LOS ANGELES: The United States Olympic Committee said it had begun moves to disband the country’s governing body for gymnastics in the aftermath of the sport’s devastating sexual abuse scandal, a statement said.
USOC chief executive Sarah Hirshland on Monday said in a statement Olympic chiefs had started proceedings to revoke USA Gymnastics’ status as the official governing body for the sport in the United States. In an open letter addressed to US gymnasts, Hirshland said USA Gymnastics had failed to “change its culture, to rebuild its leadership, and to effectively serve its membership.” “You deserve better,” Hirshland told gymnasts in the letter. The USOC bombshell comes after a series of humiliating body blows to USA Gymnastics, which has lurched from one self-inflicted crisis to the next as it struggles to rebuild in the aftermath of the Larry Nassar sexual abuse scandal. Former US team doctor Nassar was jailed for life earlier this year after abusing more than 250 athletes, including several stars of the United States’ gold medal-winning teams at the 2012 and 2016 Olympics. (AFP)
