sexual-abuse Page 3 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights
Figure Skater Says Former Partner John Coughlin Sexually Abused Her For Years
Former figure skater Bridget Namiotka wrote a series of Facebook posts last weekend, accusing her ex-skating partner John Coughlin of sexual abuse. Coughlin killed himself in January one day after the U.S. Center for SafeSport placed him on interim suspension after he was reported for sexual miscond...
Vancouver Whitecaps Are Sorry For Mishandling Abuse Allegations Against Ex-Youth Coach, But Not Everyone's Satisfied
Since February, MLS’s Vancouver Whitecaps have been mired in a scandal centered around their handling of allegations of abuse made against former girls youth coach Bob Birarda. Fans have protested, and after the team issued an apology, the Whitecaps community criticized it for a lack of transparen...
Former UFC Champ B.J. Penn Accused Of Years Of Sexual And Physical Abuse
This afternoon, MMA Junkie obtained a copy of an Oct. 2018 restraining order filed against UFC hall-of-famer B.J. Penn by his estranged partner Shealen Uaiwa accusing him of a decade of abusive behavior. Uaiwa obtained a temporary protective order last October that had forbidden Penn from contactin...
SafeSport Says It Found Culture Of "Grooming And Abuse" In Figure Skating
The U.S. Center for SafeSport declared on Monday to USA Today that it had uncovered “a culture in figure skating that allowed grooming and abuse to go unchecked for too long” while it was investigating sexual misconduct allegations against national pairs champion John Coughlin, among other cases....
President Of Gymnastics' Athletes' Commission Says Abuse Survivors Are In It For The Money
Liubou Charkashyna, the president of the International Gymnastics Federation’s athletes’ commission—which was created to represent gymnasts’ interests—used a recent interview with Belarussian media to express skepticism about the frequency of abuse in sports and victims’ motives....
President Of Gymnastics' Athletes' Commission Says Abuse Survivors Are In It For The Money
Liubou Charkashyna, the president of the International Gymnastics Federation’s athletes’ commission—which was created to represent gymnasts’ interests—used a recent interview with Belarussian media to express skepticism about the frequency of abuse in sports and victims’ motives....
Mike Bibby Is Under Investigation For Allegedly Groping A High School Teacher
A high school teacher at Shadow Mountain High School in Phoenix, Ariz., received a restraining order against former NBA player Mike Bibby, after alleging that the former Sacramento Kings star forcefully rubbed his genitals on her and groped her in 2017. The Arizona Republic also reports that Bibby, ...
Mike Bibby Is Under Investigation For Allegedly Groping A High School Teacher
A high school teacher at Shadow Mountain High School in Phoenix, Ariz., received a restraining order against former NBA player Mike Bibby, after alleging that the former Sacramento Kings star forcefully rubbed his genitals on her and groped her in 2017. The Arizona Republic also reports that Bibby, ...
Michigan Attorney General Takes Over Investigation Of Former Olympic Gymnastics Coach John Geddert
The Michigan attorney general’s office, which oversaw the criminal case of disgraced gymnastics doctor Larry Nassar, has taken over the investigation of gymnastics coach John Geddert. Geddert owned Twistars USA Gymnastics Club in Lansing, Mich., and coached the U.S. women’s team in the 2012 Olympics...
USA Gymnastics Hires NBA VP Li Li Leung As New CEO<em></em>
Four months after Nike-hating Mary Bono stepped down as president of USA Gymnastics after about five days at the helm, the organization has named Li Li Leung as its new boss. Leung, who has a sports marketing background, had previously worked at the NBA as a senior vice president. She also has exper...
SafeSport Has Closed Its Investigation Of Pairs Skater John Coughlin Due To His Death
The U.S. Center for SafeSport announced today that it was ending its investigation into multiple reports of sexual misconduct involving former pairs skater John Coughlin. SafeSport had placed Coughlin on an interim suspension in January after three people reported his possible sexual misconduct to t...
Senator Boasts About How Happy He Is That SafeSport's Conflict Of Interest Is Getting Worse
When Congress authorized the U.S. Center for SafeSport, it decided to not directly fund the organization that was supposed to independently investigate sexual abuse across all Olympic sports. Instead, it set up a grant—which, it turns out, couldn’t be used to pay for the investigators that SafeSport...
The <i>New York Times</i> Can't Bring Itself To Hold The USOC Accountable
In my time as a journalist, stories about child abuse have always been the one genre that everyone, even internet commenters, agree are bad. But preventing child abuse—which costs money and takes long-term dedication of resources—who has time for that? ...
Report: Pairs Skater John Coughlin Was Accused Of Sexual Misconduct With Minors
Yesterday it was reported that former pairs skater John Coughlin died by suicide a day after his interim suspension from SafeSport was announced, but there was no public comment about the nature of the allegations against him by either SafeSport or U.S. Figure Skating. ...
The USOC Should Be Abolished, Not Reformed
Earlier this week, more than two years after the Indianapolis Star reported the first allegations against former USA Gymnastics/Michigan State doctor Larry Nassar, Senator Cory Gardner, a Republican who represents Colorado, introduced the “Strengthening U.S. Olympics Act” to closely scrutinize the U...
The Next Step For Elite Gymnasts Is To Form A Union
At the beginning of November, the USOC announced that it was taking the first step towards decertifying USA Gymnastics. This was a direct if belated response to the national governing body having spent two years repeatedly failing in virtually every facet related to the Larry Nassar sex abuse scanda...
Prosecutor Releases Scathing Report On Michigan State's "Culture Of Indifference"<em></em>
On Friday morning, Michigan special prosecutor William Forsyth released a withering report, which you can read here, about Michigan State’s handling of years of sexual assault complaints against Larry Nassar. In the report, Forsyth blames MSU’s “culture of indifference and institutional protection” ...
Indiana's Attorney General Is Investigating USA Gymnastics
Indiana attorney general Curtis Hill filed a pair of limited objections today in USA Gymnastics’ ongoing bankruptcy case in federal court. The reason for the objections, implied by the filings and confirmed by the Indianapolis Star, is that his office is investigating the Indianapolis-based organiza...
Arbitrator Lifts Ban On Taekwondo Star Steven Lopez After Woman Who Accused Him Of Sexual Abuse Declines To Testify
Three-time Olympic taekwondo medalist Steven Lopez, whom the U.S. Center for SafeSport declared permanently ineligible because of “sexual misconduct involving a minor” in September, has been reinstated following an arbitration hearing, reports USA Today....
SafeSport, The Government's Attempt To Combat Athlete Abuse, Can't Use Its Grant Money To Investigate Athlete Abuse
The Associated Press reported yesterday that a federal grant designed to pay for SafeSport, the national organization created to combat abuse of athletes, won’t be usable for one of SafeSport’s biggest needs—hiring more investigators to handle incoming reports of abuse. ...