The US Olympic Committee has announced that it has begun to take steps to dissolve the local gymnastics federation and abolish its authority as a governing body for the sport because of its failure to deal with the consequences of the sexual harassment scandals of former doctor Larry Nasar.
"Today, the US Olympic Committee has filed a complaint against the American Gymnastics Association, which aims to cancel its membership from the US Olympic Committee," Olympic Executive Committee President Sarah Herschland said in a statement Monday.
In an open letter to American gymnasts, Herschland said the American Gymnastics Federation had failed to "change its philosophy, rebuild its leadership and serve its members in an effective manner," adding "better" than that.
The union has been in turmoil for months after Nassar, the former doctor and convicted of sexual assault on more than 250 athletes, was sentenced to life imprisonment this year.
Nassar's victims had previously considered that officials at the American Gymnastics Association did not take into account their testimonies and warnings about the doctor. The list of Nasar victims included the golden medal winners of the 2012 London 2012 and Rio de Janeiro 2016 Olympic Games.
Since the beginning of this issue, which is one of the most dangerous in the history of American and global sport, the local federation faces a crisis in its leadership. Last month, its chief executive, Mary Bono, resigned four days after she was appointed after wide criticism from both Simon Piles and Alexandra Riessman.
Bono left Kerry Perry, who resigned at the beginning of September after nine months in office, over the controversy over her decision to appoint Mary Lee Tracy as coach of the first team. The latter resigned days after her appointment as well, after the anger of the mathematics of taking charge, accusing her of defending Nassar in statements dating back to 2016 as the scandal began to unfold.
According to Herschland, the move of the Olympic Committee came after lengthy deliberations.
"We are facing a situation where there is no ideal solution," he said, adding that "the suspension of the US gymnastics association is not an easy decision." In the short term, we need to work to support American gymnasts to excel in and out of the game halls.
She noted that the IOC has reached the conclusion that "the challenges facing the body (the federation) are simply too large to overcome in its current form ... We have worked closely with the new board of the American Gymnastics Association over the past months to support it, But despite the hard work, the governing body (gymnastics) continues to suffer. "
The complaint of the Olympic Committee will be referred to a review committee, which is expected to hold a hearing on the case, followed by a report containing recommendations to the board of the Olympic Committee, which will eventually return to final decision on stripping the gymnastics association from its current status.
The Olympic move came two days after the conclusion of the World Gymnastics Championships in Doha, which saw the culmination of American Simon Biles, four gold medals, a silver medal and a bronze. Piles has said in previous statements that she was a victim of Nassar.
