USA Gymnastics board reportedly stepping down after Nassar conviction

The remainder of the USA Gymnastics board will reportedly step down after former sports doctor Larry Nassar was sentenced to at least 40 years in prison.

ABC News reported that the U.S. Olympic Committee told boardmembers they could either step down or risk desertification. Three boardmembers had already stepped down during Nassar’s trial.

The report was also confirmed by NBC News.

JUST IN: The entire USA Gymnastics board will comply with U.S. Olympic Committee requirements and resign after fallout from the Larry Nassar sex abuse scandal, USA Gymnastics confirms.

— NBC News (@NBCNews) January 26, 2018

Nassar, 54, was sentenced Wednesday to decades in state prison for molestations after an extraordinary seven-day court hearing where more than 150 women and girls gave victim statements or had them read in court.

Abused gymnasts claimed the board was aware of Nassar’s actions, but did not do anything to protect them.

There was no timeline given for them to resign.

Both Lou Anna Simon, the president of Michigan State University, and the school’s athletic director, Mark Hollins, also stepped down in the wake of the sentencing. Nassar previously worked at the university.

“When you look at the scope of everything, that’s the reason I made a choice to retire now,” Hollins said. “And I hope that has a little bit, a little bit, of helping that healing process.”

Nassar, who also has been sentenced to 60 years in prison on child pornography charges, will appear in an Eaton County, Michigan, court on Jan. 31 for another prison sentence.

In that case, he pleaded guilty to assaulting three girls at Twistars, a gymnastics club.

The club is owned by John Geddert, who was suspended this week by USA Gymnastics, the sport’s national governing body, and suddenly announced his retirement. Geddert said he had “zero knowledge” of Nassar’s crimes.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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