On Monday November 5, 2018 the US Olympic Committee (USOC) took the initial steps to decertify USA Gymnastics (USAG) as the governing body for the sport at the Olympic level.
Decertification is considered the most drastic option in light of the USAG's inability to rebuild following the Larry Nassar sex-abuse scandal. The decertification comes at a time when the USOC is doing everything possible to distance itself from USAG, and remove itself as defendant in several pending and ongoing lawsuits. The lawsuits claim the USOC, as the organization responsible for overseeing USAG, should have done more when it learned of the abuse. The move to decertify USAG will leave a void that cannot be easily filled. USAG is responsible for supporting Olympic athletes and selecting teams and coaches for international competitions, all while serving more than 150,000 athletes in 3,000 clubs around the country. At present, there is no other organization standing by and capable of filling that need. As all of this was happening, the US Gymnastics team brought home nine medals from the World Championship.
This article was written with contributions from Tim Piscatelli.
