(Reuters) - USA Gymnastics, the sport’s U.S. governing body, said on Wednesday all its remaining directors have now resigned following revelations that the longtime team doctor had sexually abused numerous athletes under his care.
A USA Gymnastics spokeswoman said on Friday that the full board intended to resign. The U.S. Olympic Committee had threatened to revoke the organization’s governing authority if the full board had not stepped down by Wednesday, following the sentencing of former team doctor Larry Nassar to up to 175 years in prison after he pleaded guilty to sexual assault charges.
“We are in the process of moving forward with forming an interim board of directors during the month of February, in accordance with the USOC’s requirements,” USA Gymnastics said in a statement. “USA Gymnastics will provide information about this process within the next few days.”
The USOC has urged USA Gymnastics to name an interim board of directors by the end of February
About 150 of Nassar’s victims, including Olympic gold medal-winning gymnasts Aly Raisman and Jordyn Wieber, testified at a sentencing hearing last week for the doctor.
FILE PHOTO: Larry Nassar, a former team USA Gymnastics doctor who pleaded guilty in November 2017 to sexual assault charges, stands with his legal team during his sentencing hearing in Lansing, Michigan, U.S., January 24, 2018. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid/File Photo
Nassar is back in court on Wednesday for the start of a sentencing hearing on a separate set of sex abuse crimes to which he pled guilty.
The revelations of the long-running abuses have prompted at least four wide-ranging investigations into possible sex abuse at U.S. athletic federations and schools, with the USOC, both houses of Congress and the U.S. Education Department opening probes.
Victims and their attorneys have also called for investigations into the USOC itself, to see if anyone there knowingly overlooked claims against Nassar.
Raisman, one of the best-known faces of the sport in the United States, vowed on Friday 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.
doctor_7 on January 31st, 2018 at 20:17 UTC »
Retired with full benefits instead of fired without I'll bet.
goonts_tv on January 31st, 2018 at 19:53 UTC »
In other news.. former board members find new employment doing the exact job as before
NyLou10 on January 31st, 2018 at 16:51 UTC »
"Resigned" before they were all fired. Losing your job because of withholding info about child rape is comparable to sitting in timeout for a year.
Just like they let that rat piece of shit, rape enabling Paterno off the hook, the top dogs will find a way around the judicial system. They're all to blame for turning a blind eye, bunch of scum.