一个跨党派议员团体正就美国业余体育联盟（AAU）处理其内部性虐待指控的方式，向该联盟寻求答案。在致AAU领导层的一封信中，众议院能源与商业委员会主席布雷特·格思里议员（共和党，肯塔基州）和委员会排名成员弗兰克·帕洛内小议员（民主党，新泽西州）指出：“AAU未能实施标准改革以保护未成年运动员，并且对公众、家长及运动员隐瞒了联盟内部已采取的预防措施，这种做法是不可接受的。”
A bipartisan group of lawmakers is looking for answers from the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) over its handling of sex abuse allegations within its ranks. In a letter to AAU leadership, House Committee on Energy and Commerce Chairman Rep. Brett Guthrie (R-Ky.) and Ranking Member Rep. Frank Pallone Jr. (D-N.J.) called it "unacceptable that AAU is failing to implement standard reforms to protect child athletes, and is misleading the public, parents, and athletes about preventative measures in place within AAU sports."
这封信是在ProPublica于8月发布一项调查之后发出的。该调查发现，在2011年发生丑闻后，AAU并未落实此前承诺的、针对教练及其他官员性虐待行为的改革措施。此前，AAU曾表示会将其他青少年体育组织因不当行为而被禁赛的教练排除在联盟之外，但ProPublica发现，有八名被禁赛的教练仍在AAU内与儿童接触。议员们在信中写道：“ProPublica的报道揭示了多起涉及AAU教练的虐待案件，这些事件甚至发生在该组织据称于2012年更新儿童保护政策之后。”
The letter comes after the publication of an investigation from ProPublica in August that found the AAU has not put in place promised reforms around sex abuse by coaches and other officials following a 2011 scandal. After the AAU said it would keep coaches banned for misconduct by other youth sports groups out of its ranks, ProPublica found eight banned coaches working with kids in the AAU. "ProPublica’s reporting describes numerous abuse cases involving AAU coaches that occurred even after the organization’s updated child protection policies were reportedly put in place in 2012," the lawmakers wrote.
他们还指出，奥林匹克和残奥运动中的性虐待问题曾促使国会推行全面改革，包括建立一个可供公众查询的被停职或禁赛人员数据库。“尽管奥林匹克和残奥运动已取得进展，但遗憾的是，委员会在先前调查中发现的情况，与如今在AAU内被揭露的问题存在相似之处。”议员们写道。
They noted sexual abuse in the Olympic and Paralympic movement led to sweeping reforms implemented by Congress, including the creation of a publicly searchable database of suspended or banned individuals. "While progress has been made in the Olympic and Paralympic movement, unfortunatelywe are seeing parallels between what the Committee saw in its prior investigation with what isbeing uncovered within the AAU today," the lawmakers wrote.
AAU在回应ProPublica发布其调查结果时表示，其“致力于通过由合规部门监督的全面保护政策来保护运动员。”该组织强调，保护年轻运动员“是我们安全措施的重中之重，例如对所有非运动员的AAU成员（包括教练）进行身份验证和强制性背景审查。”如今，AAU在美国拥有近80万名运动员，他们参与篮球、足球和排球等超过50个项目的比赛。
AAU, in a response to ProPublica when its investigation was published, said it was “committed to protecting its athletes through comprehensive protection policies overseen by our Compliance Department." The organization insisted protecting young athletes “is at the forefront of our safety measures such as a verified identity check and mandatory background screenings for all non-athlete AAU members, including coaches." The AAU today has almost 800,000 athletes competing in more than 50 sports across the U.S., including basketball, soccer and volleyball.