The remaining directors of the US gymnastics governing body are resigning in the wake of this week's sentencing of the former national team doctor for molesting female athletes, USA Gymnastics said on Friday (local time), complying with a demand by the US Olympic Committee.
The doctor, Larry Nassar, was sentenced on Wednesday to between 40 and 175 years in prison by a judge in Lansing, Michigan, following a week of blistering statements in court by his victims including Olympic gold medal-winning gymnasts Aly Raisman and Jordyn Wieber and other female athletes. He had pleaded guilty to sexual assault charges.
- US Gymnastics to be stripped of rights unless board resigns
- Olympic US gymnastics team doctor gets 175 years in jail
The USOC had threatened to strip USA Gymnastics of its power to run its sport if all 21 board directors had not resigned by next Wednesday. At least five members already had said they had resigned as a result of the scandal.
"USA Gymnastics will comply with the USOC requirements," Leslie King, a spokeswoman for USA Gymnastics, said in an email.
The senior sports official at Michigan State University, where Nassar previously worked, retired on Friday. The departure of Athletic Director Mark Hollis came two days after university President Lou Anna Simon stepped down under pressure. Both said they were unaware of Nassar's abuse until public reports.
Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette, whose office prosecuted Nassar, confirmed on Twitter that the office is investigating the university.
The national outcry over Nassar has prompted the US House of Representatives, Senate, the Department of Education and the USOC to announce further investigations this week.
Those investigations seek to establish if other sports officials turned a blind eye to Nassar's abuses. The House investigation will also examine allegations of sexual harassment by officials in other sports, including swimming and taekwondo.
Reuters
