Mary Bono resigned on Tuesday as interim president and CEO of USA Gymnastics after only five days in charge.
The former Republican congresswoman from California was criticized by Olympic gold medalist Simone Biles and others over a tweet in which she appeared to blast Nike. Bono was appointed as interim chief of the sport’s governing body on Friday. In a USA Gymnastics news release, she was praised for her leadership, communication, and ability to “coalesce people with differing views.”
In September, she took to Twitter to respond to Nike promoting former NFL quarterback and civil rights activist Colin Kaepernick.
In a now-deleted photo, Bono, 56, blotted out a Nike swoosh on a pair of golf shoes with a black marker, following the lead of angry Nike owners who burned and destroyed their goods after the Kaepernick endorsement.
Subscribe to our free weekly newsletter!
A week of sports news in your in-box.
We find the sports news you need to know, so you don't have to.
“Playing in a charity golf tournament raising money for our Special Forces operators and their families. Unfortunately had these shoes in my bag. Luckily I had a marker in my bag too….” she wrote in the tweet.
Biles, the face of the USA team and a Nike-endorsed athlete, responded back to the tweet. Quoting Bono’s tweet, Biles replied: “*mouth drop* don’t worry, it’s not like we needed a smarter usa gymnastics president or any sponsors or anything.”
30 SPORTS FIGURES WHO DIED IN 2018 – TRIBUTE SLIDESHOW
Later Saturday, Bono acknowledged the tweet and said she wanted to turn the focus on what she plans to accomplish as USA Gymnastics’ leader.
“I look forward to telling my gymnastics story, my vision for the future of the sport and why I wanted the job,” read another.
Bono also drew severe criticism for her ties to a law firm that worked for USA Gymnastics while it postponed announcing how much it knew about the dozens of female athletes former Olympic team doctor Larry Nassar had abused over the last decade. Nassar is serving a prison term of 40 to 175 years for his crimes, and several USA Gymnastics board members resigned in the wake of the scandal.
Aly Raisman, another top medal-winning gymnast, slammed the federation for hiring Bono in a tweet on Monday:
Biles will lead her team in the World Championships in Qatar this month. The 21-year-old boasts four Olympic gold medals and ten World Championship golds. She’s undoubtedly the face of the sport.
Wide receiver Diontae Johnson is reportedly settling in well with the Baltimore Ravens after the…
Aaron Judge seemed to flip the script on his disastrous World Series and postseason with…
The New York Yankees' 2024 season came to a screeching halt Wednesday night when the…
The Los Angeles Dodgers defeated the New York Yankees 7-6 in Game 5 to win…
https://youtu.be/Y69VZZt9rt4 Brad Pitt made a surprise appearance at the Mexican Grand Prix’s practice round on Oct. 26.…
Joel Embiid’s name came up twice in NBA news this week as he continues to…