Three board members resign from USA Gymnastics amid scandal (updated)
Xinhua,January 23, 2018 Adjust font size:
WASHINGTON, Jan. 22 (Xinhua) -- USA Gymnastics Board of Directors executive leadership -- Chairman Paul Parilla, Vice Chairman Jay Binder and Treasurer Bitsy Kelley -- have announced resignations, USA Gymnastics confirmed on Monday.
"USA Gymnastics thanks Paul Parilla, Jay Binder and Bitsy Kelley for their many years of service to this organization. We support their decisions to resign at this time. We believe this step will allow us to more effectively move forward in implementing change within our organization," said Kerry Perry, President and CEO of USA Gymnastics.
"As the board identifies its next chair and fills the vacant board positions, we remain focused on working every day to ensure that our culture, policies and actions reflect our commitment to those we serve," he added.
USA Gymnastics thanked the three for their service and expressed support for their decisions to resign at this time.
USA Gymnastics have been under fire since former gymnastics doctor Larry Nassar admitted molesting athletes during medical treatment when he was employed by Michigan State University and USA Gymnastics. Nassar has already been sentenced to 60 years in prison for child pornography crimes.
Nassar, the former USA Gymnastics team doctor has pleaded guilty to multiple charges of sexual assault under the guise of medical treatment.
As a court in Lansing, Michigan has been listening to victims testifying abuses before Nassar's sentencing later this week, pressures are also mounting on USA Gymnastics.
Some of the victims even went further and alleged that the organization sought to buy silence in regards to the abuse by Nassar.
More than 100 victims of the disgraced doctor have reported sexual assaults to police, including several Olympic medalists from the team of American gymnasts.
Many of the victims were teenagers when they were sexually abused by Nassar, with his hands, during medical treatments.
Following the disclosure of the scandal, the former USA Gymnastics president resigned last year and the organization adopted a series of measures in order to prevent future cases of abuse. Enditem