Canadian tells of abuse

A former member of the Canadian national gymnastics team wrote a public letter accusing the country’s 2016 Olympic coach of inappropriate and unwanted touching. The letter by Abby Pearson Spadafora, 38, revealed the latest in a long series of allegations of sexual, emotional and physical abuse by coaches Dave and Elizabeth Brubaker, who have been banned by Gymnastics Canada. Spadafora accused the coach of climbing into bed with her and of reaching his hand underneath her shirt. ‘‘The abuse never stopped,’’ Spadafora wrote in her letter. ‘‘My male coach would regularly snap the back of my sports bras when I started wearing them. I was taught that gaining weight and puberty were a bad thing. Injuries were rarely taken seriously, and I was taught to hide the pain.’’ A group of 11 gymnasts have come forward to detail abuses at the Bluewater Gymnastics Club in Ontario. They took part in an investigation by Gymnastics Canada that led to the Brubakers’ bans.