USOC takes heat for Nassar scandal

PYEONGCHANG, South Korea — Hours before the opening ceremony at the 2018 Winter Games, U.S. Olympic Committee officials sat down with reporters to talk about the competition but ended up answering question after question about the Larry Nassar sexual abuse scandal.

USOC Chairman Larry Probst faced most of the heat and, to some degree, sidestepped assertions that his organization deserved more blame for allowing Nassar’s crimes to continue unaddressed for years.

“The Olympic system in the United States failed those athletes,” he said. “And we are part of the Olympic system in the United States.”

Hundreds of young athletes —many of them gymnasts — have accused Nassar of molesting them under the guise of providing medical treatment. He served in an official capacity for USA Gymnastics, Michigan State and, at times, as an Olympic team doctor under the auspices of the USOC.

Nassar pleaded guilty in three trials —one of them involving child pornography — and has been sentenced to decades in prison.

On Friday, the USOC acknowledged it should have reached out sooner to top gymnasts, such as Aly Raisman, who said they were abused. Probst also addressed concerns that no one from the committee attended a recent Michigan sentencing hearing at which scores of victims came forward to speak.

“That was simply a mistake,” he said. “We should have been there.”

The USOC has commissioned an independent investigation to determine when people within the organization became aware of accusations against Nassar. Officials have also vowed to cooperate with any federal investigations.

Reporters asked about policy changes and the potential for creating an investigatory staff that would be more proactive in monitoring the national bodies of each sport.

“As of now, they are independent institutions,” Probst said. “Clearly some things have occurred that would indicate we need to have a different relationship than we’ve had in the past.”

Notably absent in South Korea is USOC chief executive Scott Blackmun, who remained home for treatment of recently diagnosed prostate cancer. The USOC has so far resisted calls for his resignation.

Board member Anita DeFrantz, who is also an International Olympic Committee member, expressed confidence that results of the independent investigation will show he acted properly.

“I have felt he’s done a great job for us,” DeFrantz said. “I feel he deserves to have everything cleared.” —David Wharton

Appeals denied for 47 Russians

An international court has dismissed appeals from 47 Russian athletes who were seeking last-minute entry into the Olympics.

The Court of Arbitration for Sport ruled that Olympic officials did not act in a “discriminatory, arbitrary or unfair manner” when they declined to invite the athletes.

In the wake of a nationwide doping scandal, Russia has been barred from competing as a nation at the Games in Pyeongchang. The IOC has, however, created an “Olympic Athlete from Russia” squad that allows individuals to compete under a neutral flag if they can prove they have not used performance-enhancing drugs. —David Wharton

Flag-bearer drama

It was a feel-good story for a few hours: Luge veteran Erin Hamlin gets the chance to enter her last Olympics carrying the U.S. flag into the opening ceremony, winning that distinction after a vote by some of her fellow athletes.

And then Shani Davis tweeted.

With that, the entire process was called into controversy. The tweet posted to Davis’ account said the process by which Hamlin won was executed “dishonorably,” and included a reference to Black History Month — raising the question of whether the speedskater was suggesting that race played a role in the decision.

Davis is black, Hamlin is white.

“We feel strongly toward Shani and they felt strongly for Erin,” U.S. speedskater Joey Mantia said. “That’s just that.”

Hamlin and Davis were among eight nominees for the flagbearer role, and athletes from each of the eight winter sports federations — bobsled and skeleton, ski and snowboarding, figure skating, curling, biathlon, hockey, speedskating and luge — represented those nominees in a balloting that took place Wednesday night.

Eventually, the final vote was deadlocked at 4-4. Hamlin won a coin toss, the predetermined method of picking a winner if all else failed in the athlete-led process.