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USA Gymnastics' Turmoil Continues With CEO Bono's Resignation

USA Gymnastics in a statement said Bono's resignation was in the "best interest" of the NGBgetty images

USA Gymnastics interim CEO Mary Bono yesterday "bowed to increasingly widespread calls for her removal," announcing she was "stepping down from the position she got only five days ago," according to Nancy Armour of USA TODAY. Bono "abruptly resigned from the interim post" following tweets by Gold Medal-winning U.S. gymnast Simone Biles and others "questioning whether Bono was fit to lead and what message her hiring sent to the women abused by Larry Nassar." The USAG BOD in a statement said that it "accepted Bono's resignation and that despite her commitment to the sport, 'we believe this is in the best interest of the organization.'" Biles had been "critical of a tweet from Bono that included a photo of Bono blacking out the Nike logo on her golf shoes, which appeared to be a criticism of Nike’s endorsement deal with Colin Kaepernick." USAG has been "looking for an apparel sponsor since Under Armour cut ties in the fallout from the Nassar scandal." Gold Medal-winning U.S. gymnast Aly Raisman also "expressed concern" that USAG had hired Bono "despite her affiliation with the law firm Faegre Baker Daniels," which represented the NGB in its initial investigation of Nassar (USA TODAY, 10/17).

LATEST BLOW: PBS' Amna Nawaz noted Bono's resignation is the "latest blow" to the NGB ("NewsHour," PBS, 10/16). In N.Y., Juliet Macur notes USAG had "hoped to regain some stability" with Bono replacing Kerry Perry, who was "forced out in September after just nine months" (N.Y. TIMES, 10/17). The WALL STREET JOURNAL's Rachel Bachman notes USAG is now "searching for its fourth leader in 19 months." Perry, and her predecessor Steve Penny, "left after being criticized for their handling of the abuse allegations or of the public outcry that followed them" (WALL STREET JOURNAL, 10/17).

RAISMAN SPEAKS OUT: Raisman tweeted last night that her objection to Bono "was not 'personal.'" Raisman: "The stakes are high in our sport right now, (and) it's essential new leadership be disconnected from the influences that allowed these terrible things to happen" (AP, 10/17). In Boston, Emily Sweeney notes Raisman was part of a panel discussion at Eastern Bank HQ yesterday to "speak out about the issue of sexual abuse." Raisman said USAG is "being difficult," and it is "devastating to see that they just keep hiring people who are not going to really make enough change within the sport." She added it is "important" for USAG to "release all their documents, all their data, be transparent, and just tell us what went wrong -- but they’re not doing that." Raisman: "Until they do that, we can’t be confident that it’s not going to happen again, because there still might be people at that organization that were involved in this disaster. We really need to know all the answers” (BOSTON GLOBE, 10/17).

DRASTIC CHANGE NEEDED? USA TODAY's Armour writes current USAG leadership is "not equipped for the monumental job required to put the organization back on the right path," and the USOC "must step in." They should "get rid of the board," USAG COO Ron Galimore and "every other person in a position of power who has either defended or clung to the old way of doing things." It is time to "decertify" USAG, and "bring in someone not beholden to anyone in the current federation to begin the rebuild." There is "too much at stake for the athletes, the young women and men who are supposed to be USA Gymnastics’ focus yet continue to bear the brunt of its ineptitude" (USA TODAY, 10/17). The GUARDIAN's Beau Dure writes under the header, "USA Gymnastics Couldn't Handle Larry Nassar. Now It Can't Even Handle Itself." While Bono was in "no way to blame for the Nassar scandal, her hasty appointment and exit is a sign of the dysfunction in an organization that looks after young athletes." This is about "reassuring parents" that USAG is "stable enough to ensure that their daughters (and, for that matter, sons) won’t end up in a courtroom reliving the horrors of their teen years" (THEGUARDIAN.com, 10/17).

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