US Olympic committee calls on entire USA gymnastics board to resign after assault scandal

The U.S. Olympic Committee (USOC) is now calling for every member of the USA Gymnastics board to resign by the end of the month, as a fresh start for the organization after a sexual assault scandal involving one of its former doctors. 

Scott Blackmun, CEO of the USOC, sent an email to the USA Gymnastics (USAG) board Thursday saying it would lose its status as the nation’s governing organization for gymnastics unless each member resigned by Jan. 31, according to USA Today. 

The USOC will also decertify the organization if it does not put an interim board in place by Feb. 28, Blackmun said in the email. 

The chairman, vice chairman and treasurer for USAG resigned on Monday, but Blackmun has demanded that all of the 21 board members resign immediately. 

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“We are also aware of the recent resignations of USAG board chair Paul Parilla and three other board members,” Blackmun wrote Thursday. “Now that these steps have been completed, USAG must build on them with a categorically fresh start at the board level.”

Blackmun’s demands were made after USAG national medical coordinator Larry Nassar was sentenced to up to 175 years in prison for his sexual assault of women and girls under his care. 

Nearly 160 of his victims have come forward with accusations against Nassar, who served the organization until 2016, saying that he assaulted them under the guise of medical treatment. 

Many blamed USAG in their victim statements for not doing enough to shield its athletes from sexual abuse. 

The organization, which hired a new president last year amid the fallout from reports of Nassar’s alleged behavior, must also now have its board members submit to mandatory ethics and SafeSport training.