Under growing pressure to quit, Scott Blackmun, CEO of the United States Olympic Committee, resigned “due to ongoing health issues resulting from prostate cancer,” according to a USOC statement on Wednesday.

Board member Susanne Lyons will step in as the acting CEO until a permanent replacement is named.

The news came at the same time the committee announced steps “designed to protect athletes from abuse and respond quickly and effectively when issues surface.”

Among the reforms and initiatives the USOC said it is implementing are creating an advisory group that will include abuse survivors to safeguard against future abuse in “the Olympic community,” providing more funding to speed up the resolution of cases, and improving support and counseling “for gymnasts impacted by Nassar’s crimes.”

The USOC has been engulfed by the scandal surrounding Larry Nassar, onetime USA Gymnastics doctor, convicted of sexually assaulting minors. Scores of athletes who were in his care have accused him of abuse going back decades. He has been sentenced to hundreds of years in prison.

Two U.S. senators called for Blackmun’s resignation earlier this month, citing a Wall Street Journal report that found he and other USOC officials were aware of abuse allegations against Nassar for months before acting on them.

Sens. Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., and Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, questioned Blackmun’s leadership, citing an open letter he wrote in January in which he to uncover how the abuse could have gone on for so long and “who knew what and when.” But the senators said Blackmun failed “to admit his own supposed direct knowledge of allegations that were brought to his attention in July 2015.”

Several former Olympic athletes and advocates also called on Blackmun to step down.

In courtrooms, dozens of wrenching victim impact statements described Nassar as abusing athletes for years under the guise of legitimate medical treatment with seeming impunity.

Rachael Denhollander, a lawyer and one of Nassar’s first accusers, said after a sentencing earlier this month, that victims “wouldn’t be here had the adults and authorities done what they should have done 20 years ago,” according to The Associated Press.

Denhollander added that victims are turning their attention “with even greater force to the institutional dynamics that led to the greatest sexual assault scandal in history.”

Late last month, the entire board of USA Gymnastics announced they will resign.

USOC Chairman Larry Probst said new leadership is needed “so that we can immediately address the urgent initiatives ahead of us. … The USOC is at a critical point in its history.”

In a statement, Blackmun, who has been USOC CEO since 2010, did not mention the Nassar scandal, instead saying his role “has not only been immensely rewarding, it has been an honor and the highlight of my professional life,” He added, “I am proud of what we have achieved as a team and am confident that Susanne will help the USOC continue to embody the Olympic spirit and champion Team USA athletes during this transition.”

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After a major doping scandal limited Russia’s participation at the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics, the country’s Olympic committee has been formally reinstated by the International Olympic Committee.

This comes after the IOC said remaining test results from Russians who competed in the games came back negative.

In December, the IOC announced that Russia’s Olympic committee was suspended because of the state-sponsored cheating. As NPR’s Bill Chappell has reported, their athletes could still compete – but under the title of “Olympic Athlete from Russia.” Their uniforms bore the Olympic symbol and they carried the Olympic Flag at the opening ceremony. One hundred and sixty-eight took part in the games as neutral athletes.

There was some speculation that Russia might be reinstated in time for the closing ceremony, allowing the athletes to march under the Russian flag. The country’s Olympic committee paid some $15 million in fines.

But two Russian athletes failed doping tests — curling bronze medalist Alexander Krushelnitckii, whose mixed-doubles medal was stripped, and bobsledder Nadezhda Sergeeva. As Bill reported, the IOC said the failed tests and other factors “prevented the IOC from even considering lifting the suspension for the closing ceremony.”

Now that all final results are in, the IOC says that Russia’s suspension is “automatically lifted with immediate effect.”

“We must turn this page,” said Russian President Vladimir Putin at a ceremony for Olympians on Wednesday, according to The Associated Press. “We must draw relevant conclusions for ourselves, but I hope that international organizations also will eventually understand that sports must be kept away from problems unrelated to it.”

The IOC’s decision to ban Russia was prompted by a report from the World Anti-Doping agency led by law professor Richard McLaren.

“Released in two phases, the McLaren report concluded that Russia’s scheme involved more than 1,000 Russian athletes and that it also included plans both for manipulating doping controls and for covering up the system,” Bill reported.

Figure skater Alina Zagitova won the only individual gold medal by an athlete from Russia at this year’s games. Head here for Bill’s account of that medal ceremony, where the Olympic anthem played instead of the Russian one.

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NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell is expected to try to recover the money spent on a seven-figure legal bill after recent battles with Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones.

The story was first reported by The New York Times, and since then, other publications have had sources speak off the record. NPR has not independently confirmed the reports.

It all began several months ago when Jones tried to derail negotiations for Goodell’s contract extension. At the same time, Jones tried to get a six-game suspension reversed for Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott.

The New York Times, which talked to five league officials with direct knowledge of the situation, reports the punishment against Jones will be issued in the coming weeks:

“Goodell will declare that Jones’s actions were detrimental to the league … and the commissioner’s office. Goodell has been reluctant to be seen as exacting retribution for the way Jones tried to sabotage his contract talks, but he was urged to bring the penalties by several owners who believed that Jones had crossed an unspoken boundary by threatening his colleagues.

In November, Jones hired the high-profile lawyer David Boies and said he was prepared to sue the six owners on the league’s compensation committee, which had been working for months on extending Goodell’s contract. Jones also lobbied loudly for running back Ezekiel Elliott not to be penalized, and reportedly tried to influence league officials deciding his case. Elliott had been suspended by the league for six games before the season after the N.F.L. investigated domestic-assault allegations.

Jones will be ordered to pay the legal fees that the committee incurred defending itself, as well as the legal expenses the N.F.L. spent defending its decision to suspend Elliott.”

The Cowboys declined to comment to news organizations, as did the NFL.

In December at a league meeting in Irving, Texas, Goodell received a five-year contract extension. Most of the owners supported the terms, which provide Goodell the possibility of earning as much as $200 million.

Also at that meeting, Goodell and Jones tried to make nice in front of the cameras — they were shown walking together. At a news conference, with the Cowboys owner in the room, Goodell said he didn’t take Jones’ objections to the extension personally.

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The Pyeongchang Winter Olympics concluded Sunday evening in South Korea. The closing ceremony saw fewer athletes than the opening event 17 days ago — some Olympians have already gone home — but didn’t skimp on pageantry, K-pop and expressions of hope for peace between the two Koreas.

Ivanka Trump, daughter of the U.S. president, and South Korean President Moon Jae-in sat near a visiting North Korean general, Kim Yong Chol, believed to be a former spy chief, whose delegation had earlier been met with a sit-in by conservative South Korean lawmakers near the border crossing.

“Although parting is sad, we will remember Pyeongchang with beautiful memories. Athletes, you are true champions,” said Lee Hee-beom, the Pyeongchang Olympics organizing committee president. “The seed of peace you have planted here in Pyeongchang will grow as a big tree in the not-distant future. The hope and aspirations of South and North Korean athletes together with cheerleaders will definitely serve as a cornerstone of the unification of the Korean Peninsula.”

Thomas Bach, the head of the International Olympic Committee, said North and South Korea “have shown how sport brings people together in our very fragile world. You have shown how sport builds bridges.”

With the Olympic flame extinguished in Pyeongchang, the torch has been passed to Beijing. In 2022, the Chinese capital will host the next Winter Games. In the meantime, we have the Summer Olympics to look forward to in Tokyo in 2020.

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The Winter Olympics closes the door on the Pyeongchang 2018 Games, with a big party and a last farewell from the 2,920 athletes who competed on ice and snow in South Korea. The number of athletes set a new record; so did the number of nations — 92 – represented.

Pyeongchang organizers promised that the Olympic Stadium, which seats 35,000, will be “filled with the roar of compliments and the applause of friendship.”

The two-hour ceremony started at 8 p.m. on Sunday night in South Korea – 6 a.m. ET Sunday in the U.S. It began with a segment called “Countdown: Dream for Tomorrow,” featuring performers paying tribute to the athletes.

Even as it celebrates the achievements of the past three weeks, the ceremony also looks ahead to Japan — Tokyo is slated to host the Summer Olympics in 2020 — and to China. In 2022, Beijing will become the first city to host both the Summer and Winter Olympic Games.

At Pyeongchang Olympic Stadium, the order of entry is the same as in the opening ceremony, when the U.S. entered the Olympic Stadium 26th.

Visiting delegations are ordered according to the alphabet of the host nation. The host delegation always enters last.

Team USA follows countries whose names begin with “M” — so, after Malta and Mongolia – and before the Bs, such as Bermuda and Belgium. Cross-country skier Jessie Diggins is the U.S. flag bearer.

Ceremony Program Guide and Timeline:

Opening acts: first 16 minutes

It all starts with a montage of the achievements and notable moments of the Winter Games in Pyeongchang, in a four-minute video piece.

Then, the Korean national flag and anthem are presented, followed by a six-minute meditation and celebration of hallyu — the “Korean Wave” that represents the country’s progress on the international economic and cultural scene in recent decades.

In this section, guitarist Yang Taehwan, 13, plays a variation on “Winter” from Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons.

And then, from the program:

“On the sloped stage reflecting the image of a guitar, loop dancers perform a mesmerizing dance that defies gravity. Geomungo players perform together with the band Jambinai. Korean dancers present a modern interpretation of a traditional dance while a solo dancer performs Spring Dance of Nightingale.”

… which leads to “The Light of Harmony and Solidarity: The lighting of the Prayer Pagoda unites everyone in the spirit of harmony and solidarity.”

This section of the ceremony features a unique musical instrument called the geomungo, which dates to the 4th century.

From the program guide:

“The round front plate of the instrument represents the sky, and the flat bottom part represents the earth; the instrument’s five Notes — gung, sang, gak, chi, and wu — symbolize the Five Elements. It has been traditionally played from a sitting position, but now it can be played from a standing position. Made of paulownia wood with twisted silk strings, the geomungo used in the Closing Ceremony are also carved with the traditional arabesque design.”

Parade of nations

Starting 16 minutes into the program, the Parade of Nations celebrates the athletes who competed and tried to live their dreams over the past 17 days.

The oldest athlete at these Olympics: Canadian curler Cheryl Bernard, 51. The youngest: Chinese halfpipe skier Wu Meng, 15.

Remembering those not here

At 36 minutes in, the ceremony continues a tradition that started at the Rio 2016 Games, of providing a moment for everyone present to remember those who cannot join us.

In the Korean version, called “A Journey to Remember,” there are three sections:

“Turtle and Kkoktu: Along with kkoktu puppets, the Turtle embarks on a journey across life and death. With the Turtle in the middle of the procession, the kkoktu puppets holding dandelions enter first, and they are followed by the dancing kkoktu puppets.

“The Time Tunnel: The Turtle journeys through the Time Tunnel, the boundary between life and death.

“Eternal Remembrance: The kkoktu puppets dance and bid farewell to the Turtle who is on his way to the heavens. Soon, the Turtle flies free into the sky.”

Victory ceremonies, and more

From 8:43 p.m. – 9:03 p.m. KT, the Olympics holds two medal ceremonies, announces new members of the International Olympic Committee athletes’ commission and recognizes volunteers. Medals are presented for the men’s and women’s mass start cross country ski races, in which Iivo Niskanen of Finland and Marit Bjoergen of Norway accepted gold.

Second hour: K-pop time

We can’t explain it better than the ceremony guide, although we could quibble with the second point:

“The singer CL enters the stage singing her song, ‘The Baddest Female’, with 20 dancers holding torches, representing passion and the venturing spirit. She also sings 2NE1’s hit song ‘I Am the Best’ to convey the message that everyone is a winner.”

The first song asks, “Where all my bad girls at?”

We’ll consider that rhetorical, because CL seems to have all the answers. The crowd is into this.

The transition begins

The Greek national anthem is played, and the national flag of Greece is raised. This is part of the tradition of retracting the Olympic spirit from one host and extending it to another (or at least, we think that sounds good).

Next, the Olympic flag is lowered and the Olympic anthem is performed.

Next time in China

In 2022, Beijing will become the first city to host both the Summer and Winter Olympic Games. It’s traditional for the host cities to focus on the next edition of the games they just held, so rather than touting Japan, China gets a boost here.

Beijing’s section of the program includes some reminders that China has pandas. Whales are also repping China, it turns out.

The video montage ends with Chinese President Xi Jinping issuing a message of warm welcome.

Then graphics in the stadium show Olympics past — and everything is assembled into an invitation to come to China.

And that brings us to:

Speeches

Lee Hee-beom, the president and CEO of the Pyeongchang Organizing Committee, speaks; so does IOC President Thomas Bach.

It’s been fascinating to watch the way South Korea and North Korea have interacted in the cause of the Pyeongchang Games, from the visit of Kim Yo Jong to cheer squads and athletes and staff. Bach says, “We are embracing these new horizons.”

To prove he’s down with these horizons, Bach takes a break to pose for one of the most improbable photo ops ever: alongside a North Korean, the Tongan Olympian Pita Taufatofua (shirtless, as is his wont, on this 26-degree night), and an assemblage of colorful mascots.

Bach then declares the Winter Games “closed.” He adds, “Thank you all, and bye-bye to Korea.”

Not all of these North-South interactions have taken place only at a high level: We spoke to a South Korean police officer last night who was very excited because she got the chance to speak with North Korean people visiting Pyeongchang. She described them as very polite and nice to talk to.

EXO Time

The band EXO was listed to perform earlier in the program; not sure if it’s a printing error or a schedule change, but they’re here now and doing their thing.

Building on a traditional gong and an electronic drum, EXO’s Kai sings against a backdrop of drawings by the artist Seonglip. The rest of EXO “appear riding on four-wheelers and singing their song ‘Growl’ with 43 dancers” — as you do.

After that, they do “Power,” with its eponymous refrain.

If you’re curious: “Chrome-plated four-wheelers equipped with searchlights represent the future of K-pop as the genre lights a way for the world.”

“Farewell from a snowflake”

Yes, there is a segment in the ceremony titled “Farewell from a Snowflake.” Internet, start your engines.

As part of a gift from Pyeongchang, 10 Soohorang white tiger mascots follow a large present that’s escorted by a snowmobile (yes, a snowmobile).

We like this kind of stuff — maybe you do, too: “The surface is decorated with embossed carvings of traditional patterns, and each edge is also decorated with the traditional accessory called norigae.”

Then we see the return of the five children from the opening ceremony: When the children open the present, it reveals a snow globe. The organizers capitalized it: “Snow Globe” — an obvious ploy to get everyone on board with this imagery.

Aside: Personally, we find it unsettling to see multiple iterations of Soohorang all over the place. We enjoy being convinced of the Olympic mascot’s mythic and unique status.

The snowflake, it turns out, is lit: 400 performers come in holding LED balls in their hands, followed by giant balloons that refer to the globe. In case you’re starting to understand things, there are also balloons that resemble Winter Olympics athletes.

None of this is quite as restful and calm as we had imagined in reading it. The show is building toward a conclusion, rather than tapering.

Party time

From the program:

“With the EDM thumping under the brightly lit sky, DJ Raiden begins the party on the ground, joined by all the athletes for the finale of the ceremony. Raiden is followed by Martin Garrix, and the performers present the LED balls to the athletes. Raiden re-enters as DJ and continues the final segment of the closing.”

The athletes get out on the floor and dance. And that wraps things up. With the Olympic flame extinguished, the athletes leave the stadium and say “Annyeong” to the Pyeongchang Winter Games.

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