Associated Press
Li Li Leung, who deftly guided USA Gymnastics back from the brink of collapse in the wake of the Larry Nassar sexual abuse scandal, is stepping down at the end of the year.
The decision, which USA Gymnastics announced Thursday, comes with the organization in a far different place than it was when Leung took over in the spring of 2019.
Back then, it was fighting battles on multiple fronts, and the long-term survival of one of the U.S. Olympic movement’s marquee programs was hardly assured.
USA Gymnastics had filed for bankruptcy just months before Leung’s arrival in the hopes of reaching settlements in the dozens of lawsuits it faced from women who blamed it for failing to supervise Nassar, a former national team doctor who sexually abused them under the guise of medical treatment.
The U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee was in the process of stripping USA Gymnastics of its status as the national governing body for the sport. Sponsors fled.
Most importantly to Leung, a former college gymnast, the trust between the organization and its stakeholders — from athletes to parents to coaches — appeared irrevocably broken.
Through a mixture of empathy, savvy and commitment, it’s not that way anymore. The lawsuit was settled in late 2021. The USOPC eventually halted the decertification process. High-profile corporate partners reengaged and, in some instances, even expanded their relationship.
More vitally, the daunting culture shift USA Gymnastics faced as it tried to remake itself more athlete-focused has found firm footing.
Throw in a dazzling performance at the Paris Games last summer by the women’s Olympic program and a resurgent one by the men, and Leung knew it was time to make a choice she called “difficult” and “bittersweet” but also necessary.
“The organization is in a great place right now,” Leung told The Associated Press. “I feel comfortable about being able to hand it over in this situation, in this position, to my successor who can then build on all the achievements we’ve had so far.”
While Leung stressed she isn’t burned out, she added she’d “like a little bit of a rest.” She also wants to ensure whoever follows her will have plenty of runway ahead of the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.
“From a timing perspective, it would be completely unfair of me to say to the (USA Gymnastics board of directors) in 2027: ‘Hey I’m out. Now you have to figure out how to get us to LA,” she said.
‘A significantly stronger position’
The search for her replacement will begin immediately. Leung, who said she is firmly committed to finishing out the year, will be part of the hiring process for a job that looks far more desirable now than it did six years ago.
“Li Li leaves USA Gymnastics in a significantly stronger position than when she joined, with a promising trajectory towards LA 28,” USOPC CEO Sarah Hirshland told the AP. “Her leadership faced numerous challenges, yet she demonstrated remarkable resilience and strength, along with unwavering support for the athletes.”
When Leung was hired, she was the fourth person to hold the titles of CEO and president in two years. She never put a timeline on how long she might stay, though she believes her departure showcases just how stable things have become.
“It’s a sign of good organizational evolution to have new leadership come into place and have new perspectives and innovative thinking,” she said.
Leung leaned heavily into both when she ran into what was essentially a burning building. During her first week on the job alone, a tractor-trailer carrying equipment to a national training camp flipped over and she was told there was only about six weeks’ worth of cash flow in the bank.
It was daunting to be sure, but Leung said she had “zero buyer’s remorse.”
“It’s been difficult at times, but there has never been a day that I thought ‘We can’t do this,’” she added.
Accomplishing the ‘impossible’
Leung might have been one of the few. Yet her experience as a gymnast gave her a perspective that those who preceded her did not. Where others had been almost standoffish with sexual abuse survivors out of fear of legal retribution, Leung led with empathy that wasn’t merely performative.
The organization established an Athletes Bill of Rights in 2020. It later expanded mental health care services for both athletes and their coaches and created a new funding structure designed to give national team members more equity.
Even some of USA Gymnastics’ most visible critics took notice.
Two-time Olympic champion Simone Biles, who publicly identified herself as a Nassar victim in 2018 and frequently called out the organization’s leadership for a series of missteps, told the AP in 2024 that she had noticed a positive shift inside USA Gymnastics because those in power had “stepped up to the role” and “put in the work.”
It’s that shift that Leung is most proud of as she eyes a break. She had no idea how long she would stay when she came on board. Given the organization’s tenuous position at the time, she didn’t have the luxury.
“For me, it was about putting the big building blocks in place (and) accomplishing the things that were mission critical,” she said. “Cultural change is the most difficult type of change to implement, because you have no idea how long it takes.”
Leung understands that kind of change has no finish line. Yet when she walks out of her office in Indianapolis for the last time later this year, it will be far closer than when she walked into it.
“A lot of people said it was total career suicide (when I came on),” Leung said. “I thought the exact opposite of that. I think, obviously a lot of people thought it was an impossibility, (but) we’ve been able to accomplish what people thought was impossible.”
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AP National Writer Eddie Pells contributed to this report.
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AP Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/2024-paris-olympic-games
