• Olympic gold-medal gymnast Aly Raisman is a survivor, and she's got the word on her body to prove it. The six-time medalist poses with nothing more than that, and some other powerful words, in the 2018 Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue. Raisman poses nude for the "In Her Own Words" portion of the swimsuit issue, except for a few phrases on her body, among them "Fierce," "Trust Yourself," and "Every Voice Matters." "From the moment that I saw the 'In Her Own Words' project, I knew I wanted to be a part of it. I was instantly thinking what words I could put on my body," Raisman said Wednesday at Sports Illustrated's party to celebrate the issue. "I think it's extremely important. I think it's extremely powerful. We have to get to a point where everyone understands women do not need to be modest to be respected." The 23-year-old was one of the gymnasts who spoke up about the sexual abuse of former gymnastics team doctor Larry Nassar and faced him in court last month when he was sentenced to decades in prison. Nassar, who pleaded guilty to sexual abuse and child pornography charges, was convicted of abusing hundreds of girls during his career as a doctor for USA Gymnastics and also at Michigan State University. Raisman said the sentencing phase was difficult. "I know I looked strong in the moment, but after I was a mess. I was sick. I didn't feel good. I was exhausted. It felt like it took me weeks to recover," she said. Raisman wants to try and prevent this kind of abuse in the future. "Being abused is very confusing, and like myself, and some of my teammates, we weren't sure it was happening to us," she said.
• Maze Runner author James Dashner, facing allegations of sexual misconduct, says he is "deeply sorry" to those "affected." "I've taken the past few days for introspection, to see if I've been part of the problem. I think that I have," he tweeted Thursday. "I didn't honor or fully understand boundaries and power dynamics. I can sincerely say that I have never intentionally hurt another person. But to those affected, I am deeply sorry. I am taking any and all criticisms and accusations very seriously, and I will seek counseling and guidance to address them." Dashner, Thirteen Reasons Why writer Jay Asher and other popular authors for young people were cited repeatedly in a recent comments thread on sexual misconduct on the website of School Library Journal. Both Dashner and Asher have been dropped by their agents. Asher has disputed the harassment allegations, but acknowledged having extramarital affairs. The latest movie adaptation of Dashner's million-selling Maze Runner novels, Maze Runner: The Death Cure, came out last month.
A Section on 02/16/2018