Kerry Perry, U.S.A. Gymnastics Chief, Is Forced Out
By Juliet Macur and Ken Belson
U.S.A. Gymnastics president Kerry Perry was forced to resign over the weekend by the United States Olympic Committee, ending her brief, tumultuous tenure at the top of one of the country’s most successful Olympic sports.
Perry held the job for less than a year and was criticized for the way she handled the sexual abuse scandal that has left the sport reeling.
Last week, the organization hired the longtime coach Mary Lee Tracy to an elite position, but then asked Tracy to step down only a few days later after she was heavily criticized for initially defending Lawrence G. Nasser, the former national team doctor who is serving what amounts to a lifetime prison sentence for molesting numerous girls and women.
While Perry stumbled in her role since being hired late last year, failing to make changes to the organization on her own and needing direction from the Olympic committee to do things like install an entire new board of directors, U.S.O.C. chief executive Sarah Hirshland already has been much more forceful in her decision-making.
After the gymnastics federation erred in its hiring of Tracy as the elite development director for women, Hirshland, who joined the U.S.O.C. in July, said on Friday that it was “time to consider making adjustments in the leadership” of U.S.A. Gymnastics. Two days later, Perry was gone.
“The USA Gymnastics Association needs new leadership,” Tracy said in a statement, “and I’m encouraged by today’s news. Kerry Perry, despite her best intentions, was not suited to lead the Association during these difficult times.”
Perry had problems establishing herself as a trusted leader atop the gymnastics organization. Nassar victims criticized her for only briefly attending Nassar’s days-long sentencing hearings in Michigan, and for failing to reach out to the most high profile women who had been abused, including the three-time Olympic gold medalist Aly Raisman.
“All we want is these people in charge to talk to us, so we can help them make changes,” Raisman told The Times in July. “But they won’t even bother to reach out to us.”
Perry replaced the longtime U.S.A. Gymnastics president Steve Penny, who was forced to resign in March 2017, under pressure from the U.S.O.C. He is under scrutiny for his mismanagement of hundreds of abuse cases, including those involving Nassar, during his tenure at the organization.
U.S.A. Gymnastics said it would appoint an interim CEO and form a search committee to find a permanent replacement.
Kerry Perry, U.S.A. Gymnastics Chief, Is Forced Out
By Juliet Macur and Ken Belson
U.S.A. Gymnastics president Kerry Perry was forced to resign over the weekend by the United States Olympic Committee, ending her brief, tumultuous tenure at the top of one of the country’s most successful Olympic sports.
Perry held the job for less than a year and was criticized for the way she handled the sexual abuse scandal that has left the sport reeling.
Last week, the organization hired the longtime coach Mary Lee Tracy to an elite position, but then asked Tracy to step down only a few days later after she was heavily criticized for initially defending Lawrence G. Nasser, the former national team doctor who is serving what amounts to a lifetime prison sentence for molesting numerous girls and women.
While Perry stumbled in her role since being hired late last year, failing to make changes to the organization on her own and needing direction from the Olympic committee to do things like install an entire new board of directors, U.S.O.C. chief executive Sarah Hirshland already has been much more forceful in her decision-making.
After the gymnastics federation erred in its hiring of Tracy as the elite development director for women, Hirshland, who joined the U.S.O.C. in July, said on Friday that it was “time to consider making adjustments in the leadership” of U.S.A. Gymnastics. Two days later, Perry was gone.
“The USA Gymnastics Association needs new leadership,” Tracy said in a statement, “and I’m encouraged by today’s news. Kerry Perry, despite her best intentions, was not suited to lead the Association during these difficult times.”
Perry had problems establishing herself as a trusted leader atop the gymnastics organization. Nassar victims criticized her for only briefly attending Nassar’s days-long sentencing hearings in Michigan, and for failing to reach out to the most high profile women who had been abused, including the three-time Olympic gold medalist Aly Raisman.
“All we want is these people in charge to talk to us, so we can help them make changes,” Raisman told The Times in July. “But they won’t even bother to reach out to us.”
Perry replaced the longtime U.S.A. Gymnastics president Steve Penny, who was forced to resign in March 2017, under pressure from the U.S.O.C. He is under scrutiny for his mismanagement of hundreds of abuse cases, including those involving Nassar, during his tenure at the organization.
U.S.A. Gymnastics said it would appoint an interim CEO and form a search committee to find a permanent replacement.
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