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The United States gymnastics lost their last leader, Mary Bono, just days after announcing that she had been appointed to the head of the struggling federation on an interim basis.
Bono, a former gymnastic-trained congresswoman, resigned Tuesday after public complaints about her opposition to Nike's support to Colin Kaepernick, the former N.F.L. The quarterback has kneeled during the national anthem to protest social injustice and police brutality. Bono was also widely criticized for her links with a law firm advising the Gymnastics Federation as she was slow to reveal what she knew about sexual abuse by her doctor from the National Team. Lawrence G. Nassar, who is currently serving a prison sentence of 40 to 175 years. years for abuse.
"My withdrawal comes as a result of personal attacks that, if they were not defended, would have caused me to run the United States. a responsibility for the organization, "wrote Bono in a statement. "As for Mr. Kaepernick, he exercised his right of first amendment to kneel at the national level. I exercised mine. "
American gymnastics has been in turmoil for several years since the revelations about Nassar, accused of assaulting hundreds of girls and women, including gymnasts from the national team, when they had him asked for medical treatment.
The federation hoped to regain some stability by announcing Friday that Bono would be his acting president and CEO, replacing Kerry Perry, who was forced out in September after just nine months.
However, the day after the announcement of Bono's appointment, Olympic champion Simone Biles expressed on Twitter her frustration that Bono had covered the Nike logo after the apparel company signed a new partnership agreement with Kaepernick.
Bono had posted on Twitter a photo of herself using a pen to hide the Nike swoosh on her golf shoes. She removed the post after Biles, the biggest sports star, said on Twitter: "Mouth drop. Do not worry, it's not like we need a US president for smarter gymnastics, sponsors, or whatever. "
The US Gymnastics Board of Directors then said the position was disappointing and had been forgotten while checking out Bono's social media accounts.
The reaction against Bono grew on Monday with questions about his relationship with Faegre Baker Daniels, the law firm that represented the US Gymnastics when the abuse scandal erupted. Bono, who served in the House of Representatives from 1998 to 2013, was a cabinet lobbyist.
Many Nassar victims, including Olympic champion Aly Raisman, said Bono's work for the firm should have disqualified her to run the federation.
"My teammates and I reported Nassar's abuse to USAG in 2015," Raisman wrote on Twitter. "We now know that the USOC and Faegre Baker Daniels' lawyers (Mary Bono's office) were also informed at the time, yet Nassar continued to abuse children for 13 months!" Why hire a person associated with the company who helped cover our abuses? "
Sarah Hirshland, director of the US Olympic Committee, said in a statement that the departure of Bono, reported for the first time by CNN, was regrettable, and that the departure of the United States would continue to work with the gymnastics federation to find a new leadership.
But Bono has not been the only controversial hiring of the federation in recent months. At the end of the summer, the organization hired Mary Lee Tracy, a well-known coach, as the elite coordinator, to resign three days later. Tracy first defended Nassar, even after dozens of women had declared that he had abused them.
Perry, who was blamed for the hiring, resigned a few days later, leaving the organization uneducated again. Its long-time chairman, Steve Penny, was forced to leave his position in March 2017 due to his handling of the Nassar affair.
The organization is now ready to recruit a new director general. Gymnastics is one of the most popular and popular Olympic sports in the United States, and the 2020 Games are approaching.
The world championships begin next week in Doha, Qatar, and it will be the first time that the US women's team, which has won the last three world titles in team competition, will perform in a competition. as prestigious since Nassar's final conviction earlier this year.
Bono would probably have been there if she had stayed in charge. In her statement, she stated that she regretted not having had the opportunity to lead the organization because she was so passionate about protecting athletes from abuse.
According to the statement, as a gymnast, she "witnessed the attack of a coach" and "saw peers acquiesce agree to progress, while those who were not not left behind were left behind ".
Nobody should have to "choose between abuse and ambition," Bono said, adding that she had remained silent about what she had seen, "maybe the norm then, but very troubling for me to this day".
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