Abuse claims lead US Gymnastics to bankruptcy
NEW YORK: USA Gymnastics, the sport’s governing body, filed for bankruptcy on Wednesday, saying that it is staggering under the weight of lawsuits filed by hundreds of women who were sexually abused by former national team doctor Larry Nassar.
The organisation’s chairwoman, Kathryn Carson, cited the lawsuits in the decision to seek protection from creditors in federal bankruptcy court in Indianapolis.
“Our organisation is a financially solid going concern but for the hundred lawsuits that we do have out there,” Carson said on a conference call with reporters. “That is the primary reason that we made this filing, to use the Chapter 11 process as a vehicle for resolving those claims.”
Nassar was sentenced to up to 300 years in prison in two different trials in Michigan last February after more than 350 women testified about abuse at his hands, including Olympic champions Aly Raisman and Jordyn Wieber. The scandal prompted the entire board of directors at Indianapolisbased USA Gymnastics to resign, along with the president and athletic director at Michigan State University, where Nassar also worked. The school agreed to a $500m (£392.5 million) settlement with his victims earlier this year.
Many gymnasts who suffered abuse at Nassar’s hands have accused USAG of failing to investigate earlier complaints about his misconduct.