In a heartbreaking essay in The New York Times, journalist Kat O’Brien—who spent years covering baseball, including the Texas Rangers and the New York Yankees—revealed for the first time that she was raped by an MLB player early in her career. O’Brien said she blamed herself for many years after the 2002 assault, worried that it would “ruin” her career if anyone found out. She said the assault took place in a hotel room where she was interviewing the player. “While it was happening, I couldn’t process that it was happening to me,” she wrote. “I said no, again and again. Too terrified to move, I froze.”

O’Brien says the assault followed her throughout her life—and she was confronted repeatedly with sexism and harassment throughout her career. She added that many who work in the “world of baseball” remain “oblivious to what is still a significant concern for many female reporters.” “The sports industry loses out when talented women question whether it’s worth it to work in an industry that brings with it so much harassment,” O’Brien said. She wrote that she won’t let the assault define her, as being a survivor of rape is only a “tiny part” of her story.