News Releases

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) and Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) – chairman and ranking member of the U.S. Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Subcommittee on Consumer Protection, Product Safety, Insurance, and Data Security with jurisdiction over the health and safety of US Olympic and NCAA athletes – have referred former U.S. Olympic Committee CEO Scott Blackmun for investigation of potential violations of 18 U.S.C. §§ 1001 and 1505.

The Subcommittee referred Blackmun to Acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker and Federal Bureau of Investigation Director Christopher Wray, citing Blackmun’s “materially false statements contained in his written testimony to the Subcommittee during the course of the Subcommittee’s investigation.

“The Subcommittee takes its oversight role seriously, and it appears that Mr. Blackmun has made false claims and misled our Subcommittee – harming the investigation and ability to develop policy,” said Sens. Moran and Blumenthal. “Just as importantly, survivors of abuse have had to wait longer for the truth and longer for systemic changes to help prevent others from similar injury.”

Items to Note:

  • Blackmun was invited to testify before the Subcommittee’s June 5, 2018 hearing. However, due to ongoing medical treatment for prostate cancer, Blackmun instead provided a statement for the record and answered subsequent questions from Subcommittee members for the record.  In his written remarks to the Subcommittee, Blackmun highlighted the following actions, in part, he took as CEO of USOC regarding the response to accusations against Nassar:
    • “. . . Mr. Penny told me that after interviewing three athletes and the team doctor, they were concerned [Nassar’s] ‘treatments’ were not legitimate. Mr. Penny said that he was going to report this to law enforcement, a decision I fully supported. Mr. Penny also told me that the doctor would no longer have contact with athletes. I spoke to the USOC’s safe sport staff after talking to Mr. Penny. My understanding was that reporting the doctor to law enforcement was the most aggressive thing that could be done. I also understood that once it was reported, the issue should be left in the hands of law enforcement—we did not want to interfere with their investigation in any way."
  • The law firm, Ropes & Gray LLP, was retained by USOC on February 2, 2018 to conduct an independent investigation of USOC. On December 10, 2018, Ropes & Gray released its final report, containing information that contradicts Blackmun’s written statement provided to the Subcommittee on June 5, 2018.
    • According to the report, Mr. Blackmun told the independent investigators that, in or about September 2015, he engaged a group of USOC staff, possibly including the USOC Director of Ethics and SafeSport, because he “wanted to make sure that we were doing everything that we should be doing in response and that our response was appropriate.”
    • However, independent investigators found no supporting evidence of this follow-up meeting. After being confronted with this information, Blackmun recanted his earlier assertion that this engagement took place.
  • The results of the independent investigation and Blackmun’s own statements to the independent investigators appear to contradict his statement to the Subcommittee that he “spoke to the USOC’s safe sport staff after talking to Penny.” According to the independent investigators, Blackmun did not speak with Safe Sport staff or any other USOC personnel outside of former Chief of Sport Performance, Alan Ashley, after learning from then-USAG President and CEO Steve Penny about Nassar and the subsequent report to the FBI.

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