USA Gymnastics chief executive Kerry Perry has been forced to resign amid mounting pressure from the U.S. Olympic Committee after a series of high-profile missteps in her nine-month tenure as head of the national governing body.
Perry’s removal will be announced Tuesday along with additional steps toward reorganizing USA Gymnastics.
Perry had been criticized for months for not reaching out to the survivors of former USA Gymnastics and U.S. Olympic team physician Larry Nassar’s sexual abuse and for focusing on marketing instead implementing policies that address the abuse of young gymnasts and make the organization more transparent.
Demands for Perry’s firings increased as she struggled through a series of appearances on Capitol Hill. In her first major public appearance as USA Gymnastics CEO. Sticking to scripted talking points during the hearing and at times even making self-congratulatory statements, Perry seemed ill-prepared when questioned about several major issues.
Rep. Joe Barton (R-Texas) asked why USA Gymnastics had not provided the panel with an aggregate number of sexual abuse complaints it has received, Perry said “Unfortunately what I’ve discovered is there wasn’t a lot of great data. I can’t answer to that.”
At one point during the hearing, Rep. Buddy Carter (R-Georgia) told Perry “You should resign the position now! You are not fit to serve in this job!”
