The U.S. Olympic Committee, in response to the Larry Nassar sex abuse scandal, will strip USA Gymnastics of its governing power unless its entire board resigns by next week, the panel said in letter Thursday.
Even though Nassar, the Olympic gymnastics team doctor, was sentenced to 175 years in jail, Olympic officials said there was still a lot of cleaning up to do, and much of it starts with the gymnastics board, under whose watch much of the abuse occurred.
“Now that these steps have been completed, USAG must build on them with a categorically fresh start at the board level,” U.S. Olympic Committee CEO Scott Blackmun said in a letter to the board.
“Thus, while the USOC encourages USAG to think and act broadly on reforming its culture, we also believe that reform must start with an entirely new board.”
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Blackmun has called on all 21 members to resign by Wednesday. The letter outlined a procedure to have a new board in place by Feb. 28.
Blackmun said the committee had no knowledge that any individual USAG member had a role in fostering or obscuring Nassar’s actions.
He said the move was important for current and future gymnasts to feel safe.
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“Our position comes from a clear sense that USAG culture needs fundamental rebuilding,” Blackmun wrote.
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More than 150 women spent seven days in court detailing the horror of Nassar’s crimes.
The testimony made it clear that although Nassar, 54, was the sole perpetrator, USA Gymnastics and Michigan State University, where Nassar worked, could have done more to correct the abuse.
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