USA Gymnastics hires NBA VP to lead embattled organization

USA Gymnastics, its future threatened by both bankruptcy proceedings and decertification by the U.S. Olympic Committee, has once again hired a sports marketing professional to change the culture within the American sport that enabled sexual abuse of hundreds of young athletes by Larry Nassar and other predatory coaches and officials.

Li Li Leung, an NBA vice president, was appointed USA Gymnastics’ fourth president and chief executive officer in 23 months on Tuesday, taking over an organization that has attracted Congressional and law enforcement scrutiny for its alleged role in covering  up Nassar’s abuse of Olympic and World Championships gold medalists and more than 200 other young athletes.

“If I have one ask it would be to judge us on our response, judge us on our actions going forward,” Leung said during a conference call with reporters Tuesday in which she responded only to written questions. “We will learn from the past and look to the future to heal and rebuild.”

While the former University of Michigan and U.S. junior national team gymnast’s  hiring was criticized by Nassar survivors and athlete safety advocates, USOC officials were more receptive.

“American gymnasts deserve the support of a world-class organization and securing top-level management is one of the most important aspects of USA Gymnastics’ way forward,” USOC CEO Sarah Hirschland said in a statement. “Li Li Lueng is an accomplished professional, a former gymnast herself, and committed to transforming the culture of the sport. I’m very hopeful that Li Li’s  combination of experience and desire to lead will be a positive force for change in the lives of gymnasts all over the country.”

Both Leung and USA Gymnastics Board Chair Kathryn Carson expressed optimism Tuesday that they can still convince the USOC that USA Gymnastics remains the organization best equipped to govern the sport moving forward. Leung and Carson have both spoken with Hirshland recently.

“I’m hopeful we’ll remain the official NGB of USA Gymnastics,” Leung said.

The USOC began proceedings last year to strip the Indianapolis-based USA Gymnastics of its national governing body status. That process has been put on hold while the parties await a final ruling in USA Gymnastics’ Chapter 11 case in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in the Southern District of Indiana. The filing is in response to USA Gymnastics being sued by more than 200 Nassar survivors in dozens of civil cases around the nation.

Carson said Tuesday, “certainly if anything at the end of the day” the ongoing Chapter 11 proceedings would have an “overall positive impact on our financial condition.”

“That’s where we stand,” Carson said. “Probably more importantly both Li Li and I have spoken with Sarah Hirshland of the USOC and we hope to stay in close touch and work collaboratively to rebuild the organization. So certainly our plan as a board along with our new CEO is to strengthen and build and remain the NGB.”

Said Leung “I did have a call with Sarah yesterday and it was a very positive conversation. She’s 100 percent supportive and the organization, the USOC, is 100 percent supportive of what we’re doing. And Sarah and I agreed that once I took the helm that she and I will meet and begin to work-out certain things.”

But Nassar survivors and athlete rights advocates said Leung’s hiring reflects a continued tone deafness and emphasis on branding and damage control within USA Gymnastics and only reinforces the need for new athlete-centric governing body.

“This really does give us clarity: there’s no hope of re-organizing this organization,” said John Manly, an attorney who represents dozens of Nassar survivors. “Congress needs to take them down.”

Leung’s hiring, Manly said, “was cooked up by a bunch of people from Madison Avenue.”

“It’s disappointing that the Nassar survivors weren’t consulted or included in the selection process despite the survivors requesting that they be included,” said Jennifer Sey, a former U.S. national team member and author of “Chalked Up: Inside Elite Gymnastics’ Merciless Coaching, Overzealous Parents, Eating Disorders and Elusive Olympic Dreams”. “Furthermore she has long standing ties to the USOC and the first thing she’s gone on record saying is that she is seeking to unwind decertification. And her background is in sports marketing, just like Penny and Perry. Not the ideal background to protect athletes, but definitely the ideal background to protect the USOC and USAG. Not ideal.”

Leung was one of twin daughters born in Brooklyn to college professors. She began gymnastics at age 7 and went on to represent Team USA at the 1988 Junior Pan American Championships at Michigan at four NCAA Championships.

After college, she worked for ZOU Marketing Limited as an account director for Electronic Arts and Reebok. Leung worked for nine years as a managing director for Helios Partners LLC, a now defunct global sports marketing firm that specialized in corporate sponsorships, brand assessments and helping cities bid for mega-events like the Olympic Games and World Cup.

More recently Leung negotiated and managed international partnerships for the NBA.

“I feel like my unique perspective, having been a gymnast, coupled with my professional background of leading businesses around the world and most recently coming from the NBA, those two elements will set me up for success going forward,” Leung said.

While Leung stressed the need for transparency Tuesday, USA Gymnastics declined to release what her annual compensation will be.

Leung is USA Gymnastics third CEO since Steve Penny was forced to resign in March 2017. Penny was arrested last year after being indicted in Walker County, Texas, on evidence tampering charges related to the Nassar case.

He was replaced in December 2017 by Kerry Perry, a marketing executive. She was forced out last September.

Former congresswoman Mary Bono resigned as CEO in October after just four days on the job. Bono generated more than $1.5 million in lobbying fees over a three-year period for a firm that played an initial role in USA Gymnastics’ alleged cover up of Nassar’s sexual abuse.

Leung said her “number one priority to find resolution with the impending suits and to find an equitable and a fair one. The survivors deserve resolution and we want to see one that resolves as quickly as possible. In terms of the changes in the organization that will be necessary to address abuse issues, as I’ve mentioned before the vision around the organization is to create an athlete led, athlete created organization where safety is central to everything we do. Safety will be paramount in our planning going forward.”