Scott Blackmum, who resigned from his position in February due to health issues related to prostate cancer, was previously criticized for being reluctant to intervene in the Larry Nassar scandal. | Lee Jin-man/AP Photo legal Senators refer former Olympic chief to DOJ for allegedly lying about Nassar

Two top senators on Friday accused the U.S. Olympic Committee’s former CEO of lying to Congress about his handling of abuse allegations against USA Gymnastics national team doctor Larry Nassar, and said they have referred the matter to the Justice Department.

Sens. Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) and Richard Blumenthal (D. Conn.), who are the lead members of a subcommittee with jurisdiction over the health and safety of U.S. Olympic and NCAA athletes, said Scott Blackmun made “materially false statements contained in his written testimony to the Subcommittee during the course of the Subcommittee’s investigation.”


“The Subcommittee takes its oversight role seriously, and it appears that Mr. Blackmun has made false claims and misled our Subcommittee — harming the investigation and ability to develop policy,” the senators said in a statement. “Just as importantly, survivors of abuse have had to wait longer for the truth and longer for systemic changes to help prevent others from similar injury.”

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Nassar, the former Michigan State University and USA Gymnastics team physician accused of sexually abusing hundreds of athletes, was sentenced in three separate courts to at least 100 years in prison. Michigan State University also announced a $500 million settlement with Nassar’s victims.

Blackmun, in written comments to Congress, claimed that as CEO, he spoke to the Olympic committee’s safe sport staff after being alerted to Nassar’s “treatments” with athletes. In addition, he told independent investigators that he also spoke with a group of Olympic committee staff, who, he said, possibly could have included the committee’s director of Ethics and SafeSport, because he “wanted to make sure that we were doing everything that we should be doing in response and that our response was appropriate.”

The investigators, however, found no evidence supporting Blackmun’s claim of a follow-up meeting. Once confronted with the information, he recanted his earlier claim.

Blackmum, who resigned from his position in February because of health issues related to prostate cancer, was previously criticized for having been reluctant to intervene in the Nassar scandal.