US Olympic Committee moves to revoke USA Gymnastics’ governing status

The process of removing USA Gymnastics as a governing body following the Larry Nassar scandal has begun.

The US Olympic Committee has moved to revoke USA Gymnastics’ status as a national governing body, the committee announced on Monday. It has filed a complaint initiating a Section 8 proceeding against USAG and said in a statement that it “is not a conclusion that we have come to easily.”

This comes on the heels of the committee calling for USAG to have members of its board resign earlier this year, as a result of the Larry Nassar scandal. At that time, the committee gave USAG six requirements to avoid decertification as the sport’s governing body for the country.

Those requirements have not been met, or at least the USOC believes that “the challenges facing the organization are simply more than it is capable of overcoming in its current form.”

USOC CEO Sarah Hirshland released this statement regarding the Section 8 proceedings:

“Today the United States Olympic Committee has filed a complaint initiating a Section 8 proceeding against USA Gymnastics, seeking to revoke USAG’s recognition as a member National Governing Body of the USOC. This is a situation in which there are no perfect solutions. Seeking to revoke recognition is not a conclusion that we have come to easily. In the short-term, we have to work to ensure that USAG gymnasts have the support necessary to excel on and off the field of play. We are building plans to do just that. In the long-term, it will be the critically important responsibility of the recognized Gymnastics NGB, whether the existing organization or a new one, to lead gymnastics in the United States and build on the supportive community of athletes and clubs that can carry the sport forward for decades to come. We are prepared to identify and help build such an organization.”

In addition to the statement, Hirshland authored an open letter to “all USAG gymnasts and the gymnastics community in the United States.” The letter includes justification for these proceedings, and a broad explanation of the way forward.

You’re no doubt wondering what this means for you and the gymnastics community. Until the process is completed and a final determination on USAG’s status is made, we will work to ensure that gymnastics training and competitions will continue as usual. I do not know how long the process will take, and we will make every effort to proceed quickly.

Hirshland states that the USAG athletes who were abused and mistreated at the hands of Nassar and, by extension, the organization itself “deserve better,” and that they deserve to know what’s next.

A review panel will be identified, a hearing will be held, a finding of fact will be issued after the hearing and a recommendation of action will be made, according to the letter. All of that is just a way of saying that this is a process that will take some time and there is uncertainty ahead.

“But that doesn’t really answer the meat of the question,” Hirshland writes. “You need to know what happens to gymnasts and your clubs if USA Gymnastics’ membership is revoked by the USOC. We are developing both a short- and longer-term plan and will communicate it as soon as we can.”

Shortly after the release of the USOC statement, the USA Gymnastics board of directors made two statements, one in response to the USOC and one to its members. The first can be seen in its entirety below:

“The United States Olympic Committee (USOC) issued a letter today to USA Gymnastics initiating actions pursuant to Article 8 of its bylaws, which could ultimately result in the de-recognition of USA Gymnastics as a National Governing Body (NGB). This action is in accordance with their bylaws, which grant the USOC the power to review all matters relating to the continued recognition of an NGB. USA Gymnastics is carefully reviewing the contents of this letter and is evaluating the best path forward for our athletes, professional members, the organization and staff.

“USA Gymnastics’ board was seated in June 2018 and inherited an organization in crisis with significant challenges that were years in the making. In the four months since, the Board has done everything it could to move this organization towards a better future. We immediately took steps to change the leadership and are currently conducting a search to find a CEO who can rebuild the organization and, most importantly, regain the trust of the gymnastics community. Substantial work remains — in particular, working with the plaintiffs and USA Gymnastics’ insurers to resolve the ongoing litigation as quickly as possible. We will continue to prioritize our athletes’ health and safety and focus on acting in the best interests of the greater gymnastics community.”

The second statement is made up of most of the first, plus this message:

We want you to know, we will continue to serve the thousands of young athletes, coaches, club owners, judges and administrators who make up our organization. Our commitment will always be to ensure the health and safety of our members while they pursue their love of the sport. We know this continues to be a difficult time for our organization, and we are so appreciative of all that you do to support our gymnastics community.

We’ll have more on this story as it develops.