New USA Gymnastics Coach Fired After Only 3 Days

Mary Lee Tracy contacted Aly Raisman without permission
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Sep 1, 2018 1:10 PM CDT
USA Gymnastics Coach Hired, Fired 3 Days Later
In this July 24, 2018, file photo, Kerry Perry, president of USA Gymnastics, speaks during a Senate Commerce subcommittee hearing in Washington.   (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File)

Not a month into her new job as CEO of the US Olympic Committee, Sarah Hirshland has seen enough from USA Gymnastics. She's calling for yet another shake-up in the federation's leadership as it tries to remake itself in the wake of the Larry Nassar sex-abuse scandal. Hirshland sent out a statement Friday night calling for changes in the USA Gymnastics leadership, only hours after the federation awkwardly fired the coach it had hired only three days earlier as its elite program coordinator. The coach, Mary Lee Tracy, was an early supporter of Nassar when allegations against him began to surface. Then, without permission this week, Tracy reached out to one of her fiercest critics, gold-medalist Aly Raisman, who is suing USAG, reports the AP.

Tracy's hiring certainly had the look of an unforced error. She was on record as having supported Nassar in 2016, when allegations began to emerge. As soon as Tracy was hired, Raisman, who has emerged as one of USA Gymnastics' most vocal critics, called it "a slap in the face for survivors, and further proof that nothing at USAG has changed." Shortly after that, Tracy reached out to Raisman to apologize and talk about the future. But USAG didn't approve of that and released a statement Friday afternoon saying Tracy had inappropriately contacted the gymnast and that it had to ask for Tracy's resignation. The call by Hirshland likely spells trouble for Kerry Perry, who took over for Steve Penny as president of USA Gymnastics in November 2017.

(More gymnastics stories.)

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