U.S. Center for SafeSport

Responsibilities and operations SafeSport's primary responsibility, as to which it has exclusive jurisdiction in the United States, is to review allegations of sexual misconduct within U.S. Olympic or Paralympic organizations, and to impose sanctions up to lifetime banning of a person from involvement in all Olympic sports. There are no statute of limitations. Reporting to SafeSport, both online and by telephone, is key to its mission. Upon receiving a report, Center staff considers the number of individuals who allege that they have experienced misconduct, whether they were minors, the number of witnesses, and the volume of and difficulty in obtaining evidence. The severity of abuse and misconduct can range from inappropriate conduct (such as butt slapping), to rape and forcible sexual assault. Funding In 2019, its second year of operation, Center had a budget of $10.5 million. CEO Shellie Pfohl resigned that year, saying that the Center lacked the resources to deal with the more than 1,800 reports of sexual misconduct or sexual abuse that had "inundated" the organization. The next year, its funding was increased to $23 million under proposals by U.S. Senators Richard Blumenthal and Jerry Moran. The situation started to improve in latter years, as the federal government stepped in. In October 2020, the Center had about 1,200 open investigations, and about half of its staff were devoted to clearing the backlog; by October 2021, it had resolved 40% of its backlog. Launched in 2017 with just three full-time employees to investigate thousands of complaints, which were filed without any statute of limitations, the Center in 2020 had 91 employees, 57 contractors, 13 outside counsel, and 3 interns. As of 2021, the organization had more than 100 employees, has gotten through 40% of its backlog, and had sanctioned 1,100 people. , SafeSport reported that it was receiving 150 reports per week, or about 8,000 per year, and had an annual budget of $21 million and a staff of 117 people. ==Cases and outcomes==

Sexual misconduct claims in U.S. Olympic & Paralympic sports rose 55% between 2018 and 2019. In that latter year, the Center received 2,770 reports of sexual abuse, By February 2020, the total was almost 5,000 reports; the Center had sanctioned 627 people. In 2020, the Pulitzer Center reported that "it is unclear in particular public informational materials, such as congressional testimony, how many of those individuals were banned for sexual abuse and how many were banned for other infractions of the Code, such as bullying or hazing. However, it is possible to see specific reasons for bans on the national database." Appeals The Center guarantees appeal hearings on temporary suspensions within 72 hours, if requested by the Respondent. According to the December 2020 United States Government Accountability Office report, "from July 1, 2019, through June 30, 2020, the Center created 2,027 cases, but only 1,223 included claimant information. According to Center staff, oftentimes when third parties make a report, claimants are unwilling to participate in cases, and the Center is unable to record claimant data. Additionally, cases often involve multiple allegations against the same individual, which is why the number of total claimants exceeds the number of cases with claimant data." According to the December 2020 U.S. Government Accountability Office report, the Center imposed sanctions in 262 cases during that period; in 71% consisting of some level of suspension or ineligibility. Merits arbitration appeals According to the December 2020 U.S. government report, "from July 1, 2019, through June 30, 2020, 27 cases were referred to arbitration. Of the 27 cases referred to arbitration, six cases were referred to Temporary Measures Hearings, and the remaining 21 were referred to Merits Arbitration. Of the 21 cases referred to Merits Arbitration, 11 cases resulted in the Center’s findings and sanctions being substantially upheld, three cases resulted in the Center’s findings and sanctions being substantially modified, three cases resulted in the Center’s findings and sanctions being overturned, and four cases were in progress as of late August 2020. The Center publishes the names of sanctioned adults who the Center believes pose a potential risk to U.S. Olympic and Paralympic athletes and affiliated organizations in its online Centralized Disciplinary Database (CDD). According to Center staff, as of June 30, 2020, approximately 1,300 individuals were listed in the CDD. The directory includes the names of individuals subject to temporary measures because of the severity of allegations against them, as well as individuals sanctioned with some period of suspension or ineligibility. The Center does not publish the names of every individual sanctioned for violating the SafeSport Code. For example, the Center does not publish the names of minors or individuals whose sanctions do not materially limit their ability to participate in sports. According to the Center, an arbitration hearing may overturn the Center's findings or sanctions when the arbitrator finds insufficient evidence to support violation or sanction. Substantially modified decisions are those where the arbitrator issues a decision and sanction of a different type than the Center issued or reduces the Center's sanction by 50 percent or more. ==Criticism==

SafeSport has been criticized for not being sufficiently independent from the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee (USOPC), from which it receives most of its funding. The Empowering Olympic, Paralympic, and Amateur Athletes Act of 2020 was passed to grant Congress the power to dissolved the USOPC Board of Directors. In 2020, SafeSport temporarily suspended Paralympic swimmer Robert Griswold for alleged misconduct, but he was reinstated on appeal one month later. Another Paralympic swimmer, Parker Egbert, who has the mental capacity of a 5-year-old, alleged that subsequent to Griswold's reinstatement, Griswold violently and repeatedly raped him, including in the room the two athletes shared at the Paralympic Games in 2021. Egbert filed a lawsuit against Griswold, SafeSport, and USOPC. At a 2021 hearing before the US Senate Judiciary Committee, American Olympic gold medal gymnast Aly Raisman said: "I don't like SafeSport ... it's a complete mess, and the priority doesn't seem to be the safety and well-being of athletes." He highlighted that despite serious outstanding allegations of sexual misconduct, coercion, and other violent behaviors, fencer Alen Hadzic was allowed to travel to the Tokyo Olympics as an alternate. In February 2022, in an ABC News' Nightline program, Senator Richard Blumenthal said, “there is simply no way that SafeSport can be given a passing grade” and "these young athletes deserve better protection.” USA Today published emails between Wiener and a SafeSport investigator in which Wiener suggested SafeSport had not followed up with his clients in two years. Regarding the Yates Report commissioned by the United States Soccer Federation (USSF), SafeSport CEO Ju'Riese Cólon told USA Today that she could not comment on the report's numbers because SafeSport was not interviewed for it. However, the report describes interviews with SafeSport representatives. The report includes accusations of abuse against Chicago Red Stars and youth coach Rory Dames, which resulted in Dames being banned for life from the NWSL. USA Today reported that SafeSport's investigation remained open 18 months later and SafeSport required USSF to lift its suspension of Dames and restore his license. SafeSport did not explain its actions, and jurisdiction prohibited USSF from continuing the investigation. They wrote that "the arbitration process can be damaging and retraumatizing,” and “if the victim decides not to go through the whole process again on appeal, the decision is automatically overturned, and the perpetrator is free to enter back into the sport. […] Victims cannot appeal a decision that finds their alleged abuser was not culpable. And SafeSport does not turn over records to the victim so that they can be sure that justice was done." ==Notable cases==

Notable individuals sanctioned following cases adjudicated by SafeSport: • Alen Hadzic (born 1991), fencer. Permanently banned in 2023 for sexual misconduct. • Mauro Hamza (born 1965 or 1966), Egyptian fencing coach. Permanently banned in 2023 for sexual misconduct involving minors. • Lars Jorgensen, swimmer and coach. Permanently banned in 2025 for physical misconduct and sexual harassment and misconduct. • Brendan Kerry (born 1994), figure skater. Permanently banned in 2024 for sexual misconduct involving a minor. • Ivan Lee (born 1981), fencer and coach. Banned in 2025 for criminal charges of sexual misconduct. • Teri McKeever, swim coach. Suspended for three months in 2023 for emotional misconduct. • Ross Miner, figure skater and coach. Suspended for six months in 2021 for sexual harassment. • George H. Morris, equestrian and coach. Permanently banned in 2019 for sexual misconduct involving minors. • Larry Nassar, gymnastics doctor. Permanently banned in 2018 for criminal charges involving minors. • Alberto Salazar, track coach. Permanently banned in 2021 for sexual misconduct. • Keith Sanderson, sport shooter. Three month suspension in 2021 for sexual harassment and misconduct. • Angelo Taylor, track and field athlete. Banned in 2019 for 2006 criminal convictions of sexual misconduct involving minors. • Jordan Windle, diver. Permanently banned in 2024 for sexual misconduct involving minors, emotional misconduct, and inappropriate conduct. Died while under SafeSport investigation • John Coughlin, figure skater. Under investigation and temporarily suspended in 2019. Died by suicide the next day. • Stephen Kovacs, fencer and coach. Under investigation and temporarily suspended in 2021. Died by suicide in jail in 2022. ==See also==