Friend,

Last year, I stood in the Senate with more than 80 courageous survivors of sexual abuse at the hands of former U.S.A. Gymnastics team doctor Larry Nassar. One by one, these amazingly talented athletes shared how the organizations that were supposed to protect them had failed them.

Nassar may have committed this unimaginable abuse, but he was enabled by a culture that could and should have stopped this earlier. Powerful people chose not to act.

After spending the past 18 months working side by side with these remarkable athletes, survivors and advocates, I'm proud to introduce the bipartisan Empowering Olympic and Amateur Athletes Act. This bill that will hold the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee (USOPC) and national sports governing bodies accountable for their negligence and protect our nation's athletes moving forward.

If you believe that young athletes should be able to participate in the sport they love without fear of abuse, I'm counting on you to join with me by speaking out today: Sign my petition to demand Congress protects our Olympic and amateur athletes and promotes a safe environment in sports.

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A lack of oversight and transparency from the USOPC allowed an alarming and dysfunctional system to evolve. A system where coaches and powerful individuals like Nassar were able to assault athletes of all ages without fear of accountability – an environment where medals and money were put above morals.

Through three key reforms, this bill will serve as a moment of reckoning for the USOPC:

* It will impose greater legal liability on both the U.S. Olympic Committee and National Governing Bodies – the amateur athlete organizations that oversee Olympic sports – for bad acts, including sexual abuse by coaches and employees.
* It will ensure greater transparency and accountability by giving Congress the ability to fire the USOPC board of directors, and will require a public list of barred coaches and individuals.
* It will strengthen the independence and capabilities of the body responsible for investigating allegations of sexual abuse against athletes and coaches.

With the Tokyo 2020 Summer Olympic Games only a year away, we need to get this bill across the finish line – for these courageous and dedicated athletes and for all those in the future. That's why I'm counting on you to raise your voice alongside mine today:

Click here to sign my petition to tell Congress: Pass the Empowering Olympic and Amateur Athletes Act to ensure that we have the oversight and accountability our athletes deserve.

Thank you for standing up for an issue that couldn't be more important,

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Dick




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