Lyons praised Probst for rebuilding relationships with sponsors and the international Olympic movementGETTY IMAGES
The USOC will be "led by women for the first time" after the board chose former acting CEO Susanne Lyons to serve as Chair and last month hired Sarah Hirshland as CEO, according to a front-page piece by Tom Roeder of the Colorado Springs GAZETTE. Lyons replaces Larry Probst, who "led the board through sexual assault scandals that rocked the Olympic movement." Probst announced yesterday that he will "leave in December and apologized for failing to protect athletes from sexual assaults." Hirshland "replaced Scott Blackmun, who stepped down this year amid health problems and the growing sexual assault scandal." Olympic leaders will huddle this month for "three days of meetings with the bodies that govern individual sports." Sexual assaults have "rocked multiple sports, including gymnastics, swimming and taekwondo." Lyons "praised Probst for rebuilding relationships with sponsors and the international Olympic movement." Lyons: "The relationship that really needs to be built now is with our athletes." Hirshland emphasized that while the leadership changes will "increase the focus on athlete safety, Probst's departure isn't a knee-jerk reaction to the scandal" (Colorado Springs GAZETTE, 9/11). Lyons said, "Change is good and I think we've seen that there are areas that need to have change, absolutely, going forward. I think having fresh eyes and a fresh perspective can be a catalyst to that kind of cultural change. A lot of it has to start at the top. It has to start with the board. It has to start with Sarah" (USA TODAY, 9/11). USA Today's Christine Brennan tweeted of the USOC being led by two women: "What an important message that sends to the international sports community & nations that still don't take women & women's sports seriously" (TWITTER.com, 9/10).
CONTINUING THE STATUS QUO? In California, Scott Reid notes critics were "quick to describe Lyons’ appointment as a continuation of a status quo within the USOC and the nearly 50 national governing bodies for Olympic sports and an emphasis on medals and marketing over athlete safety." Lyons has "been a USOC board member" since '10. She also "served for three years" as the Exec VP & CMO of Visa USA -- an IOC TOP sponsor. Attorney John Manly, who represented women who were abused by Larry Nassar, said, "They're just replacing one board member with another board member who is better at communicating. Ms. Lyons is as culpable as anybody at the USOC. So much of the culture at the USOC is sick, really sick, right. The problem is (the board) had oversight and they didn't do their job." He added, "They don't need another hack from inside the USOC. They need an outsider with the proper credentials, not another country club type and that's what you've got" (ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER, 9/11).
ON THE WAY OUT: Probst, the chair and former CEO of EA, was elected USOC Chair in October '08 and later won two more four-year terms. During his tenure, he helped smooth international relations by renegotiating the USOC-IOC share of media and sponsorship revenue. He was appointed to the IOC in '13, where he helped shape global Olympic communications and media policy on several commissions. The USOC more recently has been criticized for its handling of sexual assault allegations against coaches. Congressional and internal investigations are ongoing, and the USOC faces numerous civil suits relating to the scandal. "We've been very clear about this in the past that we've failed our athletes," Probst said when asked yesterday about his personal responsibility. "And you know, I'm at the top of the food chain, and I take this very personally." Probst will lose his seat on the IOC as a result of his departure, but he could conceivably be appointed as an individual member. Lyons is not automatically granted a seat as Chair. Probst said he will have dinner with IOC President Thomas Bach later this month, and then will meet with Sheikh Ahmad Al-Fahad Al-Sabah at the IOC session in Argentina in October. "I hope I can continue to serve the Olympic movement going forward," Probst said (Ben Fischer, Staff Writer).
