Olympics USOC failed to protect athletes

The United States Olympics Committee failed to protect athletes from the threat of sexual abuse, according to a report released on Monday that showed some top executives took no action as the Larry Nassar sexual abuse scandal was unfolding.

The report, which was commissioned by the USOC and carried out by law firm Ropes & Gray, offered details on what it called the “inaction” of former chief executive Scott Blackmun and former chief of sport performance Alan Ashley.

Nassar, who was a team doctor for USA Gymnastics, was sentenced to up to 300 years in prison in two different trials last winter after more than 350 women testified about abuse at his hands, including Olympic champions Aly Raisman and Jordyn Wieber.

According to the 233-page report, Blackmun and Ashley were made aware of allegations against Nassar by then-USA Gymnastics chief executive Steve Penny in July 2015 but neither shared the information with others in the organization.

The report also said that dozens of girls and young women were abused during the year-long period between mid-2015 and September 2016 when the Nassar story broke.

“The US Olympic community failed the victims, survivors and their families, and we apologize again to everyone who has been harmed,” Susanne Lyons, an USOC independent board member and the incoming board chair, said in a statement.

Blackmun resigned in February for medical reasons. Ashley was fired on Monday after USOC Chief Executive Sarah Hirshland was made aware of the report.

The report called Nassar’s ability to abuse athletes for nearly 30 years “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.”