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SPORT ADVANCEMENT

INTEGRITY AND CULTURE

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Sunisa Lee leaps onto the vault at the artistic gymnastics women's all-around final during the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.

SPORT ADVANCEMENT

INTEGRITY AND CULTURE

INTEGRITY AND CULTURE

The culture of sport is evolving, and we’re dedicated to transforming the Team USA experience so athletes can continue to achieve their greatest potential. We aim to be a leader, both in speaking out when our values need a voice, and in listening to athletes when they call for change.

Maintaining Safe, Fair and Clean Sport

All Olympic and Paralympic athletes are promised the opportunity to a fair, safe and level playing field. At the USOPC, we are working to help athletes collect on this pledge through resource support, accountability and transparency.

Keeping Athletes Safe

Athlete safety is paramount to the USOPC and National Governing Bodies (NGBs). We are committed to providing a positive and safe environment and building a culture of trust. To achieve this, we are focused on strengthening education and prevention measures to create an environment free from abuse.

The U.S. Center for SafeSport has exclusive jurisdiction on all reports of sexual and child abuse and discretionary jurisdiction on emotional and physical misconduct allegations within the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Movement. In 2021, we increased our funding to the Center to $20 million, which included $2.6 million in contributions from NGBs. This fulfilled our shared obligation per the Empowering Olympic, Paralympic and Amateur Athletes Act.

The USOPC and NGBs are subject to an audit by the Center each year. After an audit, an organization may be required to take corrective actions. You can review the results of the USOPC audit here.

Compared to fall 2020, more athletes know how to report misconduct than prior. As we look ahead, we are focused on continuing to establish trust so athletes feel more comfortable using these resources.

At the end of the year, we were grateful to be able to play a leading role in reaching a comprehensive settlement for the sexual abuse survivors against former gymnastics team doctor, Larry Nassar. We have tremendous respect for the strength and bravery these women have shown.

We hope the settlement helps provide a sense of closure and serves as an important step in a difficult healing process. Reaching this resolution is one important piece of the transformation that is taking place within the USOPC. We have also enacted significant reforms and strengthened protections for athletes, for example, through our Athlete Safety and Advocacy Plan.

ATHLETE SURVEY: SAFETY AT THE OLYMPIC AND PARALYMPIC GAMES TOKYO 2020*
8.6 (Olympic) /
9.2 (Paralympic)

rating from athletes on USOPC’s efforts to manage safety

88% (Olympians) /
96% (Paralympians)

felt the USOPC consistently applied existing policies and procedures and kept them as safe as possible

*Based on 116 athlete responses out of 956 athletes invited to participate