FALL FROM GRACE

U.S. Olympic Committee CEO Resigns Amid Sex-Abuse Scandal

The chief executive faced criticism for the committee’s handling of the Larry Nassar sex-abuse scandal.

Scott Blackmun, who faced calls from two senators to step down in the wake of the Larry Nassar sex abuse scandal, has resigned as chief executive officer of the U.S. Olympic Committee, the organization said Wednesday. Blackmun is undergoing treatment for prostate cancer, and the USOC said he was resigning given his “current health situation,” The Washington Post reported. “We have mutually agreed it is in the best interest of both Scott and the USOC that we identify new leadership so that we can immediately address the urgent initiatives ahead of us,” USOC Chairman Larry Probst said. “The important work that Scott started needs to continue and will require especially vigorous attention in light of Larry Nassar’s decades-long abuse of athletes affiliated with USA Gymnastics.” USOC board member Susanne Lyons is taking over for Blackmun, who helmed the organization for eight years.