A recent letter from Olympic athletes charges Probst with a series of missteps in the past decadeGETTY IMAGES
A group of current and former U.S. Olympians are "pushing for the ouster" of USOC Chair Larry Probst and an "overhaul of his entire organization, citing its flat-footed response to sexual abuse and alleging broader litany of 'dysfunction, neglect and out-of-whack priorities,'" according to Louise Radnofsky of the WALL STREET JOURNAL. Skier Bode Miller, judokas Kayla Harrison and Jimmy Pedro, rower Caroline Lind and shot putter August Wolf "called for the change in a letter to the USOC." The letter describes the scandal surrounding USA Gymnastics’ "handling of sexual assault allegations against longtime team physician Larry Nassar." The Olympians allege a "series of additional missteps in the past decade, including in officials’ handling of sexual misconduct by coaches in swimming and taekwondo, and physical and emotional abuse in speedskating." They said that the alleged incidents suggest that the committee as a whole has been "more interested in protecting its own reputation and that of coaches, rather than athletes." The letter specifically calls for the U.S. House Energy & Commerce Committee, which has "initiated a wide-ranging investigation of American amateur sports, to form a 'truth commission' with public hearings focusing on USOC, and to beef up the SafeSport program, which languished for several years before it began its work last year" (WSJ.com, 3/17).
MORE TROUBLES AHEAD: In California, Scott Reid noted sports psychologist Dr. Steven Ungerleider alleges in a new lawsuit that the USOC and Angela Ruggiero “attempted to derail efforts to enlist the IOC and other organizations into investigating sexual abuse within U.S. Olympic sports.” Ungerleider alleges that Ruggiero -- a USOC board and until recently an IOC Exec Board member -- and the USOC tried "to minimize the extent of the sexual abuse crisis with American Olympic sports.” The suit claims Ruggiero “made repeated defamatory comments about Ungerleider to IOC members as part of what Ungerleider’s attorneys characterized as an ‘effort to cover up the sexual abuse crisis’ and later took retaliatory action against Ungerleider.” Ruggiero is "considered by many as the front runner to succeed" Scott Blackmun as USOC CEO. She served as Chair of the IOC athletes’ commission until her eight-year term expired at the end of the Pyeongchang Games (ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER, 3/17).
