(Reuters) - USA Gymnastics, the sport's governing body, filed for bankruptcy on Wednesday, the latest blow for an organization that has struggled to recover from scandal after former national team doctor Larry Nassar sexually abused hundreds of gymnasts.
The organization filed for protection from creditors in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Indianapolis, according to court records.
Nassar was sentenced to up to 300 years in prison in separate in two different trials in Michigan last February after more than 350 women testified about abuse at his hands. The scandal prompted the entire board of directors at USA Gymnastics to resign, along with the president and athletic director at Michigan State University, where Nassar also worked.
The bankruptcy filing allows USA Gymnastics to quickly resolve the claims made by the victims, the organization said in a statement.
“We owe it to the survivors to resolve, fully and finally, claims based on the horrific acts of the past and, through this process, seek to expedite resolution and help them move forward,” Kathryn Carson, chairwoman of the USA Gymnastics board of directors, said in a statement
(Reporting by Joseph Ax; editing by Leslie Adler)