MARY BONO has resigned as the interim head of USA Gymnastics (USAG) after only four days following scathing criticism from Olympic gold medal-winning athletes.

The former Republican congresswoman stepped down last night, saying she felt her affiliation with the embattled organisation would be a “liability” after a social media post by Bono criticising Nike and blacklisted NFL quarterback and African-American rights activist Colin Kaepernick drew widespread scrutiny within the gymnastics community.

She posted a picture on Twitter last month of herself drawing over a Nike logo on a golf shoe. Bono, who was at a golf tournament for families who have lost members of the armed services at the time, called the tweet “an emotional reaction” to Nike’s use of the phrase “believing in something even if it means sacrificing everything.”

“I regret that at the time I didn’t better clarify my feelings,” Bono said in a statement.

Bono defended her right to express her beliefs, though she later deleted the tweet and the USAG board of directors expressed its disappointment while pledging its support.

Not everyone, however, was won over by the surprise decision to hire Bono to help USAG navigate its way through the fallout of the Larry Nassar scandal. More than 200 women have come forward over the last two years claiming to have been sexually abused by Nassar under the guise of treatment during the former doctor’s time at USAG and Michigan State University.

Olympic champion Simone Biles, who is among Nassar survivors, quote-tweeted Bono’s photo concerning Kaepernick on Saturday and wrote: “*mouth drop* don’t worry, it’s not like we needed a smarter usa gymnastics president or any sponsors or anything.”

Biles, a Nike-sponsored athlete who will compete at the 2018 world championships in Qatar next week, said on Monday she felt compelled to speak up.

“Being a Nike athlete, you have to stand up for your brand,” Biles said.

Six-times Olympic medalist Aly Raisman, also a Nassar survivor, has been a strident critic of USAG for what she considers to be its continually tone deaf response to herself and other victims of abuse. Shortly after Bono was brought on, she questioned Bono’s association with a law firm that advised the organisation on how to handle portions of the Nassar scandal.

Raisman tweeted that her objection to Bono was not “personal.”

“The stakes are high in our sport right now, [and] it’s essential new leadership be disconnected from the influences that allowed these terrible things to happen,” Raisman posted.

Bono appeared ready to weather the initial storm, stressing she looked forward to “telling my gymnastics story, my vision for the future of the sport and why I wanted the job.”

It never came close to getting that far, leaving USAG on the search for its fourth president in the last 18 months. Steve Penny resigned under pressure from the United States Olympic Committee in March, 2017. Penny’s replacement Kerry Perry took over on December 1 2017 but stepped away in September after USOC president Sarah Hirshland said the organisation “is struggling to manage its obligations effectively and it is time to consider making adjustments in the leadership.”

USAG is facing dozens of civil lawsuits filed by Nassar victims and its long-term viability is uncertain. The board of directors, however, said it is committed to continuing its search for a permanent president.

“We remain steadfast in our efforts to fundamentally transform the organisation at all levels to ensure athlete safety and well-being is at the heart of everything we do,” the board said in a statement.

“We are also committed to making sure that the focus remains on the athletes.”

Bono said she wanted to be part of the solution. She pointed to her own experiences as a young gymnast, when she says she witnessed “assaulting behaviour” by a coach, as a way to help facilitate the change USAG is looking for.

“I would have brought a fire in the belly to ensure that no-one as taken as I was with gymnastics at that age should have to choose between abuse or ambition or between properly speaking out and promoting personal success,” Bono said.

The mission ended before it began and USAG finds itself leaderless and rudderless once more.