Amid ongoing turmoil over the lack of oversight that led to the Larry Nassar abuse scandal, the U.S. Olympic Committee announced Monday that its longtime board chairman, Larry Probst, 68, will step down at the end of the year.
Probst’s departure comes in the middle of his third four-year term. He’ll be succeeded by Susanne Lyons, a former board member who in February was named acting CEO of the USOC after the resignation of Scott Blackmun. Her four-year term as chairman will begin Jan. 1, 2019.
In announcing the leadership change, the USOC made no reference to the Nassar scandal or the congressional investigation into sexual abuse in Olympic sports but praised Probst’s contributions to the organization over his decade as board chairman. Probst was first elected to the position in 2008 and reelected in 2012 and 2016.
Probst issued a statement voicing pride in his contribution to the Olympic and Paralympic movements.
“I became chairman at a difficult time for the USOC and worked diligently with my colleagues here in the U.S., and around the world, to change the USOC for the better,” Probst wrote, alluding to his role in improving relations with International Olympic Committee and successfully renegotiating a revenue sharing agreement with the global organization. In 2013, he was elected to the IOC. In September 2017, the IOC awarded Los Angeles the 2028 Summer Games.
“It’s now time for a new generation of leaders to confront the challenges facing the organization and I have the utmost confidence in Susanne’s and Sarah’s ability to do just that.”
A former executive at Visa, Lyons, who was first elected to the board in 2010, was tapped as chair of the USOC board’s working group athlete safety and the response to the Nassar case.
