The United States Olympic Committee (USOC) has fired chief of sport performance Alan Ashley after a Ropes & Gray report revealed that he failed to take action for more than a year after learning about the sexual abuse allegations against Larry Nassar.
Nassar was a team doctor for the U.S. gymnastics team who pleaded guilty earlier this year to sexually abusing athletes under the guise of medical treatment. More than 150 women spoke at his sentencing hearing, airing their allegations that Nassar had abused them. He was sentenced to 40 to 175 years in prison.
The USOC hired law firm Ropes & Gray earlier this year to conduct an investigation to determine when USA Gymnastics and USOC officials first learned of the abuse and how they responded, according to a USOC press release. USA Today reports that Ropes & Gray found Ashley to have “failed to take action for 13 1/2 months after learning about sexual abuse allegations against Nassar.”
Ashley was in charge of the USOC’s divisions that worked with top athletes and national federations, according to the USA Today report. He was one of the highest-paid members of the USOC staff, and earned bonuses based on the performances of top American athletes at the Olympics, the story says.
The fall guy?
Maybe, but probs just the guy who did nothing for 13 1/2 months.