USA Gymnastics interim president resigns days after appointed
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — The woman appointed Friday to Indianapolis-based USA Gymnastics interim president has stepped down after her anti-Nike tweet generated some concerns.
USA Gymnastics had appointed former California Congresswoman Mary Bono while it searched for a permanent successor to Kerry Perry, who resigned under pressure from the United States Olympic Committee in September after spending less than a year on the job.
Olympic champion Simone Biles on Saturday was one of the people who responded to Bono’s tweet last month that criticized Nike following the release of its advertising campaign featuring former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick. Bono, a former Republican congresswoman, had posted a photo of herself drawing over a Nike logo on a golf shoe.
Biles quote-tweeted Bono’s photo and wrote: “*mouth drop* don’t worry, it’s not like we needed a smarter usa gymnastics president or any sponsors or anything.”
Biles, a Nike-sponsored athlete who will compete at the 2018 world championships in Qatar next week, said on Monday she felt compelled to speak up.
“Being a Nike athlete, you have to stand up for your brand,” Biles said.
Bono deleted her tweet about five hours later, saying she regretted the post and respects “everyone’s views & fundamental right to express them.”
Bono on Tuesday evening sent a tweet with an image containing her letter of resignation:
“My regret is that I would have brought to the organization the angst and anger of my own story: a young aspiring gymnast who witnesses first-hand the assaulting behavior of a coach; watched peers who acquiesced in it move ahead while those who didn’t were left behind, and myself stayed silent — perhaps the norm then, but very troubling to me to this day. I would have brought a fire in the belly to ensure that no one as taken with gymnastics as I was at that age, should have to choose between abuse and ambition, or between properly speaking out and promoting personal success.
“My withdrawal comes in the wake of personal attacks that, left undefended, would have made my leading USAG a liability for the organization. With respect to Mr. Kaepernick, he nationally exercised his first amendment right to kneel. I execised mine: to mark over on my own golf shoes, the logo of the company sponsoring him for ‘believing in something even if it means sacrificing everything’ — while at a tournament for families who have lost a member of the armed services (including my brother-in-law, a Navy SEAL) who literally ‘sacraficed everything.’ It was an emotional reaction to the sponsor’s use of that phrase that caused me to tweet, and I regret that at the time I didn’t better clarify my feelings. That one tweet has now been made the litmus test of my reputation over almost two decades of public service.”
USA Gymnastics issued this statement Tuesday:
“The USA Gymnastics Board of Directors accepted the resignation of Mary Bono as interim president and CEO. Despite her commitment to the sport of gymnastics and helping the organization move forward, we believe this is in the best interest of the organization. We, as a Board, are committed to taking action when we believe a change of course is necessary and to being responsive to our gymnastics community.
“While we continue the search for a permanent president and CEO and are currently seeking input from key stakeholders on that search, we remain steadfast in our efforts to fundamentally transform the organization at all levels to ensure athlete safety and well-being is at the heart of everything we do. We are also committed to making sure that the focus remains on the athletes – including this week as our men and women head to Doha to compete in the World Championships. While we have made progress, we have much more work to do. This board is determined to take the necessary steps to support a safe, inclusive and competitive environment where all our athletes and members can grow, have fun and achieve their goals.”
Six-time Olympic medalist Aly Raisman, herself a Nassar survivor, has been a strident critic of USA Gymnastics for what she considers to be its continually tone deaf response to herself and other victims of abuse. Shortly after Bono was brought on, she questioned Bono’s association with a law firm that advised the organization on how to handle portions of the Nassar scandal.
Raisman tweeted Tuesday night her objection to Bono was not “personal.”
“The stakes are high in our sport right now, (and) it’s essential new leadership be disconnected from the influences that allowed these terrible things to happen,” Raisman posted.
Bono is the third person to step down from the position in the last 18 months. Steve Penny resigned under pressure from the United States Olympic Committee in the wake of the Larry Nassar sexual abuse scandal in March 2017. Perry stepped down under similar pressure in September after just 11 months.