UNCOVERED

Report: USA Gymnastics Didn’t Disclose Coaches’ Sexual Abuse

In dozens of cases involving coaches, exposé claims.

USA Gymnastics officials failed to report dozens of allegations of sexual abuse by coaches, according to an investigative report published Thursday. In a 2013 lawsuit, former officials admitted to routinely ignoring reports of abuse by a Georgia coach who allegedly abused many female gymnasts for seven years. “USAG failed at this,” said the mother of one of the plaintiffs. “USA Gymnastics had enough information, I think, to have done something about this. It didn’t have to happen to my daughter, and it didn’t have to happen to other little girls.” The officials for the sport’s U.S. governing body are said to have ignored the allegations unless they were brought forth by a victim or a victim’s parent. The Indianapolis Star uncovered that USA Gymnastics officials “compiled complaint dossiers on more than 50 coaches and filed them in a drawer in its executive offices in Indianapolis.” The newspaper was able to find four instances in which the organization was told of abuse, but did not report the allegations to police.