Olympic Officials Give Ultimatum to USA Gymnastics

Entire board must quit, or it will no longer be sport's governing body
By John Johnson,  Newser Staff
Posted Jan 26, 2018 7:22 AM CST
Olympics Panel Orders Entire Gymnastics Board to Quit
Larry Nassar during his sentencing hearing Wednesday, Jan. 24, 2018, in Lansing, Mich.   (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio)

As the harrowing testimony against Larry Nassar continued earlier this week, three top members of the USA Gymnastics board resigned. Not good enough, says the US Olympic Committee. The group has ordered everybody else on the 21-member board to quit by Wednesday, and it wants an interim board set up by Feb. 28, reports CNN. If not, USA Gymnastics will lose its authority as the sport's governing body. The fallout is part of the next steps in the wake of Nassar's trial, as investigations continue into how the former sports doctor was able to molest so many girls under his care for so long.

"We do not base these requirements on any knowledge that any individual USAG staff or board members had a role in fostering or obscuring Nassar's actions," writes USOC chief Scott Blackmun in an email ordering the move. "Our position comes from a clear sense that USAG culture needs fundamental rebuilding." During her own testimony, star gymnast Aly Raisman said the gymnastics organization was "rotting from the inside," but as USA Today notes, she also called out the USOC itself, accusing it of ignoring complaints about Nassar for years. (More US Olympic Committee stories.)

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