The GEF was created and funded by the International Gymnastics Federation in the wake of the scandal involving former US team doctor Larry Nassar, who is now serving a prison sentence.
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The Gymnastics Ethics Foundation (GEF), the sport’s worldwide investigation organisation, has established new safeguarding rules targeted at better protecting athletes from harassment and abuse, as well as investigating complaints. The action was taken in response to the USA Gymnastics sexual abuse controversy and in preparation for the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. Following the crisis involving the now-incarcerated former US team doctor Larry Nassar, the International Gymnastics Federation established and sponsored the GEF. The foundation seeks to address the systemic problems with gymnastics, such as the inherent power disparities between competitors, coaches, judges, and administrators, a control-obsessed culture, the tolerance of damaging and unethical behaviour, and the vulnerability of young gymnasts.
The GEF has released the “Gymnasts 2028” strategy, which aims to safeguard athletes from harassment and abuse, look into reports, pursue disciplinary actions, and keep an eye on national federations. The goal is to “truly put gymnasts at the core of our thinking throughout everything we do,” according to the foundation’s director, Alex McLin. The foundation is an impartial organization with the mission of better protecting athletes and handling disciplinary matters.
The additional protections are intended to make the environment for athletes safer by looking into complaints and pursuing disciplinary proceedings. Since 2019, the foundation has been striving to fix the structural problems with the gymnastics sport. These problems include the natural power disparities that exist between gymnasts and coaches and judges and administrators, as well as a control-oriented culture, a willingness to put up with destructive and unethical conduct, and the vulnerability of young gymnasts.
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Since 2020, gymnasts from a number of nations have complained about bullying and abusive environments, including those in Australia, Britain, the Netherlands, and Switzerland. In its first four years, the GEF handled at least 135 cases, the majority of which involved instances of abuse. Irina Viner, a Russian coach of rhythmic gymnastics, and Kitty Chiller, an Australian sports executive, both received suspensions as a result of two cases involving unethical behaviour rather than abuse.
The 2028 Olympics offered a excellent baseline for the organisation, according to McLin, an American expert in sports governance, who predicted that it would take ten years to address the problems. A new management system for women’s teams has been put in place after the allegations of Nassar’s abuse of hundreds of athletes surfaced in 2016. A generation of executives have also left USA Gymnastics since that time.
Programs and investigative reporting into the bullying culture in gymnastics were praised by McLin, who noted that there is a degree of knowledge that simply wasn’t there before, and that can only be beneficial. Yet he stressed that improved prevention begins with awareness, and that the GEF needs to be more understanding when responding to complaints from young athletes. The foundation intends to handle cases in a less combative manner and to make sure that investigators, disciplinary judges, and appeal judges have the training to be mindful of the trauma experienced by sportsmen. McLin recognized the significance of respecting those who have experienced trauma, even if doing so retraumatizes them, adding that is something we can never lose sight of.
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