I would learn, along with the rest of the world, how dark that moment had been for her. Afterward, she had contemplated suicide and cut
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