U.S. Olympic Committee Moves to Revoke USA Gymnastics' Status as Governing Body
Source: Wall Street Journal
The U.S. Olympic Committee on Monday began proceedings to revoke USA Gymnastics’ status as a national governing body, a rare move that comes after two years of near-constant turmoil in the wake of the Larry Nassar sexual-abuse scandal.
The decision is one the USOC had long resisted as the gymnastics federation attempted to recover from the scandal, in which Nassar, the U.S. gymnastics team’s longtime doctor, was accused of abusing hundreds of athletes under the guise of medical treatment. Nassar pleaded guilty last year to state sexual-abuse charges and federal child-pornography counts and is now serving an effective life sentence in federal prison.
The U.S. women’s gymnastics team, led by star Simone Biles, has been a powerhouse in Olympic and other international competitions, and won the team gold medal at the recent world championships in Doha, Qatar. But Biles and other recent Olympians were among Nassar’s victims. The gymnastics federation has been relentlessly roiled by fallout from the Nassar allegations, which were first made public in September 2016, more than a year after top USAG officials were told of athlete concerns about the doctor’s care.
Mistakes and missteps related to the scandal have forced out USAG’s past three chief executives, most recently an interim CEO last month. Meanwhile, criticism of the organization and the USOC itself from the public and champion gymnasts has continued unabated. If
Read more: https://www.wsj.com/articles/u-s-olympic-committee-moves-to-shut-down-usa-gymnastics-1541458820
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