Mary Bono has been forced out as interim CEO and president of USA Gymnastics primarily because of a Tweet opposing Nike’s Colin Kaepernick ad campaign. Bono resigned from her post on Tuesday, just five days after she was appointed.
The resignation comes after former congresswoman Bono faced mounting pressure and criticism questioning whether or not she was fit to lead the program. Several prominent USA gymnastics athletes — including Olympians Simone Biles and Aly Raisman — have publicly called out Bono and opposed her appointment in recent days, CBS News reports.
Much of the criticism has come thanks to an anti-Nike tweet she sent in September. In that tweet, which has since been deleted, a photo showed that Bono used a black marker to cover up a white Nike logo on a pair of golf shoes — a symbol of protest against Nike’s polarizing “Just Do It” campaign featuring anti-police activist Colin Kaepernick.
The anti-Nike tweet wasn’t the only cause of pushback against Bono’s appointment. Raisman, who has arguably been the face of USA Gymnastics over much of the past decade, tweeted concern over the idea that Bono’s law firm, Faegre Baker Daniels, may have had a role in enabling the sexual abuse committed by former USA Gymnastics team doctor Larry Nassar.
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