In a Powerful ESPYs Speech, Aly Raisman Reminds Us Why We Need to Believe Survivors

At last night’s ESPY Awards, Olympic gymnast Aly Raisman stood alongside 140 of her “sister survivors” to deliver a powerful message about being courageous, being believed and supporting survivors of sexual abuse. On behalf of the hundreds of people who were sexually abused at the hands of former USA Gymnastics doctor Larry Nassar, Raisman took the mic—alongside former gymnast Sarah Klein and softball player Tiffany Thomas Lopez—to accept the ESPY Arthur Ashe Courage Award.

“If just one adult had listened, believed, and acted, the people standing before you on this stage would have never have met him,” Raisman said, “The ripple effect of our actions, or inactions, can be enormous, spanning generations. Perhaps the greatest tragedy of this nightmare is that it could have been avoided. Whether you act or do nothing, you are shaping the world that we live in. Impacting others. All we needed was one adult to have the integrity to stand between us and Larry Nassar.”

Watch the full speech, below. You’ll understand why it brought the audience to tears — and then to their feet. Hopefully, it brings its audience to action.