Scott Blackmun in 2007. He announced Wednesday that he is stepping down as CEO of the U.S. Olympic Committee. On the same day the USOC announced steps it is taking to protect abuse victims
US Olympic Committee chief executive Scott Blackmun is resigning for medical reasons, the organization said on Wednesday, following months of sustained criticism stemming from the sex abuse scandal involving former USA Gymnastics doctor Larry Nassar.
Blackmun leaves as calls for his ouster were growing louder - from two USA senators and, more notably, from a number of gymnasts and other athletes who said neither he nor the USOC at large reacted properly to cases including those involving Larry Nassar, the doctor who sexually abused members of the U.S. gymnastics team.
USOC said board member Susanne Lyons would replace Blackmun as interim chief executive as the hunt for a permanent successor got underway.
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The USOC also said on Wednesday it would increase funding for support and counseling for victims as well as investigations into abuse allegations, among other reforms.
U.S. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., who called for Blackmun's ouster and has called for a special congressional committee to investigate the matter, said the resignation is "long overdue". "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", Probst said in the statement.
"I think everyone in the Olympic movement is aware that something needs to change", she said in a phone interview with The Gazette.
In light of those reports, two United States senators, as well as a number of former Olympians, athlete representatives, and child advocates had called for Blackmun to step down.
The statement did not address questions of whether the sexual abuse scandal played any role in Blackmun's departure.
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Two US senators called for Mr Blackmun's resignation earlier this month after a report in the Wall Street Journal newspaper suggested he had been told about allegations against Nassar in July 2015.
Olympian and AAC member Eli Bremer told News 5 numerous member athletes feel like the balance of power in the Olympic movement is tilted too far toward the executives.
It's also an incident that showed the limitations of the Olympic Committee in policing its 47 national governing bodies that oversee individual sports, including 20 in Colorado Springs.
Blackmun became the organization's CEO on January 6, 2010.
In January, Congress passed the Protecting Young Victims from Sexual Abuse and Safe Sports Authorization Act, which implements mandatory reporting requirements for anyone working for an amateur sports organization.
"We need to address the governance structure and the lack of clarity there is sometimes", she said.
The USOC said it would double its "funding of the Center for SafeSport to enable it to hire more investigators and staff... ensuring that athletes have a stronger voice..."
At least 265 female athletes, several of them Olympic gold medal gymnasts, claimed former US Olympic team doctor Nassar abused them over a period of two decades in the worst scandal in US Olympic history. "Are we going to look into this and take a really deep look in and say is this happening elsewhere", AAC member Bremer told News 5.
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