Three Olympic snowboarders are suing former national team coach Peter Foley, as well as the U.S. Ski and Snowboard federation and the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee, alleging numerous instances of sexual abuse.
The horror will live with them the rest of their lives, as it does with the gymnasts, the swimmers, the figure skaters, the soccer players and so many others who endured years of sexual abuse as they pursued their athletic dreams, but perhaps there is some peace in knowing that the world is listening now and does care.
For the longest time in this country, our athletes had nowhere to turn. Now, though, there is a place, but it is so woefully underfunded, understaffed and under-appreciated that it is having a difficult time making much of a dent in what has become a national sports crisis. SafeSport takes in thousands of reports a year via email, on its website or over the phone, many understandably offered anonymously. An investigation of a single coach can stretch more than a year and involve dozens of witnesses and scores of interviews.
One reason is that there are some in the Olympic world who do not take SafeSport seriously and even mock its efforts. I recently heard a term for the first time: “to SafeSport a coach.” It’s not a compliment. Turning the proper noun into a verb, it’s meant to portray the coach who is being investigated as the victim and the victim who had the courage to come forward as the perpetrator. It’s jarring and incredibly troubling, but it’s out there, and it’s real.
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