USA Gymnastics interim CEO Mary Bono resigns under pressure

Nancy Armour | USA TODAY

Show Caption Hide Caption USA Gymnastics interim CEO resigns after only five days Former Congresswoman Mary Bono quit her role as USA Gymnastics interim CEO amid pressure from Simone Biles, Aly Raisman and other U.S. gymnasts.

Former Congresswoman Mary Bono bowed to increasingly widespread calls for her removal as USA Gymnastics' interim CEO and president Tuesday, announcing she was stepping down from the position she got only five days ago.

Bono abruptly resigned from the interim post following tweets by Simone Biles and other gymnasts questioning whether Bono was fit to lead and what message her hiring sent to the women abused by Larry Nassar.

"My withdrawal comes in the wake of personal attacks that, left undefended, would have made my leading USAG a liability for the organization," Bono wrote in a letter of resignation that was obtained by USA TODAY Sports. Her resignation was first reported by CNN.

In a statement, USA Gymnastics' board of directors said it accepted Bono's resignation and that despite her commitment to the sport, "we believe this is in the best interest of the organization."

While it searches for a permanent CEO, the board said it seeks input from "key stakeholders" and remains steadfast in its "efforts to fundamentally transform the organization at all levels to ensure athlete safety and well-being is at the heart of everything we do."

Biles, a four-time Olympic gold medalist, was critical of a tweet from Bono that included a photo of Bono blacking out the Nike logo on her golf shoes, which appeared to be a criticism of Nike’s endorsement deal with Colin Kaepernick.

“Mouth drop,” Biles, who is also a Nike athlete, wrote on Twitter on Saturday. “Don’t worry, it’s not like we needed a smarter usa gymnastics president or any sponsors or anything.”

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USA Gymnastics has been looking for an apparel sponsor since Under Armour cut ties in the fallout from the Nassar scandal. Nike had been considered a possible replacement because it is a sponsor of the U.S. Olympic Committee.

Bono later deleted her tweet, which she posted Sept. 7, and apologized.

"I deeply regret posting the Tweet because I respect everyone’s views and their fundamental right to express them,” she said in a statement released by USA Gymnastics.

But the implication that Bono didn't support Kaepernick's right to protest raised red flags with many in the gymnastics community, who have blamed a culture of fear for allowing a predator like Nassar to thrive.

The longtime USA Gymnastics and Michigan State physician molested hundreds of girls and young women, including Biles and her Final Five teammates Aly Raisman, Madison Kocian and Gabby Douglas. Nassar is serving an effective life sentence after pleading guilty to federal child pornography charges and state charges of sexual abuse.

Raisman and her attorney also expressed concern that USA Gymnastics had hired Bono despite her affiliation with the law firm Faegre Baker Daniels. The Indianapolis Star reported that the firm worked with USA Gymnastics officials to provide “false excuses” for Nassar’s absence from major gymnastics events in 2015 rather than disclose to parents and gymnasts that he was under investigation for child sexual abuse.

Bono was not affiliated with the Faegre Baker Daniels office that worked with USA Gymnastics or the law practice. She had worked on legislative strategies and policies for Faegre Baker Daniels Consulting.

“Why hire someone associated with the firm that helped cover up our abuse?” Raisman tweeted Monday.

A former gymnast, Bono was heralded by USA Gymnastics board chair Karen Golz as “an outstanding communicator who can coalesce people with differing views and perspectives.”

In her resignation, Bono wrote she regretted that she would have brought her personal experience to USAG, "a young aspiring gymnast who witnessed first-hand the assaulting behavior of a coach; watched peers who acquiesced in it move ahead while those who didn't were left behind, and myself stayed silent — perhaps the norm then, but very troubling to me to this day.

"I would have brought a fire in the belly to ensure that no one as taken with gymnastics as I was at that age, should have to choose between abuse and ambition, or between properly speaking out and promoting personal success," she added.

Her abrupt departure is more upheaval for USA Gymnastics, which has struggled to move past the Nassar scandal. Bono was named the interim CEO on Friday while a search committee hired by USA Gymnastics seeks a replacement for Kerry Perry, who resigned under pressure Sept. 4 after nine months on the job.

Perry's resignation came after USA Gymnastics hired, then forced out a coach who had defended Nassar after more than 50 gymnasts had already come forward to accuse him of abuse. Mary Lee Tracy was ousted as women's developmental coordinator after she tried to contact Raisman, who had criticized her hiring.

The scandal also is yet another distraction for USA Gymnastics as it sends Biles and other gymnasts off to the world championships in Doha, where they will try and qualify spots for the Tokyo Olympics in 2020. During a media call Monday with the world team, the first question Biles was asked was about the Bono Tweet.

"I said what I said," Biles said. "Maybe after Doha, I’ll be open to more questions about that."