(ATR) U.S. Olympic Committee CEO Scott Blackmun is resigning due to health reasons after eight years in the post .
Blackmun is being treated for prostate cancer that kept him from attending the 2018 Winter Olympics in PyeongChang.
Blackmun’s departure comes as the USOC faces pressure to enact changes to prevent a repeat of what has happened in the sexual abuse scandal that has gutted USA Gymnastics.
Members of Congress as well as athletes and other individuals inside and outside of sport have called for the resignation of Blackmun and other leaders of the USOC in the wake of the scandal. At USA Gymnastics, the entire Board of Directors as well as several executives have resigned. Other sports in the US, such as swimming, are also facing controversies over safe sport practices.
Blackmun's successor will be Susanne Lyons, a board member who will serve as acting CEO while a permanent replacement is recruited.
In a statement issued Tuesday afternoon, USOC chair Larry Probst said that given the health issues facing Blackmun, new leadership was needed.
"Given Scott’s current health situation, we have mutually agreed it is in the best interest of both Scott and the USOC that we identify new leadership so that we can immediately address the urgent initiatives ahead of us," says Probst.
"The USOC is at a critical point in its history. The important work that Scott started needs to continue and will require especially vigorous attention in light of Larry Nassar’s decades-long abuse of athletes affiliated with USA Gymnastics," Probst says, acknowledging the link with the sex abuse scandal.
At a press conference in South Korea on the eve of the Winter Olympicsatthe start of February, Probst admitted "the Olympic system failed" to protect the young athletes assaulted by Nassar, the medical doctor for the USA gymnastics team. The press conference, traditionally a place where the USOC leadership touts the athletes of Team USA, was dominated with questions from the start about the USA Gymnastics scandal.
Blackmun was absent from the panel, his treatment for cancer having started just a week before.
The press release from the USOC includes word of new initiatives that will be taken to combat sexual abuse in the national governing bodies in the sports it oversees.
This will include more funding for counseling and support of the USA Gymnastics victims, review of governance procedures over the NGBs and more athlete involvement in USOC governance.
The USOC also says it will "effectively double" the funding it provides to the Center for SafeSport, the organization formed to prevent abuse of athletes. While the figure is not provided, the USOC has previously said it was spending $15 million on the center.
Lyons was already involved with the USOC response to the gymnastics scandal and was named to lead the Board of Directors on this issue. A separate independent investigation is also underway.
"While we are eager to review the findings of the independent investigation, the USOC is taking important actions now based on what we already know," says Lyons.
"We are evaluating the USOC’s role and oversight of all the National Governing Bodies, considering potential changes to the Olympic structure and aggressively exploring new ways to enhance athlete safety and help prevent and respond to abuse," says Lyons.
No timetable has been set for the completion of the independent investigation or the recruitment of a new CEO.
Reported by Ed Hula.
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