Biles said that she believes USAG CEO Kerry Perry needs to make more public statementsGETTY IMAGES
Gold Medal-winning U.S. gymnast Simone Biles said that she "isn’t sure" if USA Gymnastics is "making progress in fixing the systemic problems" revealed from the Larry Nassar scandal, according to Armour & Axon of USA TODAY. Biles said, "Hopefully it’s going in the right direction, but nobody can know until [USAG CEO] Kerry Perry speaks up. So it’s kind of hard." Perry "took over the troubled organization" in December '17, but aside from two Congressional hearings, she has "said little publicly about what USA Gymnastics is doing to change its culture" (USA TODAY, 8/16). Asked if Perry needed to make more public statements, Biles said, "Yes. It’s her job." The AP's Will Graves noted speaking out publicly is something Perry has "largely sidestepped since being hired last fall." Though she has "made a concerted effort to visit as many of the 3,546 member gyms across the country since taking over, she's only put a small dent in that number." When it "comes to becoming the public face of the organization, she's stayed in the shadows." Perry has "yet to articulate a way forward outside of generic and carefully crafted open letters." There is a "growing sense of frustration not just among athletes at the elite level but also among the gym owners and operators that serve as the organization's lifeblood." Univ. of Oklahoma gymnastics coach Mark Williams believes that USAG is "too busy 'choosing what they can and can't say by the advice of lawyers rather than necessarily doing the right thing, saying the right thing, coming out and changing things because that's what needs to happen'" (AP, 8/15).
FINDING HER VOICE: In Boston, Matt Porter in a front-page piece reports Gold Medal-winning U.S. gymnast Aly Raisman has "become one of the preeminent voices of the movement to end sexual abuse in Olympic sports." She has "done it by going public with her story of abuse" at the hands of Nassar. She has "criticized the leadership that kept him on for decades, and expressed her frustration that not enough has been done." Raisman said new USOC CEO Sarah Hirshland and Perry “need to be leaders," and "part of being a good leader is meeting with survivors and talking to them." Raisman "plans to be" at the U.S. Gymnastics Championships this week in Boston, but was not officially invited. USAG said that it "welcomes alumni to attend, posted information on its alumni Facebook page last month, and sent information to Hall of Fame members, but does not directly invite athletes to events except for special recognition." Raisman acknowledged that, as a HOFer, she "gets two free tickets to this week’s event." Raisman: “I wouldn’t really count that as an invite” (BOSTON GLOBE, 8/16). Also in Boston, Steve Buckley writes under the header, "Aly Raisman Makes Her Voice Loud And Clear" (8/16).
BRANDS STAYING AWAY: The AP's Graves noted sponsors that "used to flock to align themselves with a program that has been the dominant force in its sport over the last decade have fled." Though there is a "feeling inside" USAG that they "will return when the legal battles end, for now they are sitting out." The proof is "on the ribbon boards around TD Garden." Visa and P&G "once served as the title sponsors" for U.S. Gymnastics Championships, but this year the "only corporate sponsorship visible inside the arena is a couple of small black-and-white signs that read 'Team USA Summer Champions Series Presented by Xfinity,' part of a deal" between the cable company and the USOC, not USAG (AP, 8/15). In Houston, David Barron notes USAG has "had a title sponsor for its national championships for more than two decades," but the federation has "lost affiliations" with sponsors Under Armour, AT&T, Kellogg, P&G and Hershey since the '16 revelations of Nassar's abuse (HOUSTON CHRONICLE, 8/16).
