Mary Bono resigns as interim president of USA Gymnastics
Mary Bono has resigned as president of USA Gymnastics. She was appointed to the position Friday, as reported by CNN.
“It is with profound regret, coupled with a deep love for the sport of gymnastics and respect for those who aspire to be great gymnasts, that I today tendered my resignation as the interim CEO of USA Gymnastics,” Bono said in a statement,” “My withdrawal comes in the wake of personal attacks that, left undefended, would have made my leading USAG a liability for the organization,”
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One day after being appointed, Bono drew considerable criticism from 4-time Olympic Gold medalist Simone Biles, when a controversial since-deleted tweet of the former congresswoman came to light.
The photo shows Bono using a black marker to darken the Nike swoosh on pair of golf shoes, with the caption:
“Playing in a charity golf tournament raising money for our Special Forces operators and their families. Unfortunately had these shoes in my bag. Luckily I had a marker in my bag too….”
The photo and caption were viewed as a reaction to Nike’s use of former NFL quarterback and civil rights activist Colin Kaepernick as a face for a new ad campaign.
Biles quotes Bono’s tweet, and added the caption:
*mouth drop* don’t worry, it’s not like we needed a smarter usa gymnastics president or any sponsors or anything.”
Bono issued an apology later that day in a series of tweets:
{“url”:”https://twitter.com/MaryBonoUSA/status/1051289761187618816″,”author_name”:”Mary Bono”,”author_url”:”https://twitter.com/MaryBonoUSA”,”html”:”&#lt;blockquote class=”twitter-tweet”&#gt;&#lt;p lang=”en” dir=”ltr”&#gt;I regret the post and respect everyone’s views & fundamental right to express them. This doesn’t reflect how I will approach my position &#lt;a href=”https://twitter.com/USAGym?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”&#gt;@USAGym&#lt;/a&#gt; I will do everything I can to help build, w/ the community, an open, safe & positive environment.&#lt;/p&#gt;– Mary Bono (@MaryBonoUSA) &#lt;a href=”https://twitter.com/MaryBonoUSA/status/1051289761187618816?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”&#gt;October 14, 2018&#lt;/a&#gt;&#lt;/blockquote&#gt;n&#lt;script async src=”https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js” charset=”utf-8″&#gt;&#lt;/script&#gt;n”,”width”:550,”height”:null,”type”:”rich”,”cache_age”:”3153600000″,”provider_name”:”Twitter”,”provider_url”:”https://twitter.com”,”version”:”1.0″}
{“url”:”https://twitter.com/MaryBonoUSA/status/1051300313129541632″,”author_name”:”Mary Bono”,”author_url”:”https://twitter.com/MaryBonoUSA”,”html”:”&#lt;blockquote class=”twitter-tweet”&#gt;&#lt;p lang=”en” dir=”ltr”&#gt;Hey all, I know the Tweet will live on but have taken it down to move the focus to all I hope to accomplish on behalf of a great sport & those who are dedicated to it&#lt;/p&#gt;– Mary Bono (@MaryBonoUSA) &#lt;a href=”https://twitter.com/MaryBonoUSA/status/1051300313129541632?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”&#gt;October 14, 2018&#lt;/a&#gt;&#lt;/blockquote&#gt;n&#lt;script async src=”https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js” charset=”utf-8″&#gt;&#lt;/script&#gt;n”,”width”:550,”height”:null,”type”:”rich”,”cache_age”:”3153600000″,”provider_name”:”Twitter”,”provider_url”:”https://twitter.com”,”version”:”1.0″}
{“url”:”https://twitter.com/MaryBonoUSA/status/1051301802010992640″,”author_name”:”Mary Bono”,”author_url”:”https://twitter.com/MaryBonoUSA”,”html”:”&#lt;blockquote class=”twitter-tweet”&#gt;&#lt;p lang=”en” dir=”ltr”&#gt;I look forward to telling my gymnastics story, my vision for the future of the sport and why I wanted the job.&#lt;/p&#gt;– Mary Bono (@MaryBonoUSA) &#lt;a href=”https://twitter.com/MaryBonoUSA/status/1051301802010992640?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”&#gt;October 14, 2018&#lt;/a&#gt;&#lt;/blockquote&#gt;n&#lt;script async src=”https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js” charset=”utf-8″&#gt;&#lt;/script&#gt;n”,”width”:550,”height”:null,”type”:”rich”,”cache_age”:”3153600000″,”provider_name”:”Twitter”,”provider_url”:”https://twitter.com”,”version”:”1.0″}
Not long after the controversy surrounding the Nike tweet, Olympic Gold Medalist Aly Raisman criticized Bono because she used to work for Faegre Baker Daniels, a law firm that ‘helped craft false statements’ about convicted serial child molester and former national team doctor for USA Gymnastics, according to CNN.
{“url”:”https://twitter.com/Aly_Raisman/status/1051925972142968833″,”author_name”:”Alexandra Raisman”,”author_url”:”https://twitter.com/Aly_Raisman”,”html”:”&#lt;blockquote class=”twitter-tweet”&#gt;&#lt;p lang=”en” dir=”ltr”&#gt;My teammates & I reported Nassar’s abuse to USAG in 2015. We now know USOC & lawyers at Faegre Baker Daniels (Mary Bono’s firm) were also told then, yet Nassar continued to abuse children for 13 months!? Why hire someone associated with the firm that helped cover up our abuse?&#lt;/p&#gt;– Alexandra Raisman (@Aly_Raisman) &#lt;a href=”https://twitter.com/Aly_Raisman/status/1051925972142968833?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”&#gt;October 15, 2018&#lt;/a&#gt;&#lt;/blockquote&#gt;n&#lt;script async src=”https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js” charset=”utf-8″&#gt;&#lt;/script&#gt;n”,”width”:550,”height”:null,”type”:”rich”,”cache_age”:”3153600000″,”provider_name”:”Twitter”,”provider_url”:”https://twitter.com”,”version”:”1.0″}
{“url”:”https://twitter.com/Aly_Raisman/status/1051926421575278592″,”author_name”:”Alexandra Raisman”,”author_url”:”https://twitter.com/Aly_Raisman”,”html”:”&#lt;blockquote class=”twitter-tweet”&#gt;&#lt;p lang=”en” dir=”ltr”&#gt;Clearly this is not a “new” USAG. Same corrupt decisions. Perhaps it’s because true accountability is less likely if authority is placed in the hands of someone similarly motivated to avoid it ….&#lt;/p&#gt;– Alexandra Raisman (@Aly_Raisman) &#lt;a href=”https://twitter.com/Aly_Raisman/status/1051926421575278592?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”&#gt;October 15, 2018&#lt;/a&#gt;&#lt;/blockquote&#gt;n&#lt;script async src=”https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js” charset=”utf-8″&#gt;&#lt;/script&#gt;n”,”width”:550,”height”:null,”type”:”rich”,”cache_age”:”3153600000″,”provider_name”:”Twitter”,”provider_url”:”https://twitter.com”,”version”:”1.0″}
{“url”:”https://twitter.com/Aly_Raisman/status/1051931906592428032″,”author_name”:”Alexandra Raisman”,”author_url”:”https://twitter.com/Aly_Raisman”,”html”:”&#lt;blockquote class=”twitter-tweet”&#gt;&#lt;p lang=”en” dir=”ltr”&#gt;Survivors, current gymnasts, families, coaches, gymnastics community & fans deserve better. We can’t move forward until we know exactly what happened. USAG take accountability, be transparent, release all your documents & data. PLEASE tell the truth. This is so devastating.&#lt;/p&#gt;– Alexandra Raisman (@Aly_Raisman) &#lt;a href=”https://twitter.com/Aly_Raisman/status/1051931906592428032?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”&#gt;October 15, 2018&#lt;/a&#gt;&#lt;/blockquote&#gt;n&#lt;script async src=”https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js” charset=”utf-8″&#gt;&#lt;/script&#gt;n”,”width”:550,”height”:null,”type”:”rich”,”cache_age”:”3153600000″,”provider_name”:”Twitter”,”provider_url”:”https://twitter.com”,”version”:”1.0″}
{“url”:”https://twitter.com/Aly_Raisman/status/1051934127304441856″,”author_name”:”Alexandra Raisman”,”author_url”:”https://twitter.com/Aly_Raisman”,”html”:”&#lt;blockquote class=”twitter-tweet”&#gt;&#lt;p lang=”en” dir=”ltr”&#gt;To the gymnastics community & the fans who have been so supportive, thank you. I find a lot of strength in your support & fight to help us. We see you & appreciate you so much. We are lucky to have great fans :)&#lt;/p&#gt;– Alexandra Raisman (@Aly_Raisman) &#lt;a href=”https://twitter.com/Aly_Raisman/status/1051934127304441856?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”&#gt;October 15, 2018&#lt;/a&#gt;&#lt;/blockquote&#gt;n&#lt;script async src=”https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js” charset=”utf-8″&#gt;&#lt;/script&#gt;n”,”width”:550,”height”:null,”type”:”rich”,”cache_age”:”3153600000″,”provider_name”:”Twitter”,”provider_url”:”https://twitter.com”,”version”:”1.0″}
{“url”:”https://twitter.com/Aly_Raisman/status/1051945392940740608″,”author_name”:”Alexandra Raisman”,”author_url”:”https://twitter.com/Aly_Raisman”,”html”:”&#lt;blockquote class=”twitter-tweet”&#gt;&#lt;p lang=”en” dir=”ltr”&#gt;USAG…. we are impatiently waiting…. We want answers. USOC are you just going to sit back and not say or do anything, AGAIN? &#lt;a href=”https://t.co/AQHreNV6lt”&#gt;https://t.co/AQHreNV6lt&#lt;/a&#gt;&#lt;/p&#gt;– Alexandra Raisman (@Aly_Raisman) &#lt;a href=”https://twitter.com/Aly_Raisman/status/1051945392940740608?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”&#gt;October 15, 2018&#lt;/a&#gt;&#lt;/blockquote&#gt;n&#lt;script async src=”https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js” charset=”utf-8″&#gt;&#lt;/script&#gt;n”,”width”:550,”height”:null,”type”:”rich”,”cache_age”:”3153600000″,”provider_name”:”Twitter”,”provider_url”:”https://twitter.com”,”version”:”1.0″}
When she was appointed last week, CBS Local 2 & KESQ reached out to Bono for comment, she responded with a statement:
“I am delighted to reconnect with the sport that was such an important part of my life growing up,” Bono said. “I look forward to working with the entire gymnastics community during these challenging times to create a safe, supportive and healthy environment where our gymnasts can achieve their fullest potential and our community can thrive.”
Bono briefly succeeded former President and CEO of USA Gymnastics Kerry Perry, who announced her resignation last month.
Perry was widely criticized for what many considered to be inadequate action and boilerplate soundbites following the Larry Nassar scandal. Nassar, a former USA Gymnastics national team doctor, is currently serving an at least 100-year prison sentence after sexually abusing nearly 200 women and girls under the guise of medical treatment.
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Noticias en español: Telemundo 15
