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USA Gymnastics board must quit over Nassar

The board of USA Gymnastics have been given until the end of February to resign over the Larry Nassar sex scandal.

Larry Nassar waits during court proceedings
Larry Nassar was sentenced to up to 175 years in prison for sexually assaultingfemale gymnasts. (AAP)

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Source: AAP


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USA Gymnastics will reportedly be stripped of its right to lead the sport unless its entire board resign by next week in the wake of the sex abuse scandal involving a team doctor.

CNN says the board will lose its status as a sports governing body unless all of its 18 current members resign by Wednesday and an interim board is in place by February 28.

It comes after long-time team doctor Larry Nassar was sentenced on Wednesday to up to 175 years in prison for sexually assaulting young female gymnasts.

Nassar, 54, was jailed for carrying out the attacks on young girls under the guise of medical treatment following a week-long hearing in which more than 150 accusers recounted their stories in a Michigan courtroom.

One of the 18 directors, Kevin Martinez, said on Thursday he had cut ties with the gymnastics federation, and the US Olympic Committee's CEO, Scott Blackmun, joined the chorus calling for resignations.

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Many of the victims also criticised the USOC for not doing enough to prevent the abuse.

"Where is the accountability?," multiple Olympic gold medallist Aly Raisman, who was abused by Nassar, tweeted on Thursday in a message directed both at USA Gymnastics and the USOC.

"According to my knowledge, Larry Nassar did not have a medical license in Texas where we trained for the Olympics. How could you allow this?," she wrote.

Martinez's departure comes after three other members, who held the USAG board's leadership positions, stepped down on Monday.

The group said in a statement on Wednesday in response to the resignation demand that there should be "meaningful change within our organisation," but has not commented beyond that.

Lou Anna Simon, the president of Michigan State University, where Nassar also worked, stepped down on Wednesday after facing a barrage of criticism for not doing enough to halt the abuse.


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