Three US Gymstics board members resign amid sex scandal

Washington, Jan 23: The United States Gymstics Board of Directors executive leadership — Chairman Paul Parilla, Vice Chairman Jay Binder and Treasurer Bitsy Kelley — have resigned amid a sex scandal.

US Gymstics has been under fire since former gymstics doctor Larry ssar admitted molesting athletes during medical treatment when he was employed by Michigan State University and USA Gymstics. ssar has already been sentenced to 60 years in prison for child pornography crimes.

“US Gymstics thanks Paul Parilla, Jay Binder and Bitsy Kelley for their many years of service to this organization. We support their decisions to resign at this time. We believe this step will allow us to more effectively move forward in implementing change within our organization,” US Gymstics President and CEO Kerry Perry said in a statement.

“As the board identifies its next chair and fills the vacant board positions, we remain focused on working every day to ensure that our culture, policies and actions reflect our commitment to those we serve,” he added.

ssar has pleaded guilty to multiple charges of sexual assault under the guise of medical treatment.

As a court in Lansing, Michigan has been listening to victims testifying abuses before ssar’s sentencing later this week, pressures are also mounting on US Gymstics.

Some of the victims went further and alleged that the organization sought to buy silence with regard to the abuse by ssar. IANS