How to Investigate USA Gymnastics
Aly Raisman is right that there needs to be a USA Gymnastics investigation, she’s just off on the how.
Last week, I wrote about the consequences for professional sports organizations like USA Gymnastics when winning becomes everything. In that article, I primarily addressed the first of two major concerns raised by Olympic gymnast Aly Raisman in her statement that USA Gymnastics was “rotting from the inside out.” The leadership was too focused on medals and lost sight of love of the sport and welfare of its athletes.
Raisman’s second concern was that an independent investigation of USA Gymnastics is needed. I ultimately agree with her on this point, also, but not with the current plan for investigation. Most organizations, whether in the non-profit, government, or private sector, are notoriously terrible at self-policing their own behavior due to obvious self-interest, and USA Gymnastics is no exception. According to the Indy Star, 368 athletes reported complaints of sexual abuse to USA Gymnastics over the past two decades, and many stated that they were discouraged from contacting law enforcement by USA Gymnastics officials.
However, I differ from many others who’ve volunteered Congress for the task of conducting such an investigation. Based on my prior experience both as a gymnast for USA Gymnastics and a Staff Director on Capitol Hill, I believe that the independent investigation should be conducted by a commission of experts, i.e., those that are well-versed in sexual abuse, law enforcement, organizational psychology and sports management, and not by Congress.
Ultimately, an independent investigation should take on a format similar to that of the 9/11 Commission, which was authorized by Congress, but truly independent in its analysis. Here’s why.
First, although Senators Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) and Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) recently called upon Congress to investigate USA Gymnastics, Congress is tied up with many of its own sexual harassment and abuse-related scandals. It is busy and obviously has its own its own issues with self-policing. From the recent resignations of John Conyers (D-MI) and Al Franken (D-MI), to the ongoing investigation into the slush fund that paid out $17 million of taxpayer funds in sexual harassment settlements, Congress has proven that an abuse-free environment is not atop its priority list. For this reason alone, Congress is the wrong body to investigate the USA Gymnastics scandal.
Second, Congress has always had a feeble relationship with its oversight of professional sports. Technically, Congress has jurisdiction to review sports organizations via the Energy and Commerce Committee as the federal government considers sports interstate commerce. Since the New Deal court decisions, pretty much everything can fall under interstate commerce, and this is the primary way Congress has become involved in details of our daily lives. The Supreme Court has interpreted leglislative power to include professional sports organizations — with some notable exceptions through the years.
Given the broad jurisdiction the Energy and Committee has, few of its members are subject matter experts in any of the categories I enumerated above, most notably, in matters of sexual abuse prevention.
As a result of having a committee of such broad jurisdiction responsible for professional sports oversight, prior Congressional investigations into professional sports have often led to mediocre results. For a recent and notable example, in 2005 Congress failed to pass the Clean Sports Act or the Drug Free Sports Act in response to revelations of steroid use in baseball, despite spending considerable time and resources into investigating the issue.
The House and Senate did quietly pass legislation last week that would require adults who interact with amateur athletes to report suspected abuse to local law enforcement within 24 hours. Although those familiar with what has happened with USA Gymnastics have stated that this is a positive step, news of the legislation has unfortunately been overshadowed in the news cycle by Trump’s first State of the Union Address and Paul Ryan’s call for the release of an Intelligence Committee memo on the FBI’s investigation into Russia. In other words, Congress’s top priority remains itself, not protecting young athletes from abuse. Besides, they did not need an investigation to pass that leglislation.
Moreover, even though Congress has passed legislation in this instance, the impact of that legislation is reactive rather than proactive, much to the frustrations of those who’ve already suffered abuse at the hands of coaches and trainers as young athletes. As the public is learning, this scandal was not news to governmental authorities. A 2017 GAO report on sexual abuse prevention in Olympic Sports, which was initially prompted by a July 2012 letter from Congressman George Miller (D-CA) due to concerns in swimming, ultimately went nowhere until the media coverage of Nassar’s sentencing several weeks ago — five years later. The FBI had an active investigation on Nassar for almost a year but he continued to see patients until Rachael Danhollander’s story was reported in The Indianapolis Star in September 2016. So even with reporting, the federal government is not much better than USA Gymnastics itself.
With that being said, Congress can assist in raising awareness, as public pressure can cause governing bodies to change rules. Rep. Susan Brooks (R-Ind.) has stated that the House Energy and Commerce Committee is planning an oversight hearing on the abuses at USA Gymnastics. If the Committee is serious about implementing the recently passed legislation and preventing future abuse at USA Gymnastics and other professional sports organizations, the best thing it can do is follow through on Raisman’s request for an independent investigation by authorizing a truly impartial commission.
The best example of a successful independent commission is the 9/11 Commission, a bipartisan delegation of experts created by congressional legislation, but not made up of Congressman or Department of Justice officials. Instead, the 9/11 Commission was made up of 10 commissioners and 75 staff members, including attorneys, analysts, researchers and other subject matter experts. More importantly, it was granted the authority to subpoena witnesses and documents and to utilize the federal court system to ensure compliance. Congress authorized the commission to write a report, but but did not grant it the authority to prosecute anyone for wrong doing. If Congress were to authorize a similar independent investigation into USA Gymnastics or the U.S. Olympic Committee, it should have the authority to at least recommend prosecution to the appropriate authorities based on its findings.
I know that I’m not alone in loving the sport of gymnastics. Gymnastics is consistently one of the most popular Olympic sports, and enrollment at gyms across the country has steadily increased in the last few years. I still love gymnastics, even though I no longer have the same love for USA Gymnastics as an organization. For the love of sports and for the pursuit of welfare and justice for our fellow citizens, let’s hold the appropriate people and organizations accountable. Those that ignored the complaints of abuse at professional organizations such as USA Gymnastics are the ones that deserve to suffer, not the sports themselves. To do accomplish that goal, we need a truly independent commission investigating USA Gymnastics.
