The Hershey Company is among a growing number of corporate sponsors that have severed ties with U.S.A. Gymnastics in the wake of the Larry Nassar sexual abuse scandal.

Nassar, U.S.A. Gymnastics' former national team physician, pleaded guilty in November to 10 counts of sexual contact with underage girls. He was sentenced last week to 40 to 175 years in prison.

The company confirmed to PennLive Monday it did not renew a two-year agreement to be the team's "exclusive confectionary sponsor" signed in 2016, and designed to run through the Rio Summer Olympics and its aftermath.

The deal seemed a good idea when it was announced in March 2016.

America's womens' team, self-identified as the "Final Five" as they dominated the field in Rio, became some of the biggest stars of the summer games, and filled arenas across the country in champions' tours for months afterward.

Hershey got all the benefit of that positive exposure.

And now, as U.S.A. Gymnastics reels from scandal, it gets to walk away for awhile, and put its branding energies into other venues, like the upcoming 2018 Winter Olympics in PyeongChang,South Korea - Hershey's continues to be a top United States Olympic Committee sponsor.

Company spokesmen had little to say about the now-defunct gymnastics deal when asked by PennLive Monday. Instead of answering questions, it simply referred reporters to this statement:

"Please know that Hershey ended our sponsorship with U.S.A. Gymnastics at the end of 2017 after a two-year deal.

"The decision was made not to renew. We continue to be a proud supporter of our Team USA athletes and are looking forward to the 2018 Olympic Winter Games in a few short weeks."

It was not clear from Hershey Monday if it never intended to renew the gymnastics deal, or if executives moved away from the federation specifically because of the sexual abuse scandal.

Either way, one sports marketing expert told Pennlive, Hershey probably dodged a bullet.

"From a branding perspective, they were pretty fortunate," said Daniel Durbin, director of if Institute of Sports, Media and Society at the University of Southern California.

"They got whatever bump they got in Rio (and its aftermath), and then they got out of Dodge."

The company can always re-evaluate its sponsorships down the line, Durbin noted, and many firms do routinely move in and out of sports marketing deals in these days of greater audience fragmentation.

But given the stories that coming out of the gymnastics program right now, "it would be insane of them to continue that sponsorship at this point."

U.S.A. Gymnastics, which sets the sport's rules and policies, certifies clubs, judges and competitions, and selects teams for the Olympics and other international competitions, has been widely derided for its handling of Nassar's case.

That criticism came to a head last week with the cross-country coverage of the more than 150 women who spoke about their victimization by Nassar during his sentencing hearing in Michigan.

The gymnastics federation's full board of directors resigned last week, under threat of decertification from the U.S.O.C. It is to be replaced by an interim board next month.

In leaving, Hershey was part of a corporate who's who including: AT&T, Procter & Gamble, Under Armour and Kellogg's, all of whom declined to renew or ended sponsorships since Nassar's guilty pleas in November.

In a report last month on ESPN.com that initially noted Hershey's decision, an attorney who is representing many of Nassar's victims in a civil suit, said he was not surprised at the exodus either.

"Sponsors of U.S.A. Gymnastics are normally marketing their product to children and their families," John Manly told ESPN's Darren Rovell.

"Our country might be deeply divided politically, but one thing everyone is united on is their opinion of sexual abuse. It is vile and unacceptable, and no corporation wants to be associated with that."