The United States women’s gymnastics team has no coordinator. It has no training center. It has lost its biggest sponsors. Its governing body is under investigation by multiple congressional committees and recently jettisoned its entire board of directors.
From the biggest sexual abuse case in sports, the institution of U.S.A. Gymnastics has emerged tattered and disgraced: censured for systematically failing to report predators, accused of fostering abusive training environments and condemned by many of its own stars.
But there are still gymnasts training 30 to 40 hours a week in pursuit of lifelong dreams: National team membership.