National gymnastics overhaul?
USOC moves to reshape USA Gymnastics
The United States Olympic Committee has taken first steps to strip USA Gymnastics of its recognition as the national governing body for the sport.
In a letter to gymnasts Monday, USOC CEO Sarah Hirshland acknowledged that USA Gymnastics has struggled “to change its culture, to rebuild its leadership and to effectively serve its membership.”
In explaining why the USOC is acting now, Hirshland wrote, “The short answer is that we believe the challenges facing the organization are simply more than it is capable of overcoming in its current form. We have worked closely with the new USAG board over recent months to support them, but despite diligent effort, the NGB continues to struggle. And that’s not fair to gymnasts around the country. Even weeks ago, I hoped there was a different way forward. But we now believe that is no longer possible.”
The news comes three weeks after Mary Bono stepped down as USA Gymnastics’ interim CEO under pressure from the USOC after only five days on the job. In the last week, despite the tur- moil within its governing body, the women’s national team took the gold medal in the World Championships in Qatar, and Simone Biles won six medals, including a record fourth all-around gold.
The Bono debacle was the latest leadership change in an organization that has continued to struggle in the wake of the Larry Nassar scandal. Nassar, the former USA Gymnastics team doctor and a physician at MSU, is serving an effective life sentence after pleading guilty to federal child pornography charges and state charges of sexual abuse.
Among the more than 350 women who said Nassar abused them are Olympic gold medalists Biles, Aly Raisman, McKayla Maroney, Gabby Douglas, Jordyn Wieber, Kyla Ross and Madison Kocian.
USA Gymnastics released a statement Monday noting its board was seated in June and “inherited an organization in crisis.”
The board has taken steps to change the leadership and is conducting a search for a CEO “who can rebuild the organization and, most importantly, regain the trust of the gymnastics community,” the statement read.
The USOC’s action Monday triggers a process that includes a hearing before a three-person panel. The USOC will select the panel, which will be chaired by a USOC board member and include a representative from the NGB council and athlete advisory council.
USA Gymnastics will have the opportunity to “present factual evidence and legal argument regarding the allegations of the complaint” at the hearing, according to the USOC bylaws.
Afterward, the hearing panel will issue a report to the USOC board with a recommendation on what action should be taken. Hirshland can also submit a report to the board. After considering the reports and recommendations it receives, the USOC board will issue a final decision.
The USOC’s bylaws do not outline any sort of timeline for the process.
The USOC is known to have revoked the recognition or cut off the funding of an NGB only three times, with taekwondo, team handball and modern pentathlon.
In January, the USOC wrote to USA Gymnastics to set forth requirements for changes it would need to make or risk losing its recognition as the NGB for the sport.
Among them was removal of the entire USA Gymnastics board, with which the organization complied, as well as cooperation with an investigation by Boston-based law firm Ropes & Gray into whether anyone knew about athlete complaints of Nassar’s abuse and didn’t report them and the systemic failures that contributed with his ability to go unchecked for so long.
Despite those guidelines from the USOC, USA Gymnastics has had repeated missteps since.
In August, USA Gymnastics hired Mary Lee Tracy as its elite development coordinator even though she publicly defended Nassar following his arrest. Three days after that announcement, the organization asked her to resign after she contacted Olympic gold medalist Raisman.
Days later, Kerry Perry was forced out as CEO after Hirshland issued a statement saying it was “time to consider making adjustments in the leadership.”
During Perry’s tenure with the organization, USA Gymnastics lost all of its key sponsors, and its national championships in August were held without a title sponsor, almost unheard of for one of the marquee Olympic sports in the United States.