Usa Gymnastics Popular Books

Usa Gymnastics Biography & Facts

United States of America Gymnastics (USA Gymnastics or USAG) is the national governing body for gymnastics in the United States. Established in 1963 as the U.S. Gymnastics Federation (USGF), USA Gymnastics selects and trains the men's and women's national teams for the Olympic Games and World Championships. USAG sets the rules and policies that govern the sport of gymnastics, promotes the sport at all levels, and serves as a resource center for members, clubs, fans and gymnasts. The programs governed by USAG are: Women's artistic gymnastics (WAG) Men's artistic gymnastics (MAG) Rhythmic gymnastics Trampoline & tumbling (T&T) Acrobatic gymnastics Parkour Group gymnastics / Gymnastics for All The women's artistic program holds multiple nationally televised competitions each year. The USAG was central to the largest sex-abuse scandal in sports history. In 2016, two decades of widespread sexual abuse of athletes, mostly minors, by coaches and other people overseen by USAG came to light. This led to federal and state investigations and prosecutions, and the resignations of the USAG president and board. In 2018, the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee (USOPC) began to decertify the USAG as a national governing body but put the process on hold after USAG declared bankruptcy; it ultimately decided not to act in 2021, citing the organization's reform efforts. More than 500 athletes sued USAG and USOPC, alleging that the organizations were partially culpable for their sexual assaults; in 2021, the organizations settled the lawsuits for $380 million. History Origins USAG was established in 1963 as the U.S. Gymnastics Federation. The need for a governing body had begun to appear at the 1959 Pan American Games, when friction developed between the games' organizers, the Amateur Athletic Union, and the Olympic Gymnastics Committee. The NCAA was dissatisfied as well, and asked the National Association of Gymnastics Coaches to begin planning for a new national governing body. The U.S. Gymnastics Federation was established in 1963. But resistance by the AAU, which was loath to relinquish control over gymnastics, and other factors meant that the new federation was not internationally recognized as the governing body of U.S. gymnastics until 1970. The organization renamed itself USA Gymnastics in 1993. Sex abuse scandal In 1990, USA Gymnastics began to keep a list of people permanently banned from coaching for sexual abuse and other reasons. For example, the list includes Robert Dean Head, a USAG coach in Kentucky who in 1992 pled guilty to raping a 12-year-old, and Don Peters, the national coach for the 1984 Olympic team, who was banned in 2011 after two former gymnasts accused him of sexual abuse. USAG began requiring background checks for coaches in 2007. Yet by 1996, and possibly much earlier, USAG officials had begun a pattern of concealing and enabling sexual assaults on gymnasts by coaches and others. USAG leaders routinely dismissed complaints and warnings about coaches. For example, USAG received complaints about coach Mark Schiefelbein long before he was convicted in 2003 of molesting a 10-year-old girl. USAG officials would admit under oath in 2013 that allegations of sexual abuse were routinely dismissed as hearsay unless they came directly from a victim or victim's parent. Even when USAG leaders believed the accusers, they sometimes allowed coaches to continue coaching for years. For example, they waited four years before telling the police that they had received credible allegations of sexual assault by Marvin Sharp, who became a USAG coach in 2010 and was jailed in 2015 on state and local charges of misconduct with a minor and possession of child pornography. USAG leaders even permitted coaches and others who were convicted of crimes to remain in the sport for years afterward. Documents released in the prosecution of Georgia coach William McCabe revealed how USAG responded to sexual misconduct allegations made against coaches from 1996 to 2006. One letter says a USAG regional chair spoke to the organization's president in support of allowing a convicted sex offender to keep his membership. Other documents include sexual abuse complaints filed against 54 coaches, many of whom were convicted of crimes yet allowed by USAG to continue in the sport for years. Hundreds more alleged sexual assaults came to light in 2016, when the Indianapolis Star began publishing the results of a nine-month investigation into the sexual abuse of gymnasts and the role that USAG had played in them. The Star found that the abuses were widespread because "predatory coaches were allowed to move from gym to gym, undetected by a lax system of oversight, or dangerously passed on by USA Gymnastics-certified gyms". USAG CEO Steve Penny was forced to resign in March 2017, but received a $1 million severance package. Among other actions, Penny had waited weeks to notify the FBI of sexual abuse allegations against Larry Nassar, the national team doctor through four Olympic cycles. Penny was arrested the following year on charged of destroying or hiding documents related to Nassar’s activities at the Karolyi Ranch. The charges were ultimately dismissed due to lack of evidence, but led to several reforms of the law by Congress. USAG placed Penny on its "permanently ineligible" list of members. USAG hired a former federal prosecutor to develop recommendations to reform its policies related to sexual misconduct. In June 2017, Deborah J. Daniels released a report with 70 recommendations, including removing the "athlete representative" from the Olympic selection committee, so athletes would be less afraid to report abuses. USA Gymnastics cut ties with the Karolyi Ranch in the wake of the scandal, after several gymnasts said they had been abused by Nassar on the premises. The ranch, operated by Béla Károlyi and his wife, former national team coordinator Márta Károlyi, had been the official US Women's National Team Training Center since 2001. Marta was replaced in 2016 by Valeri Liukin, a Soviet Olympic medalist and owner of World Olympic Gymnastics Academy; Liukin would resign two years later due to his own involvement in the sex abuse scandal. In 2018, Nassar pleaded guilty to sexually abusing over 300 female athletes, including Olympic gold medalists Aly Raisman and Jordyn Wieber. Following his sentencing, the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee (USOPC) threatened to decertify USA Gymnastics unless the entire board resigned. USA Gymnastics complied and all 21 board members resigned on January 26. Olympic medalist McKayla Maroney has filed a lawsuit alleging that USA Gymnastics paid her to keep silent about Nassar's abuse. Gymnasts have called for those who protected Nassar, including in the USOPC and USA Gymnastics, to be held accountable for their actions. In September 2018, USA Gymnastics fired its elite development director for women, Mary Lee Tracy, who was heavily.... Discover the Usa Gymnastics popular books. Find the top 100 most popular Usa Gymnastics books.