By Moll Mannix
As the organization struggles to recover from the aftermath of more than 100 lawsuits from 350 survivors, USA Gymnastics has filed for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy protection. According to the official statement, the voluntary filing does not affect the amount of money available to survivors or the running of the organization on a grassroots or a national level. Board of Directors Chair Kathryn Carson has advised USA Gymnastics will continue to operate normally and is having no trouble paying its bills.
The filing will put an automatic stop on depositions and all discoveries related to USA Gymnastics and Larry Nassar – perhaps permanently.
“This is not a liquidation; this is a reorganization,” said Carson. “We believe that the bankruptcy court is the best forum in which to implement appropriate procedures to equitably resolve claims and allocate the insurance proceeds among claimants,”
Last month the United States Olympic Committee took steps to decertify USA Gymnastics as the National Governing Body. USA Gymnastics has stated that filing for bankruptcy will halt this process, though since the filing the USOC has confirmed this is not the case. In an open letter to the gymnastics community, CEO of the USOC Sarah Hirshland stated: ‘You deserve better’.
The organisation has been on a tumultuous journey since Nassar was arrested in 2016. A revolving door of presidents, multiple board of directors and arrests of previous members of staff are just some of the scandals that have rocked the organisation.
“We are aware of USA Gymnastics bankruptcy filing and are evaluating how that filing may impact the USOC and our current relationship with USAG,” stated USOC spokesman Patrick Sandusky. “While we fully understand that USAG believes this restructuring will begin to solve deficiencies we’ve identified, the filing does not impact our Section 8 complaint, and it’s our intention that the process will move forward.”
