Attributed to Malia Arrington, Senior Director of SafeSport and Ethics for the United States Olympic Committee.

“Abuse is an unfortunate reality in our world, and it has been an unfortunate part of sport as well. Our first focus always needs to be on the well-being of athletes at all levels.

“For a number of years now, the USOC has been steadily enhancing our efforts in this area. Our efforts to protect people from abuse, especially child abuse, have increased dramatically. In 2010, the United States Olympic Committee made a significant increase in resources to prevent abuse, particularly where children are concerned. That year we also formed a task force to help lead our approach. We hired a director of SafeSport in 2011. In 2012 we released our current SafeSport policy, available on www.teamusa.org. Together with our National Governing Bodies in 2014, we committed $10 million to the funding of the U.S. Center for SafeSport, a new and independent entity dedicated to the prevention of abuse and protection of athletes.

“This year, the U.S. Center for SafeSport named its board of directors and is now preparing to launch its services in 2017. USA Gymnastics has been one of our most active, supportive, and concerned partners in this endeavor."