USA Gymnastics President & CEO Li Li Leung apologized for an "excerpt of a television interview in which she described an interaction" with former USAG team doctor Larry Nassar, according to Tom Schad of USA TODAY. Appearing on NBC's "Today" show yesterday, Leung said that she was "actually seen by Nassar during her own career as a gymnast, when she was 16 years old." But she said that she was "not abused by him in part because of the public setting of their interaction." Leung: "The reason why I wasn't abused by him is because my coach was by my side when he saw me. I was seen by him in a public setting, so I understand what the setting needs to be like in order to ensure safety for our athletes." Leung then "later apologized on Twitter" for her comments. She wrote, "My intent was not to diminish what they've been through. I should have clarified that my experience was completely different from theirs and it is wrong to suggest I could have a solution based on my experience alone" (USA TODAY, 4/25).
ANOTHER STEP BACK: ESPN.com's D'Arcy Maine wrote it is "astonishing how tone-deaf" Leung sounds. So many of the survivors "had parents or coaches in the room with them while their abuse happened, so to say that's all that's needed to prevent this is frankly insulting to all those who have come forward." Maine: "Did she not take the time to watch any of the victim statements?" (ESPN.com, 4/24). USA TODAY's Christine Brennan writes this was Leung's "first big mistake." It is "not career ending, but it certainly is disappointing." Brennan: "How is it that she so confidently told her lucky Nassar story with no apparent thought to how that story would sound to his survivors and anyone else paying attention in our post-Nassar world?" (USA TODAY, 4/25).
CALL OF DUTY: Leung, in an interview conducted prior to this week's comments on Nassar, said prior to starting her current role with USAG she was "watching everything happen" with the NGB "from afar." Leung: "I kept hoping and willing that it would get better, and it didn't." She noted when her predecessor Mary Bono resigned after four days, she "felt that I couldn't sit back and not do anything anymore." Leung, who was NBA VP/Global Partnerships at the time, said, "I reached out and said, 'Hey, I'm a former elite gymnast, I have some international sports-business experience, and I think I could help out." She added she was "basically willing to volunteer if that's what they needed, but they said, 'We're actually looking for a CEO, and why don't you apply?" Leung said USAG is "one of many institutions that failed in its most important responsibility, which is protecting its athletes." Leung: "Going forward, the safety and well-being of our athletes will be a priority" (MARIE CLAIRE magazine, June '19 issue).
