Reps. Poe and Kuster Introduce Legislation to Protect Young Athletes

Yesterday, representative Annie Kuster (D-NH) and I introduced the bipartisan Keep Young Athletes Safe Act of 2018, which creates a grant program to protect athletes under the jurisdiction of the United States Olympic Committee from physical, emotional, and sexual abuse. The bill authorizes the Department of Justice to provide funds for nonprofit, nongovernmental entities to support oversight and anti-abuse education at the United States Olympic Committee, its national governing body, and each Paralympic sports organization.

The Keep Young Athletes Safe Act is critical in protecting our young athletes from sexual abuse. The horrific exploitation of hundreds of young women by Larry Nassar underscores why this legislation is so important. This legislation takes important steps to protect our athletes from abuse and funds oversight efforts to ensure that our Olympic athletes are trained in a lawful, safe atmosphere. We owe this to the survivors of Larry Nassar and our future Olympic athletes.

“The young athletes who have spoken out about the abuse of Larry Nassar have demonstrated incredible strength, courage and determination,” said Rep. Kuster. “We cannot allow other young athletes to suffer the abuses faced by these brave survivors. This legislation will help ensure that young men and women can train in a safe, supportive environment. I will continue to advocate on behalf of survivors of sexual violence and work to hold perpetrators of such acts responsible.”