After Larry Nassar was sentenced to 40 to 175 years in prison for multiple sex crimes on Wednesday, the U.S. Olympic Committee threatened to decertify USA Gymnastics (USAG) if the entire board of over 20 people didn’t resign by the following Wednesday. As the sport’s national governing body, USAG is in charge of selecting U.S. national teams and is the main organization for gymnastics clubs around the country. Three top board members of the board of directors at USAG had already resigned on Monday. On Friday night, the organization confirmed that the rest of the members of its board of directors would also abdicate.
The alarming saga with USA Gymnastics doctor Larry Nassar finally came to an end when the doctor pled guilty to seven counts of criminal sexual conduct. The disgraced doctor was not only the USA Gymnastics national team doctor, but also an osteopathic physician at Michigan State University. Over 150 women came forward with their accounts of sexual assault, and more than 80 women and girls stood before the court during his sentencing to recall their abuse.
Amid the eye-opening accusations were allegations made by Olympians Aly Raisman, McKayla Maroney, Simone Biles, and Jordyn Wieber, with Maroney charging that USA Gymnastics tried to pay her for her silence. A new report on Michigan State University also detailed the university’s mishandling of multiple sexual assault cases. Following Nassar’s sentencing, ESPN reported that at least 16 players at MSU have accused the disgraced doctor of sexual assault or violence.
