US Olympic Committee slammed in review of Nassar abuse case

A damning report into US gymnastics' sex abuse scandal lambasted the United States Olympic Committee on Monday, saying the body had helped create the environment which allowed former team doctor Larry Nassar to abuse hundreds of athletes.

The 233-page report said senior USOC executives had failed to react swiftly when first warned of allegations surrounding Nassar in 2015, instead concealing the doctor's crimes until the scandal erupted into a public view in late 2016.

Investigators hired by USOC to conduct a wide-ranging inquiry into the scandal said former USOC chief executive Scott Blackmun, and current USOC chief of sports performance Alan Ashley, were both guilty of inaction after first being told of abuse allegations.

Later Monday, USOC chief executive Sarah Hirshland confirmed Ashley had been fired from his position in the wake of the report.

The investigation, carried out by Boston law firm Ropes & Gray, painted a withering picture of a systemic failure which allowed Nassar to abuse hundreds of athletes.

Nassar was jailed for life earlier this year for the abuse of more than 250 athletes, including several stars of the United States' gold medal-winning teams at the 2012 and 2016 Olympics.

"While Nassar bears ultimate responsibility for his decades-long abuse of girls and young women, he did not operate in a vacuum," an executive summary of the report said.

"Instead, he acted within an ecosystem that facilitated his criminal acts."
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"The USOC board commissioned this independent investigation because we knew we had an obligation to find out how this happened and to take important steps to prevent and detect abuse. We now have a much more comprehensive view of individual and institutional failures."
The report said Blackmun and former USA Gymnastics boss Penny had both "engaged in affirmative efforts to protect and preserve their institutional interests -- even as Nassar retired from the sport with his reputation intact and continued to have access to girls and young women at the college, club and high school levels."
Blackmun meanwhile insisted to investigators he had "initiated an internal effort at the USOC to alert his SafeSport team to the allegations and to confirm that the USOC was taking all appropriate steps to respond to the allegations and ensure athlete safety."
However, investigators concluded "no such conversations were had, and no such steps were taken."