Following testimonies against Larry Nassar, three top board members of the Olympic USA Gymnastics team have resigned. Nassar was the team's physician before being accused of sexual assault by multiple patients.
On Twitter, the organization announced that the board’s chair Paul Parilla, vice chair Jay Binder, and treasurer Bitsy Kelley resigned on January 22, BuzzFeed reports. On the USA Gymnastics site, the newly vacant board positions are labeled “TBD,” while the other member names remain.
Olympic athletes Aly Raisman, Gabby Douglas, Simone Biles, McKayla Maroney, and Jordyn Wieber are among those who accused Nassar of molesting them while they were under his care. Since members of the 2012 team came forward with their allegations, USA Gymnastics has been looked at critically for its alleged complicity during the years the abuse was taking place. Maroney and Raisman have both publicly blamed the organization for its failure to protect them. "For this sport to go on we must demand real change. If we leave it up to these organizations history is likely to repeat itself," Raisman said in court, according to Buzzfeed.
On Twitter, USA Gymnastics President Kerry Perry wrote of the resignations “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." Perry took over his position in December.
Nassar has been sentenced to 60 years in prison on child pornography charges, but could be facing an additional 25 to 40 years for 10 counts of sexual misconduct with minors.
