AAU President Stout Dies At 73

September 11, 2012 /
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Louis Stout, president of the national Amateur Athletic Union and one of America’s most prominent leaders in the sports world, died early this morning at St. Joseph’s Hospital in Lexington, Kentucky. The Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) is one of the largest non-profit volunteer sports organizations in the United States. A multi-sport organization, the AAU is dedicated exclusively to the promotion and development of amateur sports and physical fitness programs.

Stout, 73, widely credited with asserting strong and decisive leadership to adopt new policies that better protect hundreds of thousands of AAU youth athletes from any type of abuse, has been highly regarded for decades as one of the sporting world’s leading administrators, educators and coaches.  During a distinguished career that dates back to the early 1960’s, Stout championed positive ideals and goals for thousands of young people   

“In our greatest hour of need, Louis demonstrated the vision and determination to positively change the AAU culture into a higher level of safety and protection,” said Henry Forrest, AAU acting president, of Stout, who was just 30 days from retirement from the AAU board when he assumed the role of president.  “He will be forever remembered as the architect who established the highest standards for safety and protection at AAU and for ensuring our program’s continued success.”

Stout took the helm of the organization following allegations of sexual abuse of children dating back nearly 30 years ago — leveled against the AAU’s longtime former president.

Stout’s leadership resulted in a range of measures the AAU has implemented to protect its athletes, including detailed background checks required for all adults involved in AAU activities; clear policies and procedures designed to ensure that young athletes are never left alone with individual adults; and the requirement that all AAU volunteers and staff report any incidents of suspected child abuse to law enforcement and to officials of the AAU and related sports clubs. Strong new training programs about preventing sexual abuse for athletes, parents, coaches and volunteers are also part of Stout’s significant legacy.


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