Erik S Lesser/EPA, via Shutterstock
An 18-month Senate investigation has found that the United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee and U.S.A. Gymnastics “knowingly concealed” the sexual abuse of gymnasts by a team doctor, and two leading senators have proposed greater congressional oversight of Olympic-related sports.
The investigation described “alarming and dysfunctional systems” that allowed emotional, physical and sexual abuse to persist in sports like gymnastics, swimming, figure skating and taekwondo.
As a result of the investigation, Senators Jerry Moran, Republican of Kansas, and Richard Blumenthal, Democrat of Connecticut, will introduce a bipartisan bill on Tuesday that would hold the Olympic committee and national sports governing bodies to more stringent legal accountability for failing to protect athletes.