Clarissa Shields Olympic Gold Medalist Talks about Her Abuse

[Kevin von Duuglas-Ittu]

In this article Clarissa talks about her very difficult childhood and ultimately about her repeated abuse:

"A turning point came when she spent a week at her Aunt Mary's home. When it was time to go home, Shields pleaded not to be made to go. Her aunt asked what was wrong. Shields was reluctant to say because if her own mother didn't believe her, why would anyone else? She just wanted to stay where it was safe.

Her aunt knew something was seriously wrong, so she gently quizzed her niece. And slowly, Claressa let it slip.

She couldn't vocalize exactly what it was, but made her points when Aunt Mary handed her a baby doll and asked her to show her what the men did to her.

Her aunt told her mother, but Shields said it still didn't resonate with her mother. Before long, Shields was shipped off to live with her grandmother.

In her grandmother, she found a friend, a confidante, a sympathetic ear."

also about how she took custody of her cousin's baby after the 2012 Olympics:

"Her cousin, whom she refers to as "Remmi Savage," had two children when she became pregnant with a third. But she didn't want the baby. She was trying to have an abortion. She needed roughly $500, but didn't have it.

She approached Shields.

"I told her I didn't believe in abortion and so I wasn't giving her any money to do that," Shields said.

The cousin, though, didn't give up. She cobbled together $400 and met with Shields one more time, pleading for the final $100.

At that point, Shields made her a proposition.

"I really wanted a baby myself and I wanted to have one when I turned 18 right after I won the Olympics [in 2012]," she said. "But if it would have happened, it would have messed up my body going into the 2016 Olympics. I couldn't get pregnant because of that. So I said to her, 'You have the baby, and I'll adopt her.' "

Shockingly, her cousin agreed. Shields took custody of the child and began raising her as her own. She said she's in the process of a formal adoption, though she hasn't completed the process yet.

But she has had Klaressa living with her, and on days when she couldn't find a baby sitter, she’s skipped going to the gym to train and worked out in her home.

"I'd shadow box for an hour-and-a-half with the baby right there," she said.

Being responsible for a young life gave Shields an epiphany of sorts. She thought of the woman she'd heard speak at the University of Michigan-Flint. She recalled her own difficult childhood. She looked at her baby.

And she knew more than anything that she didn't want what happened to her to ever happen to anyone else.

Shields knew she couldn't completely prevent that, but she also knew that her story could serve as motivation for others who might feel trapped, helpless and have nowhere to turn. She decided to present her story to the world."

[emma]

Thanks for sharing this, I just read the full article. What an incredibly strong lady. Adopting a child at 19 is amazing in any case, but while being an Olympic athlete..wow.