Senate investigators released a chilling report last week on the failure of seemingly everyone who had responsibility to stop the sexual abuse of Olympic gymnasts by disgraced former team doctor Larry Nassar--and the buck-passing that occurred after the Indianapolis Star revealed Nassar's horrors.
The system requires reform. A bill from Sens. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., and Jerry Moran, R-Kan., would provide it. The legislation would explicitly charge the Olympic committee with responsibility for athlete safety, including thorough oversight of sports federations such as USA Gymnastics. No longer could the committee claim it lacked authority over sports federations to do little as credible claims of abuse are reported--or to escape blame for tragedies like the Nassar episode.
Olympic committee chief executive Sarah Hirshland praised the bill last week, though she also warned of "unintended consequences and disruption for athletes in operational reality" that she did not specify. Lawmakers should hear the Olympic committee's concerns but not be diverted from the central job of better protecting young athletes.
The Olympic committee and everyone else who failed in the Nassar catastrophe now suffer from a deep deficit of trust. A strong reform bill might help restore some faith in these organizations--and in the spirit of clean competition that amateur athletics is supposed to promote.
Editorial on 08/06/2019