Valeri Liukin resigning from role with U.S. women's gymnastics team

Show Caption Hide Caption Watch: Father lunges at Larry Nassar at sentencing hearing Note: Strong language. On Feb. 2, Randall Margraves rushed Larry Nassar after his daughters gave victim-impact statements in Eaton County. The incident occurred during the second day of 2 Nassar's sentencing hearing.

Valeri Liukin has resigned as coordinator of the U.S. women’s gymnastics team.

In a statement provided to USA TODAY Sports on Friday, Liukin said he has "loved gymnastics my entire life" but that it was "time to move on in a different direction, at least for now."

"I wish the coaches and athletes continued success, and I stand ready to encourage and support all of them from a different vantage point,” Liukin wrote.

In a statement, USA Gymnastics said it had accepted Liukin's resignation.

"We thank him for his dedication and contributions to the sport of gymnastics and wish him well," the federation said. “We will begin the process to identify a national team coordinator for the women’s program."

Liukin’s departure comes as a sentencing hearing continues for longtime national team physician Larry Nassar, who sexually abused more than 250 girls and young women under the guise of medical treatment. Nassar has already been sentenced to 175 years in prison in another Michigan county, as well as 60 years in federal prison for child pornography charges.

Olympic gold medalists Simone Biles, Aly Raisman, Gabby Douglas, McKayla Maroney and Jordyn Wieber are among Nassar’s victims, and they have criticized USA Gymnastics for not doing more to protect them. Raisman has been particularly pointed, saying in court last month that USA Gymnastics was an organization “rotting from the inside.”

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Liukin is not named in any of the lawsuits stemming from Nassar’s abuse, and there has been no suggestion that he knew of any wrongdoing. But Mattie Larson, a member of the 2010 world championships team, criticized him during her victim impact statement, saying he contributed to the culture that allowed Nassar to flourish.

There also is a growing call for USA Gymnastics to start completely fresh. The remainder of the federation’s board resigned Wednesday, as ordered by the U.S. Olympic Committee, and the USOC announced Friday that law firm Ropes and Gray will conduct the independent investigation into how Nassar’s abuse went unchecked for the better part of two decades.

Nassar was dismissed by USA Gymnastics in 2015 after a coach overheard athletes talking about the abusive procedure. But USA Gymnastics did not notify the FBI for five weeks, conducting its own investigation first.

Even after it turned the case over to the FBI, it did not notify Michigan State or authorities in Michigan, despite knowing that Nassar was still working there.

The allegations against Nassar became public in August 2016, when Rachel Denhollander contacted the Indianapolis Star, which is part of the USA TODAY Network, and said she’d been abused by Nassar. That led to dozens more accusations, along with the revelation that athletes had reported Nassar to Michigan State as early as 1997.

Liukin acknowledged the turmoil the federation is facing was a factor in his decision to resign.

"I was truly looking forward to trying to turn this program around and bring success to our country and the gymnastics community," he wrote. "But the present climate causes me, and more importantly my family, far too much stress, difficulty and uncertainty."

Liukin was considered the logical successor to Martha Karolyi when she retired after the Rio Olympics. A double Olympic gold medalist with the former Soviet Union in 1988, he coached daughter Nastia to the all-around title 20 years later at the Beijing Games – which he said Friday was “the proudest moment of my life.”

His gym in suburban Dallas, WOGA, also produced Carly Patterson, whose all-around title at the Athens Olympics was the first for a U.S. woman since Mary Lou Retton in 1984.

Liukin, who had been the developmental coordinator before succeeding Karolyi, had been praised for his work with younger athletes and up-and-coming coaches. The Americans won four medals at last fall’s world championships, including Morgan Hurd’s all-around title, despite a young and relatively inexperienced team.

Several coaches and gymnasts also said the atmosphere under Liukin was far less restrictive than under Karolyi. At a competition last year in Italy, the team skipped a training session in the gym and instead worked out on a beach, something that would never have even been considered under Karolyi.

“In the beginning of the year, we had to show our skills and he was like, 'It’s OK if you fall. It’s OK just as long as you get it out there and you get it mastered,’” U.S. champion Ragan Smith said before last year’s national championships.

“Martha’s like, 'No falls. At all.’ So it’s a little different.”

Liukin’s resignation further muddles the future of the women’s team. A training camp scheduled for last month was canceled after USA Gymnastics cut ties with the Karolyi ranch. Several girls said Nassar abused them at the ranch, and Biles said she did not want to return there.

USA Gymnastics has not announced a site for future camps or when the next one will be held.