US Olympic Committee slammed in Nassar case
LOS ANGELES: A damning report into US gymnastics’ sex abuse scandal lambasted the United States Olympic Committee on Monday, saying the body had helped create the environment which allowed former team doctor Larry Nassar to abuse hundreds of athletes.
The 233-page report said senior USOC executives had failed to react swiftly when first warned of allegations surrounding Nassar in 2015, instead concealing the doctor’s crimes until the scandal erupted into a public view in late 2016.
Investigators hired by USOC to conduct a wide-ranging inquiry into the scandal said former USOC chief executive Scott Blackmun, and current USOC chief of sports performance Alan Ashley, were both guilty of inaction after first being told of abuse allegations.
Later Monday, USOC chief executive Sarah Hirshland confirmed Ashley had been fired from his position in the wake of the report.
The investigation, carried out by Boston law firm Ropes & Gray, painted a withering picture of a systemic failure which allowed Nassar to abuse hundreds of athletes.
Nassar was jailed for life earlier this year for the abuse of more than 250 athletes, including several stars of the United States’ gold medal-winning teams at the 2012 and 2016 Olympics.
“While Nassar bears ultimate responsibility for his decadeslong abuse of girls and young women, he did not operate in a vacuum,” an executive summary of the report said.
“Instead, he acted within an ecosystem that facilitated his criminal acts.” The United States Olympic Committee, USA Gymnastics, coaches, trainers and medical professionals all failing to protect athletes from Nassar, the report said.
“These institutions and individuals ignored red flags, failed to recognize textbook grooming behaviors, or in some egregious instances, dismissed clear calls for help from girls and young women who were being abused by Nassar,” the summary said.
Nassar’s abuse was a “manifestation of the broader failures at USAG and the USOC to adopt appropriate child-protective policies and procedures to ensure a culture of safety for young athletes,” it added.