Latest news with #U.S.Olympic


Fox Sports
a day ago
- Sport
- Fox Sports
SafeSport annual report outlines progress in wide-ranging changes that went into play last year
Associated Press DENVER (AP) — The U.S. Center for SafeSport's annual report updates progress on changes it has made in several areas, including its handling of complaints involving minors and the way it categorizes a wide-ranging set of outcomes called 'administrative closures' that sometimes create more questions than answers. The report, released Monday, comes as the center searches for a new leader in the wake of the firing of CEO Ju'Riese Colon, whose tenure was marred by the hiring and dismissal of an investigator who was later arrested for sex crimes allegedly committed before he worked at SafeSport. Part of the reset for the center also includes an increased push for community engagement. The center held seven outreach meetings in June involving sports leaders, athletes and abuse survivors. 'Robust engagement with stakeholders and a deep commitment to continuous evolution are fundamental to the Center's work to advance athlete safety,' said April Holmes, the center's interim CEO. 'Shifting sport culture is about more than catalyzing change, it's about building a community that makes change inevitable.' The center brought in around $25 million last year, most of which is funded by American sports organizations that fall under the umbrella of the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee. It opened in 2017 to become the clearinghouse for abuse cases involving Olympic sports in the United States. It has been beset with complaints about reports that can take years to conclude and an opaque resolution process that could leave both accusers and accused frustrated. In April 2024, the center responded to those complaints by instituting changes in the way it dealt with cases. 'The process improvements and Code revisions strengthen the Center's ability to more efficiently adjudicate cases fairly, consistently, and with trauma sensitivity,' the report read. SafeSport's handling of reports involving minors, some of whom saw their high school careers plunge into uncertainty while under temporary measures for allegations that might never be proven, now includes an 'alternative track.' Part of that introduces an interactive course that can be offered instead of sanctions for what the center deems to be 'low-level' violations. The center is also offering more information about administrative closures — cases that critics complained ended up in a 'black box' from which no details could be found and, thus, could prevent sports organizations from taking steps of their own to curtail abusers. Now, those cases have been divided into two categories — 'closures' and 'holds' — and those have subsections that explain the reason for the action. There are, for instance, holds for cases where a claimant didn't participate in the case, and closures where respondents are issued a 'letter of admonishment' or where no policy existed at the time of the alleged offense to pursue the case. The report also offered an update on numbers that reflect the fast-growing nature of the 8-year-old organization. It received an average of 155 reports a week in 2024, which marked a 2780% increase over 2017, when it opened. As of the end of last year, it had placed 2,224 people in its Centralized Disciplinary Database. The center had delivered nearly 7.5 million online training courses by the end of last year. Also in 2024, it debuted a mobile app that provided access to training and reporting guidance, as well as the disciplinary database. ___ AP Summer Olympics: in this topic


Winnipeg Free Press
a day ago
- Sport
- Winnipeg Free Press
SafeSport annual report outlines progress in wide-ranging changes that went into play last year
DENVER (AP) — The U.S. Center for SafeSport's annual report updates progress on changes it has made in several areas, including its handling of complaints involving minors and the way it categorizes a wide-ranging set of outcomes called 'administrative closures' that sometimes create more questions than answers. The report, released Monday, comes as the center searches for a new leader in the wake of the firing of CEO Ju'Riese Colon, whose tenure was marred by the hiring and dismissal of an investigator who was later arrested for sex crimes allegedly committed before he worked at SafeSport. Part of the reset for the center also includes an increased push for community engagement. The center held seven outreach meetings in June involving sports leaders, athletes and abuse survivors. 'Robust engagement with stakeholders and a deep commitment to continuous evolution are fundamental to the Center's work to advance athlete safety,' said April Holmes, the center's interim CEO. 'Shifting sport culture is about more than catalyzing change, it's about building a community that makes change inevitable.' The center brought in around $25 million last year, most of which is funded by American sports organizations that fall under the umbrella of the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee. It opened in 2017 to become the clearinghouse for abuse cases involving Olympic sports in the United States. It has been beset with complaints about reports that can take years to conclude and an opaque resolution process that could leave both accusers and accused frustrated. In April 2024, the center responded to those complaints by instituting changes in the way it dealt with cases. 'The process improvements and Code revisions strengthen the Center's ability to more efficiently adjudicate cases fairly, consistently, and with trauma sensitivity,' the report read. SafeSport's handling of reports involving minors, some of whom saw their high school careers plunge into uncertainty while under temporary measures for allegations that might never be proven, now includes an 'alternative track.' Part of that introduces an interactive course that can be offered instead of sanctions for what the center deems to be 'low-level' violations. The center is also offering more information about administrative closures — cases that critics complained ended up in a 'black box' from which no details could be found and, thus, could prevent sports organizations from taking steps of their own to curtail abusers. Now, those cases have been divided into two categories — 'closures' and 'holds' — and those have subsections that explain the reason for the action. There are, for instance, holds for cases where a claimant didn't participate in the case, and closures where respondents are issued a 'letter of admonishment' or where no policy existed at the time of the alleged offense to pursue the case. The report also offered an update on numbers that reflect the fast-growing nature of the 8-year-old organization. It received an average of 155 reports a week in 2024, which marked a 2780% increase over 2017, when it opened. As of the end of last year, it had placed 2,224 people in its Centralized Disciplinary Database. The center had delivered nearly 7.5 million online training courses by the end of last year. Also in 2024, it debuted a mobile app that provided access to training and reporting guidance, as well as the disciplinary database. ___ AP Summer Olympics:


Hindustan Times
a day ago
- Sport
- Hindustan Times
SafeSport annual report outlines progress in wide-ranging changes that went into play last year
DENVER (AP) — The U.S. Center for SafeSport's annual report updates progress on changes it has made in several areas, including its handling of complaints involving minors and the way it categorizes a wide-ranging set of outcomes called 'administrative closures' that sometimes create more questions than answers. HT Image The report, released Monday, comes as the center searches for a new leader in the wake of the firing of CEO Ju'Riese Colon, whose tenure was marred by the hiring and dismissal of an investigator who was later arrested for sex crimes allegedly committed before he worked at SafeSport. Part of the reset for the center also includes an increased push for community engagement. The center held seven outreach meetings in June involving sports leaders, athletes and abuse survivors. 'Robust engagement with stakeholders and a deep commitment to continuous evolution are fundamental to the Center's work to advance athlete safety,' said April Holmes, the center's interim CEO. 'Shifting sport culture is about more than catalyzing change, it's about building a community that makes change inevitable.' The center brought in around $25 million last year, most of which is funded by American sports organizations that fall under the umbrella of the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee. It opened in 2017 to become the clearinghouse for abuse cases involving Olympic sports in the United States. It has been beset with complaints about reports that can take years to conclude and an opaque resolution process that could leave both accusers and accused frustrated. In April 2024, the center responded to those complaints by instituting changes in the way it dealt with cases. 'The process improvements and Code revisions strengthen the Center's ability to more efficiently adjudicate cases fairly, consistently, and with trauma sensitivity,' the report read. SafeSport's handling of reports involving minors, some of whom saw their high school careers plunge into uncertainty while under temporary measures for allegations that might never be proven, now includes an 'alternative track.' Part of that introduces an interactive course that can be offered instead of sanctions for what the center deems to be 'low-level' violations. The center is also offering more information about administrative closures — cases that critics complained ended up in a 'black box' from which no details could be found and, thus, could prevent sports organizations from taking steps of their own to curtail abusers. Now, those cases have been divided into two categories — 'closures' and 'holds' — and those have subsections that explain the reason for the action. There are, for instance, holds for cases where a claimant didn't participate in the case, and closures where respondents are issued a 'letter of admonishment' or where no policy existed at the time of the alleged offense to pursue the case. The report also offered an update on numbers that reflect the fast-growing nature of the 8-year-old organization. It received an average of 155 reports a week in 2024, which marked a 2780% increase over 2017, when it opened. As of the end of last year, it had placed 2,224 people in its Centralized Disciplinary Database. The center had delivered nearly 7.5 million online training courses by the end of last year. Also in 2024, it debuted a mobile app that provided access to training and reporting guidance, as well as the disciplinary database. ___ AP Summer Olympics:
Yahoo
07-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
City Council to discuss appeal of ONE VeLa proposal
(COLORADO SPRINGS) — Colorado Springs City Council will be discussing the appeal of the ONE VeLa proposal in downtown Colorado Springs. At 1 p.m. on Monday, April 7, the City Council will host a Special City Council Meeting, where it will host a public hearing regarding the appeal of the ONE VeLa proposal, which was previously approved in December. The project proposed a 27-story building, which would be located at the corner of Sahwatch and Costilla Streets, near the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Museum. The high-rise would also help address Colorado Springs' housing shortage with the addition of 400 new housing units. If built, the skyscraper would be the tallest in the city. Plans for the skyscraper have caused worry among some community members, who have opposed the building due to the building being too tall and environmental concerns such as skyline impacts. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.


Fox News
05-02-2025
- Politics
- Fox News
Trump executive order on protecting women's sports draws response from NCAA
The NCAA responded to President Donald Trump's executive order to keep biological men out of women's sports Wednesday night. Trump signed the "No Men in Women's Sports" executive order in the East Room of the White House in front of female athletes on National Girls & Women in Sports Day. NCAA President Charlie Baker responded to the executive order in a statement, saying it provided a "clear, national standard." Baker said the NCAA Board of Governors would review it and take steps to align the organization's policy in the coming days. "The NCAA is an organization made up of 1,100 colleges and universities in all 50 states that collectively enroll more than 530,000 student-athletes," the statement said. "We strongly believe that clear, consistent and uniform eligibility standards would best serve today's student-athletes instead of a patchwork of conflicting state laws and court decisions. To that end, President Trump's order provides a clear, national standard. "The NCAA Board of Governors is reviewing the executive order and will take necessary steps to align NCAA policy in the coming days, subject to further guidance from the administration. The Association will continue to help foster welcoming environments on campuses for all student-athletes. We stand ready to assist schools as they look for ways to support any student-athletes affected by changes in the policy." Trump was joined by Independent Women ambassadors Riley Gaines, Payton McNabb, Paula Scanlan, Sia Liilii, Lauren Miller, Kim Russell, Kaitlynn Wheeler, Linnea Saltz and Lily Mullens. "This doesn't have to be long. It's all about common sense," Trump said before signing the order, adding that "women's sports will be only for women. The war on women's sports is over." White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a briefing before Trump signed the executive order that it "upholds the promise of Title IX." Leavitt said Trump expected the NCAA and the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee to comply. "He does expect the Olympic committee and the NCAA to no longer allow men to compete in women's sports," she said. "I think the president, with the signing of his pen, starts a very public pressure campaign on these organizations to do the right thing for women and for girls. "Again, this is an incredibly popular position. There have been many notable female athletes who have had the courage to speak out against some very powerful institutions in this country. They deserve to have a voice and a say. The president is bringing their voice to the highest level of the White House. He expects these organizations to comply with this federal executive order he will be signing today." Felicia Martin, vice president of the NCAA's Eligibility Center, spoke at a congressional briefing in Washington Wednesday to celebrate National Girls & Women in Sports Day and suggested the NCAA Board of Governors is already discussing potential policy changes once Trump's executive order goes into effect. "We know that this is an issue and a national conversation happening around participation," she said. "The Board of Governors is right now having conversations about what potential next steps might be, but this is absolutely one of those issues that is ongoing. "But without a national standard that can be applied across the board, all of us are making decisions based on what we think is the best for student-athletes and opportunities." Martin added that she expects more clarity on a national standard later in the day from Trump. She also said the Board of Governors would make its decisions on any policy changes based on the specific details of the executive order. Follow Fox News Digital's sports coverage on X and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter.