Latest news with #SafeSport
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Congress wanted a report on sex abuse in youth sports — then they buried it
The problem of sexual abuse in youth sports is more like a DNA marker than an acknowledged crisis. Consider the fate of the official player in this game with the tools to address it: last year's report by the Commission on the Future of the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee. In the dance of inaction that is our legislative branch these days, the recommendations of the commission have been benched by the very coaches who drafted them for their rosters. (In 2015, a Government Accountability Office audit of federal legislation governing sports abuse turned into a turgid book report that was universally ignored.) The latest blip confirming long-proposed reforms held in a permanent holding pattern was the April sacking of Ju'Riese Colón, CEO of the U.S. Center for SafeSport. Colón was the second boss of the agency, which was set up in 2018 to adjudicate claims of abuse by coaches in Olympic sports national governing bodies. Her predecessor, Shellie Pfohl, quit in the middle of her three-year contract. For Colón, the last straw was news that a SafeSport investigator, Jason Krasley, had been arrested twice at his previous job as a vice officer in Pennsylvania – once for stealing money from a drug bust and once for rape and sex trafficking. During the ritual expressions of disappointment and outrage from congressional oversight figures, there wasn't a peep of reference to the commission's 277-page report, 'Passing the Torch: Modernizing Olympic, Paralympic, & Grassroots Sports in America.' Following years of study, interviews, solicitation of public comments and hearings, the commission, which included famous former Olympic stars female and male, proposed an overhaul of America's youth sports system. Specifically, the commission urged Congress to gut the 1978 Ted Stevens Olympic and Amateur Sports Act to get the Olympic Committee out of the business of running youth sports programs at the grassroots level. Additionally, the commission recommended federal funding of the SafeSport center, which has been plagued by corruption and case backlogs, to get it out from under the malign financial support and influence of the Olympic bodies. A few major newspapers gave the report a couple of polite paragraphs last winter. For its part, the New York Times didn't even tell its readers that such a report had been published. In January 2024, a group of senators, led by Maria Cantwell, a Washington state Democrat who then chaired the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee, upbraided Colón in a lengthy letter bemoaning the shortcomings of SafeSport. And on March 20, 2024, Sen. John Hickenlooper, D-Colo., who then chaired the Subcommittee on Consumer Protection, Product Safety and Data Security, held a hearing entitled 'Promoting a Safe Environment in U.S. Athletics.' Colón testified. So did commission co-chair Dionne Koller, a sports law specialist at the University of Baltimore. However, notice of the hearing didn't even mention the commission report, released two weeks earlier. Reporting on all this congressional kabuki theater is the equivalent of what in swimming is called a trials and finals meet. It's a two-stage process, at least. I started with Cantwell. After all, she had sponsored the commission's enabling legislation and appointed some of its members, including co-chair Koller. (Koller hasn't spoken on the record about the commission's failure to penetrate public consciousness. Sources close to commission members have told me that they hope their report will have an impact across time and guide eventual toothful reforms.) Cantwell's office punted my query to Tricia Enright, a Commerce Committee staffer. She said the 'leads' on the youth sports safety issue were Sens. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., and Jerry Moran, R-Kan. In 2019, as chair and ranking member (respectively) of the consumer protection subcommittee, they introduced the legislation for the commission. 'Our consumer team was consistently in touch with stakeholders on the progress of this bill,' Enright said. Blumenthal and Moran 'have been clear they are leading any legislation in the Senate for further reform – that bill has yet to be introduced.' I then went to Blumenthal, with the note that Cantwell was deferring to him on this issue. Blumenthal replied through communications director, Maria McElwain, who turned around these 150 words of insalata caprese: Keeping athletes safe is a nonnegotiable priority — and meeting that challenge requires a commitment from all stakeholders, including the National Governing Bodies. SafeSport is tasked with an immense, difficult, and delicate responsibility — to adjudicate cases of abuse and help correct decades of imbalance in a system that protected predators instead of athletes. SafeSport hasn't always gotten it right, and I have been critical when I felt the Center was not taking strong enough action in response to athlete concerns. A lack of communication, particularly with survivors, paired with slow response and resolution times have led athletes to lose trust in the Center — and that lack of trust has a material impact on the Center's ability to do its job and keep abusers out of sport. That is why I am working with Congressional colleagues, athletes, survivors, and NGBs on reforms. I look forward to urgently proposing and enacting these changes. To follow up, I asked whether Blumenthal specifically supported the two pertinent recommendations of the congressional commission. If a response ever arrives, I'll let you know. Blumenthal is well-versed in the two-step of grandstanding without follow-through. (To be fair, so are many politicians of all parties.) He got elected to the Senate in 2010 over Linda McMahon, erstwhile CEO of Connecticut-based WWE, the pro wrestling company. Blumenthal had been the state's attorney general for years, and during the Senate race his office launched an investigation of WWE's abuse of independent contractor categories, a tactic that both blocks full benefits for employees and robs government coffers at all levels of payroll taxes. But as soon as he won the election, the WWE audit was dropped. If he's done anything about independent contractor abuse while serving in the Senate, I don't know about I do know is that in 2017, when Donald Trump nominated McMahon as head of the Small Business Administration, Blumenthal made sure he was photographed smiling with her at her confirmation hearings. McMahon's importance in 2010, it seems, had nothing to do with operating a scofflaw corporation; it was simply because she was a Republican opponent. McMahon has refused to go away; under Trump 2.0 she is what passes for secretary of education. On the problem of youth sports sexual abuse, Cantwell, Blumenthal, et al., are just the latest reminder that when it comes to stemming crimes committed in the name of the flag-waving USOPC and its feelgood TV content-producing national sport governing bodies, reticence about taking on the Olympic brand is bipartisan. In 2014, Rep. George Miller of California, House Democrats' self-appointed 'lead' on the issue, sent a letter to the FBI that might read today as if ChatGPT had written it. The bureau virtually laughed it off. After Miller retired, his successor, Rep. Jackie Speier, D-Calif., did exactly nothing before she, too, retired. The stopwatch on lane 3 tells us that Republicans don't appear to care at all about the existence of platforms for sexual predation on young people, fortified by the Olympic movement. In lane 4, Democrats are doing much better: At least they pretend they do.
Forbes
4 days ago
- Sport
- Forbes
Olympic Gymnastics Coach Receives Lifetime Ban For Abuse
Gymnastics: US Olympic Trials: View of Ashton Locklear and Qi Han after uneven bars event during ... More Women's Competition at the SAP Center. San Jose, CA 7/8/2016 CREDIT: Donald Miralle (Photo by Donald Miralle /Sports Illustrated via Getty Images) (Set Number: SI439 TK1 ) The U.S. Center for SafeSport has permanently banned another prominent U.S. gymnastics coach. Qi Han, founder of Everest Gymnastics in Cornelius, N.C., is a former Chinese national team gymnast turned U.S. coach. The U.S. Center for SafeSport is an independent, non-profit organization responsible for investigating and responding to allegations of abuse in Olympic and Paralympic sports. On Thursday, June 5, SafeSport ruled Han 'permanently ineligible" on the centralized disciplinary database. The organization cites Han's emotional misconduct, physical misconduct, and the violation of USA Gymnastics policies and bylaws. Han coached former elite gymnast Ashton Locklear to an Olympic alternate spot in 2016 and a World title in 2014. He also coached Haleigh Bryant, a three-time NCAA National Champion with the LSU Tigers. The permanent suspension comes after Han was temporarily sanctioned for the reported misconduct in 2023. During the sanction period, Han was barred from training or contacting athletes without supplementary adult supervision. The process has been tedious for Han's victims. Allegations first surfaced in 2016, with Locklear, his most prominent athlete, reporting emotional and physical abuse to the U.S.A. Gymnastics and the U.S. Center for SafeSport in 2017. Locklear reported 'yelling" and abrupt expulsion from the gym, and accused Han of 'throwing a cellphone at her.' Han denied Locklear's claims, and in 2018, she told The New York Times that those allegations initially fell on deaf ears. 'They know about his abuse and they did nothing," she reported. The case was passed over to SafeSport in 2017, and Locklear was far from alone. According to the center, allegations against Han came from over 80 witnesses, with details measuring 'thousands of pages of evidence' and 'that span decades.' Han opened his Charlotte-area gym in 2004, nearly two decades before his initial sanction in 2023. Monica Avery, the owner of OSEGA Dream Academy in Asheville, N.C., reported Han's abuse to U.S.A Gymnastics in 2016. Avery alleged that she had seen Han 'kick an athlete' at a gymnastics competition in Texas. Avery also expressed frustration with the speed of Han's case. 'The emotional damage all these girls go through is so heartbreaking, and it could have been prevented if Han would have been stopped years ago,' she said. While the ruling is subject to appeal, the interim CEO of the U.S. Center for SafeSport, April Holmes, delivered the following statement regarding the verdict. 'This outcome sends a clear message that sport culture is changing and accountability is moving the needle.' SAN JOSE, CA - JULY 10: Ashton Locklear competes on the balance beam during Day 2 of the 2016 U.S. ... More Women's Gymnastics Olympic Trials at SAP Center on July 10, 2016 in San Jose, California. (Photo by)
Associated Press
4 days ago
- Sport
- Associated Press
SafeSport issues permanant ban on elite gymnastics coach in latest chapter of long-running case
Updated [hour]:[minute] [AMPM] [timezone], [monthFull] [day], [year] DENVER (AP) — The gymnastics coach for a one-time Olympic alternate received a lifetime ban Thursday from the U.S. Center for SafeSport. Qi Han, whose case dates to at least 2016 and who had been under a temporary sanction for the past two years, was listed as permanently ineligible, subject to appeal, on the center's disciplinary database. It said he was found to have committed emotional misconduct, physical misconduct and violated USA Gymnastics policies and bylaws. Han, a former gymnast on the Chinese national team, and his wife, Yiwen Chen, opened Everest Gymnastics in the suburbs of Charlotte, North Carolina, in 2004. The gym quickly gained prominence within USA Gymnastics. In 2016, Han served as the coach to Olympic alternate Ashton Locklear. Locklear told The New York Times in 2018 that Han physically and emotionally abused her and at one point threw a cell phone at her. Han denied the allegations. Several other athletes who trained at Everest came forward over ensuing years, describing similar experiences with Han. As of Thursday night, Han was still listed as the co-owner and head coach at Everest. Emails sent by The Associated Press to multiple addresses at the gymnastics club were not immediately returned. Details from Han's accusers started coming out the year before the SafeSport Center opened in the wake of extensive abuse committed by former gymnastics doctor Larry Nassar. The Times reported that USA Gymnastics handed Han's case over to the center shortly after it opened in 2017. The center's interim CEO, April Holmes, portrayed the latest development as a sign the center is making sports safer. 'We know it is not easy to come forward, so we thank those who shared their stories and helped bring resolution to this case,' Holmes said. 'This outcome sends a clear message that sport culture is changing and accountability is moving the needle.' In explaining the lengthy amount of time it took to resolve the case, the center said in a statement that it involved more than 80 witnesses, thousands of pages of evidence and transcripts and allegations that span decades. The center said it stood by the fairness and thoroughness of the process but also 'remains committed to increasing efficiencies in our process to help resolve cases more quickly.' ___ AP National Writer Will Graves contributed to this report. ___ AP sports:
Associated Press
4 days ago
- Health
- Associated Press
SafeSport issues permanant ban on high-profile gymnastics coach in latest chapter of 9-year-old case
DENVER (AP) — The gymnastics coach for a one-time Olympic alternate received a lifetime ban Thursday from the U.S. Center for SafeSport. Qi Han, whose case dates to at least 2016 and who had been under a temporary sanction for the past two years, was listed as permanently ineligible, subject to appeal, on the center's disciplinary database. It said he was found to have committed emotional misconduct, physical misconduct and violated USA Gymnastics policies and bylaws. Han, a former gymnast on the Chinese national team, and his wife, Yiwen Chen, opened Everest Gymnastics in the suburbs of Charlotte, North Carolina, in 2004. The gym quickly gained prominence within USA Gymnastics. In 2016, Han served as the coach to Olympic alternate Ashton Locklear. Locklear told The New York Times in 2018 that Han physically and emotionally abused her and at one point threw a cell phone at her. Han denied the allegations. Several other athletes who trained at Everest came forward over ensuing years, describing similar experiences with Han. As of Thursday night, Han was still listed as the co-owner and head coach at Everest. Emails sent by The Associated Press to multiple addresses at the gymnastics club were not immediately returned. Details from Han's accusers started coming out the year before the SafeSport Center opened in the wake of extensive abuse committed by former gymnastics doctor Larry Nassar. The Times reported that USA Gymnastics handed Han's case over to the center shortly after it opened in 2017. In explaining the lengthy amount of time it took to resolve the case, the center said in a statement that it involved more than 80 witnesses, thousands of pages of evidence and transcripts and allegations that span decades. The center said it stood by the fairness and thoroughness of the process but also 'remains committed to increasing efficiencies in our process to help resolve cases more quickly.' The center's interim CEO, April Holmes, portrayed the latest development as a sign the center is making sports safer. 'We know it is not easy to come forward, so we thank those who shared their stories and helped bring resolution to this case,' Holmes said. 'This outcome sends a clear message that sport culture is changing and accountability is moving the needle.' ___ AP National Writer Will Graves contributed to this report. ___ AP sports:
NBC Sports
19-05-2025
- Sport
- NBC Sports
Wrestler Kyle Snyder pleads guilty to disorderly conduct
Wrestler Kyle Snyder pled guilty to disorderly conduct and was fined $250 on Monday after being arrested in a prostitution sting on May 10 in Columbus, Ohio. Snyder, a 2016 Olympic gold medalist, remains listed as temporarily suspended for 'allegations of misconduct' by SafeSport. SafeSport handles allegations of emotional, physical and sexual abuse in Olympic and Paralympic sports. Snyder was first suspended last Wednesday. He has since completed a john school course designed for men arrested for soliciting sex. 'I've learned a lot through this process. It's taught me a lot about myself, and I plan on making much better decisions,' Snyder said while taking part virtually in a court hearing Monday. 'I learned about why I made the decision that I did, which was because I had too much pride. I learned about the impact that these decisions have on not just my family but the community.' In addition to his 2016 Olympic title, Snyder earned bronze at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021 and placed fifth in Paris last year. In April, Snyder qualified for one of two 97kg spots at Final X, the June 14 event that determines the U.S. team for this September's World Championships. USA Wrestling has not announced whether Snyder will keep that spot, should his SafeSport suspension be lifted.
