THE remaining members of the USA Gymnastics board of directors have said they will resign following a threat from the United States Olympic Committee (USOC) to decertify the organisation.

The USOC’s ultimatum followed the sentencing of child-molesting gymnastics team doctor Larry Nassar, who assaulted at least 150 girls and young women over 25 years.

Nassar had worked as a USA Gymnastics trainer and doctor since 1986. More than 150 women made victim-impact statements during his week-long sentencing hearing.

In a statement issued late on Friday, the organisation said the remaining 18 board members would quit. It followed an open letter issued by top USOC official Scott Blackmun calling for a “full turnover of leadership.”

USA Gymnastics and the USOC were accused of trying to cover up Nassar’s sex assaults on girls.

Former Olympic gymnast McKayla Maroney has sued the two organisations, along with Nassar and Michigan State University, alleging that they had tried to hide the abuse by making her sign a non-disclosure agreement. Nassar abused Maroney from when she was 13 years old until she quit gymnastics at 16.

USA Gymnastics did force out former president Steve Penny last spring — with a $1 million severance payment — and hired Kerry Perry in November as his replacement.

However, the rest of the power structure remained intact. Rachael Denhollander, the first person to come forward as a Nassar victim in the autumn of 2016, asked the board's executive officers to resign last August.

Olympic gold-medallist Aly Raisman talked repeatedly about the need for a complete overhaul after outlining the abuse Nassar subjected her to in a book released in November.