(ATR) The International Gymnastics Federation (FIG) announced a new ethics foundation, although some questions remain about its independence.
FIG shared plans for creating its "Gymnastics Ethics Foundation" to handle addressing issues of harassment and abuse in the sport. The federation said the project was born out of "the wake of the sexual abuse cases in the USA," according to a release.
The foundation was one of the "flagship projects" of FIG President and recently-nominated IOC member Morinari Watanabe. The foundation is still subject to approval by FIG at its next congress in Baku, Azerbaijan this December. If approved, FIG expects the foundation to be up and running by Jan. 1, 2019.
"Our aim is to become a role model for good governance and compliance in the world of sport," Watanabe said in a statement about the foundation’s creation. "Such a structure will allow us to better protect the athletes as well as the federations of each country."
An FIG spokesperson told Around the Rings the foundation’s board would be comprised of five to seven members from different backgrounds:
"-Two to four personalities who are not active, honorary or former members of the Founder’s (FIG) authorities and who have no direct link to the sports movement;
-One athletes’ representative (President or member of the Founder’s Athletes’ Commission);
-One lawyer with a certified knowledge of Swiss law;
-One member of the Founder’s Executive Committee or a honorary or former member of the Founder’s Authorities," the spokesperson said.
All members of the foundation’s board would be subject to approval to the FIG General Assembly. The federation did not respond to multiple questions about how the foundation would "operate entirely independently from the FIG,"despite potentially having an FIG member on its board, and the board being elected by the federation.
FIG’s attempt at creating an ethics board mirrors many efforts by the United States to implement new "SafeSport" policies for its national governing bodies. The United States Olympic Committee endowed funding for the U.S. Center for SafeSport to create an independent investigative body to tackle cases of abuse and harassment.
The center's chief executive officer has appeared before the U.S. Congress along with other sport leaders, where elected officials lamented the lack of funding for the initiative and while broaching the subject about its independence and scope. The center has a limited full time staff, and has had the number of instances reported explode following the sentencing of Larry Nassar.
Nassar was convicted last year of sexually abusing hundreds of women and possessing child pornography. He had previously worked as a team doctor for USA Gymnastics and at multiple Olympics.
The fallout from the Nassar scandal has engulfed U.S. sport and led to leadership changes at USA Gymnastics. The organization and USOC have pledged changes to its bylaws in the scandal's wake, and an independent investigation into who knew what about Nassar in each organization is ongoing.
Nancy Hogshead-Makar, a U.S. Olympian in swimming and founder of the legal advocacy group iChampionWomen, told ATR that FIG "cannot say" its new ethics foundation is independent if it includes members of the federation in any capacity. Hogshead-Makar has raised questions about the independence of ethics bodies in the U.S. sport system, while working to support victims of the Nassar scandal.
"FIG can either create an independent entity, an entity that FIG cannot control, or not," Hogshead-Makar said.
However, the criticisms will die down if the federation appoints a former member in that designated position, she added.
"I don’t have a problem with appointing a former FIG member," Hogshead-Makar said. "Most ethics rules require a 2 to 4 year period between serving on the board, or an employee relationship and moving to another entity."
Written by Aaron Bauer
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