U.S. Lawmakers Launch Sexual Abuse Probe of Youth Sports Giant AAU
The post U.S. Lawmakers Launch Sexual Abuse Probe of Youth Sports Giant AAU appeared first on ProPublica .
On Wednesday, bipartisan leaders from the powerful House Energy and Commerce Committee launched a probe into the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU), criticizing the youth sports organization for mishandling child sexual abuse allegations and demanding answers. The committee, chaired by Republican Brett Guthrie and ranking member Democrat Frank Pallone Jr., highlighted reporting by ProPublica and The Washington Post, which found that the AAU has failed to implement standard reforms to protect child athletes and misled the public about preventative measures.
Guthrie called the ProPublica and The Post reporting "deeply disturbing" and said it raises serious questions about the organization's actions over the past decade. The committee aims to seek information on how the AAU's policies have potentially fallen short and what needs to be done to protect young athletes. They address the AAU's president, Jo Mirza, demanding detailed questions about the organization's operations, including a briefing by Oct.
21. The AAU declined to provide the data to ProPublica and The Post. The group does not publish a list of banned coaches or disclose the number of sexual abuse allegations it receives each year or how many coaches it disciplines. The AAU's failure to comply with the Safe Sport Act, which requires organizations to offer child abuse prevention training, has come under scrutiny.
The committee emphasizes that the Safe Sport Act applies to all amateur sports organizations, not just national sports governing bodies like USA Gymnastics and USA Volleyball, whose jurisdiction it covers.
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