Two years ago, the U.S. nearly swept the women’s artistic gymnastics competition at the Rio Olympics, winning gold in the team all-around and in three out of five individual events. But now, halfway through the four-year cycle to Tokyo 2020, the sport’s governing body, USA Gymnastics, is in free fall, its very existence thrown into doubt by its handling of the cases of sexual assault perpetrated by its former national team doctor, Larry Nassar.
On Jan. 25, a day after Nassar was sentenced to up to 175 years in jail—in addition to a 60-year sentence handed down on Dec. 6 and another sentence of up to 125 years on Monday—an open letter by Scott Blackmun, CEO of the U.S. Olympic Committee, warned that if USA Gymnastics did not quickly implement a series of six reforms, “the USOC will have no choice but to pursue termination of USAG’s NGB [national governing body] status.” Number 1 on that list was a requirement that the entire board of directors resign within a week. One day later all 21 members were on their way out. President and CEO Kerry Perry, who took on her role only on Dec. 1 after a 20-year career in multimedia sports branding, will now oversee an organization stripped of much of its institutional experience.
One-by-one, major sponsors have ended their support for USAG. In mid-December, Kellogg’s and Procter & Gamble decided not to renew their sponsorships. Hershey’s opted to let its contract run out, while Under Armour announced, also in December, that it would end its association with the organization. On Jan. 23, in a Lansing, Mich., courtroom near the end of a week of victim impact statements—156 in total—that preceded Nassar’s sentencing, AT&T issued a statement saying it was cutting ties with USAG “until it is re-built and we know that the athletes are in a safe environment.”