A former gymnast on the US women’s national team became the latest athlete to accuse longtime team doctor Larry Nassar of sexual abuse. But she's the first to name renowned husband and wife coaches Bela and Martha Karolyi, alleging they turned a blind eye to the molestations. In a lawsuit filed Thursday in Los Angeles, the now 24-year-old gymnast contends Nassar repeatedly sexually abused her when she was on the team from 2006 to 2011. The lawsuit accuses the Karolyis of creating a toxic environment that allowed the alleged abuse to thrive at their ranch north of Houston, where gymnasts would stay in bungalows while receiving individual instruction from the national staff and medical attention from Nassar. Nassar’s lawyer didn’t respond to messages, but he has previously denied abuse allegations by two other gymnasts. The Karolyis didn’t respond to requests for comment. USA Gymnastics is also named in the suit. The Indiana-based governing body denies wrongdoing.
US national men’s team coordinator Kevin Mazeika's contract won't be renewed. USA Gymnastics president Steve Penny said the organization will hire a "performance director" who will focus on "sustained international success" following the team’s second straight fifth-place showing at the Olympics.
Golf
Karlberg on top in Shanghai
Rikard Karlberg made his World Golf Championships debut with an 8-under-par 64 to take a one-shot lead over Rickie Fowler in the HSBC Champions in Shanghai. Fowler, in his first competitive round since the Ryder Cup, holed a 15-foot birdie putt on his final hole for a 65 . . . Kevin Streelman shot a 9-under 63 to take the first-round lead in the PGA’s Sanderson Farms Championship in Jackson, Miss . . . Amy Yang shot an 8-under 63 — one off her own course record — for a two-stroke lead over Marina Alex at the Sime Darby LPGA Malaysia Open in Kuala Lumpur. Michelle Wie had her best score in more than a year, opening with a 66, breaking 70 for only the fourth time in 68 rounds this year.
Evan Wartgow shot a 4-under 68 to take a two-stroke lead after the first round of the National Car Rental Assistant PGA Professional Championship in Port St. Lucie, Fla.
Colleges
Virginia Tech tops Pittsburgh
Jerod Evans shook off a right ankle injury to throw for a career-high 406 yards and two touchdowns and lead No. 25 Virginia Tech (6-2, 4-1 Atlantic Coast Conference) to a 39-36 victory over host Pittsburgh (5-3, 2-2). The Hokies’ Joey Slye tied a school and ACC record by kicking six field goals, and Isaiah Ford’s 10 receptions included his school-record 23rd receiving touchdown . . . Former Penn State assistant football coach Mike McQueary was awarded $7.3 million in damages by a jury in Bellefonte, Pa., after finding the university defamed McQueary after it became public that his testimony helped prosecutors charge Jerry Sandusky with child molestation. Judge Thomas Gavin still must decide McQueary’s whistleblower claim that he was treated unfairly as the school suspended him from coaching duties, placed him on paid administrative leave, barred him from team facilities and then did not renew his contract shortly after he testified at Sandusky’s 2012 trial . . . The NCAA will distribute millions of dollars in March Madness revenue to member schools for the academic performance of its athletes, starting in 2019-20. The money will come from the NCAA’s multimedia rights deal for the men’s basketball tournament.
Tennis
Cibulkova, Kerber in semis
Dominika Cibulkova won her first match at the WTA Finals in Singapore, and she advanced to Saturday’s semifinals when Angelique Kerber eliminated Madision Keys in straight sets, 6-3, 6-3. Cibulkova beat Simona Halep, 6-3, 7-6 (7-5). Although Keys and Halep had the same round-robin record (1-2) as Cibulkova, they were below her in the standings. Kerber had already advanced from the group. Svetlana Kuznetsova qualified for the semifinals from the other group. Her opponent will be decided Friday when Agnieszka Radwanska plays Karolina Pliskova . . . Top-seeded Andy Murray overcame a slow start against Gilles Simon before winning, 4-6, 6-2, 6-2, and advancing to his 13th quarterfinal of the season at the Erste Bank Open in Vienna . . . Two-time champion Juan Martin del Potro and top-seeded Stan Wawrinka advanced to the Swiss Indoors quarterfinals in Basel. Del Potro beat fifth-seeded David Goffin,7-5, 6-3, and Wawrinka outlasted Donald Young, 7-6 (7-4), 6-7 (3-7), 6-4.
Miscellany
Lindholm signs with Ducks
The Anaheim Ducks signed holdout Hampus Lindholm to a six-year, $31.5 million contract through the 2021-22 season, ending a stalemate with their talented Swedish defenseman . . . Three female weightlifters from Kazakhstan — Zulfiya Chinshanlo, Maiya Maneza, and Svetlana Podobedova — were stripped of gold medals from the 2012 London Olympics after failing retests of their doping samples. The Kazakh lifters were among eight athletes sanctioned by the IOC after their stored samples came back positive for steroids . . . Matteo Mancosu scored twice and the Montreal Impact beat D.C. United, 4-2, in an MLS Cup Playoffs knockout match. The fifth-seeded Impact will host the top-seeded New York Red Bulls on Sunday in the first game of the two-leg Eastern Conference semifinals.
. . . Stefan Jost, the CEO of FIFA’s $140 million soccer museum in Zurich, is leaving amid reports of poor visitor numbers since its opening in February. Jost leaves as FIFA leaders reevaluate how they spend more than $5 billion in income from each World Cup . . . A mistrial was declared in the case of three men accused of attacking NASCAR driver Mike Wallace and his daughter after a June concert in Charlotte, North Carolina after Judge Ronald Chapman learned that two potential witnesses had been in the courtroom when the trial began. Chapman warned potential witnesses to stay out of the courtroom . . . Philadelphia 76ers players held a team meeting and may take action in response to the organization’s decision to cancel Wednesday’s national anthem performance by singer Sevyn Streeter because she was wearing a ‘‘We Matter’’ jersey. Streeter said she was told she could not perform the anthem because of the slogan.
