U.S. Senate Subpoenas Gymnastic Scandal Figures

(ATR) Three figures related to the Larry Nassar gymnastics abuse scandal will testify before a Senate subcommittee as part of ongoing hearings into sex abuse in Olympic sport.

Former USA Gymnastics president Steve Penny, former women's program director at USA Gymnastics Rhonda Faehn, and former Michigan State University president Lou Anna Simon have been called by the subcommittee.

Penny was scheduled to testify before the U.S. Senate Subcommittee on Consumer Protection, Product Safety, Insurance, and Data Security last month. That hearing was cancelled after Penny, among other potential witnesses, declined to testify.

The hearing, entitled "Preventing Abuse in Olympic and Amateur Athletics: Ensuring a Safe and Secure Environment for Our Athletes," is now rescheduled for June 5. It will be the second hearing on sex abuse in sport for the subcommittee after a number of athletes testified on April 18.

Penny resigned from running USA Gymnastics after the United States Olympic Committee threatened the National Governing Body with decertification if certain conditions were not met in the wake of the Larry Nassar scandal. One of the conditions set by the USOC was the resignation of the entire USA Gymnastics Board.

USA Gymnastics reported Nassar to the Federal Bureau of Investigation in 2015. However, reporting by the Indianapolis Star showed that the organization waited five weeks before reporting Nassar, and that the organization faced hundreds of claims of sexual abuse for decades.

Faehn was recently let go from USA Gymnastics as part of a restructuring program by new President and CEO Kerry Perry. Faehn was reportedly fired while conducting a USA Gymnastics training camp, and her removal surprised many athletes, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Simon resigned from MSU in January as Nassar was sentenced by a judge to more than 150 years in prison. Nassar worked as a doctor at MSU while serving as team doctor for Team USA.

Simon maintained there was no cover up at MSU during her tenure. The University agreed to pay a $500 million settlement to the victims of Nassar’s abuse.

Both Simon and Penny were compelled to testify to the subcommittee by subpoena, according to a report from the New York Times. Simon’s lawyers refused to accept the subpoena, so federal marshals had to find Simon to serve her directly. Faehn agreed to testify on her own behalf.

Written by Aaron Bauer

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