USA
Gymnastics board resigning amid sexual abuse scandal
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[January 27, 2018]
By Jonathan Allen and David Shepardson
(Reuters) - The remaining directors of
the U.S. gymnastics governing body are resigning in the wake of this
week's sentencing of the former national team doctor for molesting
female athletes, USA Gymnastics said on Friday, complying with a
demand by the U.S. Olympic Committee.
The doctor, Larry Nassar, was sentenced on Wednesday to between 40
and 175 years in prison by a judge in Lansing, Michigan, following a
week of blistering statements in court by his victims including
Olympic gold medal-winning gymnasts Aly Raisman and Jordyn Wieber
and other female athletes. He had pleaded guilty to sexual assault
charges.
USOC CEO Scott Blackmun on Thursday said USA Gymnastics would be
stripped of its standing as a governing body if all board members
did not quit, with a new interim board put in place by the end of
February. At least five of the 21 members already had resigned as a
result of the scandal.
"USA Gymnastics will comply with the USOC requirements," Leslie
King, a spokeswoman for USA Gymnastics, said in an email.
The senior sports official at Michigan State University, where
Nassar previously worked, announced his retirement on Friday. The
departure of Athletic Director Mark Hollis came two days after
university President Lou Anna Simon stepped down under pressure.
Both said they were unaware of Nassar's abuse until it was reported
publicly.
"Our campus, and beyond, has been attacked by evil, an individual
who broke trust and so much more," Hollis told a news conference,
referring to Nassar.
"I'm not running away from anything," Hollis added, promising to
cooperate with investigations into the matter.
Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette, whose office prosecuted
Nassar, confirmed on Twitter that the office is investigating the
university. U.S. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos announced her
department was investigating the university and will "hold MSU
accountable for any violations of federal law."
"What happened at Michigan State is abhorrent," DeVos said.
Nassar, 54, was sentenced for sexually assaulting girls under the
guise of medical treatment.
'MORAL AUTHORITY'
Some critics who said the USOC could have caught Nassar sooner if it
had acted on complaints made by athletes called the USA Gymnastics
board resignations too little and too late. Several victims during
Nassar's sentencing hearing blamed the USOC, as well, for the abuse.
"I don't think they have the moral authority to speak at all on this
issue," John Manly, a lawyer who represents 120 of Nassar's victims
including 2012 Olympic gold medalist McKayla Maroney, said of the
USOC.
"In fact, their board ought to resign and Scott Blackmun ought to
resign, too," Manly added.
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Larry Nassar, a former team USA Gymnastics doctor who pleaded guilty
in November 2017 to sexual assault charges, is escorted into the
courtroom during his sentencing hearing in Lansing, Michigan, U.S.,
January 24, 2018. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid/File Photo
A USOC spokesman declined to comment on calls for that group's board
and Blackmun to resign. USOC board member Susanne Lyons called the
USA Gymnastics board resignations "a critical first step" to better
protect athletes, but more work remained.
A USOC investigation into how Nassar was able to abuse victims for
years will include looking at whether any USOC officials themselves
looked the other way.
Congress also is investigating the matter. A House of
Representatives investigation will examine allegations of sexual
harassment by officials in other sports, including swimming and
taekwondo.
Raisman, who was among the more than 150 accusers who recounted
their stories in court, vowed to keep the pressure on sports
organizations to see who else knew about Nassar's abuse. Nassar
worked for the federation through four Olympic Games, but the
allegations did not become public until 2016 in an investigative
report by the Indianapolis Star.
"Everyone stood up for him," Raisman told the ABC program "The
View." "My work, and the army of survivors, we're not done yet. We
still have to hold these organizations accountable."
Rachael Denhollander, the first victim to publicly accuse Nassar in
2016, wrote in a New York Times opinion piece that anyone who
protected Nassar should face consequences.
"The first step toward changing the culture that led to this
atrocity is to hold enablers of abuse accountable," Denhollander
wrote.
The U.S. House Energy and Commerce Committee, in announcing its
investigation, said sports organizations "must have mechanisms in
place to ensure complete oversight and prevent such abuses from
occurring."
The House next week is due to vote on legislation passed by the
Senate in November that would require amateur athletics governing
bodies to report sexual-abuse allegations immediately to law
enforcement or a child welfare agency.
(Reporting by Jonathan Allen in New York, David Shepardson in
Washington, Ben Klayman in Detroit; Additional reporting by Steve
Keating in Toronto and Joseph Ax in New York; Editing by Will
Dunham)
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