Reforming America's Olympic & Paralympic Movement

The U.S. Congress created in 2020 a bipartisan commission on the state of U.S. Olympics and Paralympics (CSUSOP). The goal: reimagine the governance system for the kaleidoscopic (and scandal-plagued) array of organizations within the Olympic movement. We were honored to act as research partner for this effort, conducting the opinion study with athletes and Olympic stakeholders that is at the foundation of the commission's new report.

The report outlines a set of sweeping reforms that would address systemic challenges around athlete safety, equitable access, accountability and oversight. Recommendations include allowing the United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee to focus solely on high-performance athletes, creating a new federal office to coordinate youth and grassroots sports development, facilitating more affordable access to youth sports and finding supplementary funding sources.

The commission rightly contends these reforms are vital for upholding American values, protecting athletes, keeping up with global competitors, and ensuring the movement reflects its mission of providing sports' lifelong benefits equitably to all Americans.