- The Washington Times - Sunday, October 14, 2018

Newly named USA Gymnastics head Mary Bono apologized Saturday for a month-old tweet showing her blacking out a Nike logo after the post was slammed by Olympic gold medalist Simone Biles.

“I deeply regret posting the Tweet because I respect everyone’s views and their fundamental right to express them,” said the former Republican congresswoman from California in a statement. “This in no way reflects how I will approach my position at USA Gymnastics.”

Ms. Biles, who won four gold medals at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro games, including the all-around title, tweeted “mouth drop” Saturday in response to the Sept. 7 post by Ms. Bono.

The gymnast, a Nike athlete, added, “it’s not like we need a smarter usa gymnastics president or sponsors or anything.”

The tweet showed a photo of Ms. Bono blacking out the Nike swoosh on a pair of golf shoes, two days after the sportswear giant released an ad featuring Colin Kaepernick, known for his NFL take-a-knee protests during the national anthem.

“Playing in a charity golf tournament raising money for our nation’s Special Forces operators and their families. Unfortunately had these shoes in my bag. Luckily I had a market in my bag too,” said Ms. Bono in the tweet, which she has deleted.

Ms. Bono takes over with USA Gymnastics reeling from the horrific sexual-abuse scandal centered on former national team doctor Larry Nassar, who was convicted on child-molestation charges after being accused of abusing more than 250 girls.

The previous USA Gymnastics CEO, Kerry Perry, resigned last month after less than 10 months on the job.

USA Gymnastics lost multiple corporate sponsors in the wake of the scandal, including Under Armour, AT&T, Proctor & Gamble, Hershey and Kellogg.

Ms. Bono served for 15 years in Congress after winning a special election to replace her husband, pop star and Republican Rep. Sonny Bono, who died in a 1998 skiing accident.

Unlike her predecessor, Ms. Bono has a gymnastics background. A former gymnast, she trained with “a variety of clubs with several different coaches over 10 years,” according to the Friday press release from USA Gymnastics.

“Additionally, she has championed the protection of youth from the opioid abuse epidemic and was one of the first in Congress to raise this issue to a higher profile,” said the release.

Ms. Bono promised to put the rocky start behind her and “move the focus to all I hope to accomplish on behalf of a great sport & those who are dedicated to it.”

“I will do everything I can to help change the culture and to work with the entire community to build an open, safe and positive environment,” said Ms. Bono in her statement.

• Valerie Richardson can be reached at vrichardson@washingtontimes.com.

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