Final in a 5-part series
COMMENTARY by Cathy Chapaty
It’s time.
It’s long past time for the U.S. Olympic Committee (USOC) and
USA Taekwondo (USAT) to admit that former leaders stood idly by while predator
coaches abused young athletes unabated. It’s time for leaders to admit that
these organizations turned their backs on the nation’s best and most vulnerable
athletes when they needed protection the most—that leaders traded their safety for
medals, money, and patriotic glory.
And it’s time to finally hold abusers and the leaders who
enabled them criminally and financially responsible.
In the past few years, several U.S. Olympic organizations—including
USAT—have been rocked by allegations that they mishandled past sexual abuse and
misconduct claims. A bipartisan Congressional committee has now expanded its
investigation to include all 48 Olympic governing bodies, and a public hearing
is expected sometime in the next month.
“Based on information received to date, the Committee is
concerned that a pervasive and systematic problem exists in Olympic sports,”
the House Energy and Commerce Committee wrote recently in a letter to the USOC.
Congress, shouldn’t go easy on the 48 sports governing
bodies, which have had decades to predator-proof their organizations. In fact,
they’ve done too little, unconscionably allowing minor athletes to be abused by
medal and championship winning coaches and adult athletes.
The “open secret” is out
The presence of abusive coaches and athletes has been an
“open secret” in the U.S. Taekwondo Olympic community for about 30 years,
according to multiple coaches, referees, and past and current athletes.
USAT has only recently taken a public hit amid allegations
that it mishandled past abuse claims and failed to hold hearings in a timely,
fair, and impartial manner.
Let’s be fair: Sexual abuse and misconduct is not just a
problem within USAT, as evident by lawmakers’ call for all 48 organizations to
file reports. Surf the Internet, read local newspapers, or peruse police arrest
logs and you’ll find an ugly underbelly of sexual abuse and misconduct in
America. From church youth pastors and school teachers to Little League
coaches, anywhere there is an imbalance of power, there are those who have used
their roles as mentors and trusted servants to abuse the most vulnerable.
The accusations facing USAT coaches and athletes are no
different.
However, abuse has been particularly pervasive in the
martial arts community due to a culture that promotes a master-student
relationship, where a God-like authority figure expects respect and unwavering
obedience from athletes.
Anywhere there is an imbalance of power and
authority—anytime an instructor lacks boundaries and integrity—abuse can and does
occur. (In 1995, my taekwondo instructor in Austin, Texas, was arrested in the
sexual assault of one of his students.)
I’ve been a
Taekwondo student for more than 20 years, a martial arts teacher and mentor for
17 years, and a longtime member of USAT. I’ve witnessed heartbreak and
frustration again and again as the organization’s past leaders turned into
enablers by not holding thorough investigations of coaches and athletes
suspected of abuse—and by threatening reporting athletes—in a blatant and
unapologetic effort to put money and medals over athletes’ welfare.
If you think
USAT’s problems have been imagined, consider this short timeline of recent events:
· In September 2015, former USAT coach Marc Gitelman
was sentenced to more than four years in prison for multiple felony counts
that included unlawful sexual intercourse and lewd acts upon a child. Plaintiffs
claimed that the USOC and USAT didn’t
heed warning signs or take action following victim complaints.
· Two years ago, USAT opened an investigation into
sexual abuse allegations against Jean Lopez and his brother, three-time Olympic
medalist Steven Lopez. Despite the investigation, the Lopez brothers were
allowed to compete in the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro in 2016.
· Last summer, then-USAT Executive Director Keith
Ferguson reinstated
suspended Paralympic athlete David Metz, allowing him to compete at the
national championships. Ferguson reportedly lacked the authority to lift the
suspension of Metz, a twice convicted felon. According to USAT’s Code of
Ethics, any felony conviction or plea of guilty or no contest “at any time,
past or present” is considered a violation. A couple months later, USAT suspended
Metz again.
· In September 2017, Ferguson resigned
amid accusations that USAT mishandled misconduct cases during his tenure.
·
More recently, multiple sources report that
confidential details of an ethics case were leaked, resulting in the reporting
athlete being harassed by supporters of the accused.
Justice awaits
Finally, though, there have been signs of positive change.
Last year, a California Superior Court awarded three women $60
million in a civil case against Gitelman.
Meanwhile, on Wednesday, the U.S. Center for SafeSport banned
Jean Lopez for sexual misconduct after a year-long investigation.
Mandy Meloon, a former USAT Team member, filed a formal
complaint against Jean Lopez with USAT as early as 2006, alleging that Lopez
inappropriately touched her in 1997 while the two were traveling
internationally for a competition. She was 16 years old. Meloon was
subsequently removed from the team. In addition, former USAT Team member Heidi
Gilbert said Lopez assaulted her twice, once after the Pan American Games in
Ecuador in 2002 when she was 19 years old, and again a year later while the two
were in Germany for the World Championships. Other women have since come
forward with similar allegations.
In its suspension of Lopez, SafeSport investigators
reported, “Given the number of incidents reported over a span of several years
and by multiple reporting parties, most of whom have no reasonable motive to
fabricate an allegation—much less multiple, distinct incidents—of misconduct,
the totality of the circumstances clearly shows a recurrent pattern of behavior
on the part of Jean.
“Both individually and taken in their totality, the reported
incidents either constitute non-consensual sexual misconduct and/or are
contrary to long-standing community standards regarding appropriate
interactions between team members.”
USAT also later banned Lopez from participation in
USAT-sanctioned events. He is expected to appeal.
“I am relieved and excited that (Lopez) will no longer be
able to coach young athletes or manipulate girls in these kinds of settings,”
Gilbert told USA Today, but added
that she’s still “highly disappointed” that the process to penalize Lopez took
so long.
Positive change at USAT
And after a string of leaders with gross integrity issues,
USAT is finally being led by a fair and responsible executive director, Steve
McNally. He has encouraged victims of abuse to come forward and has set
hardline boundaries for coaches and athletes under investigation. This is a
long overdue and much-welcomed tone—sending a clear message to victims of abuse
that it’s safe to come forward.
McNally’s open, proactive presence is a welcome change, and
it’s clear that he’s working hard to correct past mistakes.
Currently in the works:
· A plan to name a female national coach;
· Assigning official chaperones on all future
junior trips, along with a national office staff member; and
· A new learning management system, slated to
launch in the summer, that will deliver education on mandatory reporting.
“I promise you wholeheartedly we are not, and will never,
hide anything from SafeSport or law enforcement while I am in charge, no matter
who is involved,” McNally said last week. “We will support SafeSport, and
enforce their sanctions without question—every single time, no matter who the
recipient may be.”
“We are taking this very seriously, as we should,” McNally
added. “There is still so much more we can and will do.”
Too little, too late?
There is much unfinished business regarding past abuse
claims that were mishandled or not addressed at all, and despite McNally’s
earnest efforts, trust may have been irrevocably broken.
The Lopez case was a huge test for the one-year-old
SafeSport, a nonprofit tasked with combatting, bullying, hazing, harassment,
and sexual abuse in organized sports. And it passed—for now.
Given that USAT’s culture of sexual abuse and misconduct has
been so long-term and pervasive, many USAT members have good reason to still
doubt that it or SafeSport will protect athletes once news stories of abuse
dissipate.
Members also
are right to be skeptical of SafeSport’s ability to impartially investigate
abuse cases. SafeSport’s funding comes directly from USOC coffers—$8.3 million
over the next five years, to be exact. This lack of independent funding creates
an obvious conflict of interest when the USOC’s pipeline system is part of the problem.
In addition,
many members are doubtful that the bipartisan Congressional committee investigating
sexual abuse in organized sports will bring justice and a fair airing of
grievances to the victims of abuse.
I hope
they’re wrong—on all counts.
Time for accountability
Congress needs to throw down the gauntlet on keeping
athletes safe by demanding:
· Answers from former leaders regarding why USAT
and the USOC mishandled so many past sexual abuse claims;
· SafeSport be funded by Congress, like the U.S.
Anti-Doping Agency, so that it can be a truly independent investigative
organization; and
· The USOC and governing sports organizations reorganize
team selection processes, eliminating the possibility of abusive coaches
holding the power to pick teams.
Though Congress can’t solve all of organized sports’
problems, it has the power to force Olympic organizations to create education
and prevention solutions and enact zero-tolerance disciplinary measures to hold
abusers accountable. And if SafeSport is given autonomy, it can be even more
effective at keeping athletes safe.
Olympic
athletes are not commodities that our country can use in exchange for medals. Our
best athletes deserve respect and protection. They have the right to train at
their highest levels—unimpeded by the threat of abuse.
The era of putting
medals and money ahead of athletes’ safety must end, and abusers and the organizations
that protect them must be held accountable.
It’s time.
ATHLETES AT RISK SERIES
This five-part series explores sexual
abuse and misconduct in Olympic Taekwondo. Due to the sensitivity of the
subject matter, some sources have asked to remain anonymous.
Part 1: Convincing
Athletes to Report Sexual Abuse, Misconduct a Hard Art
Part
2: The Evolution of Abuse of Power
Part
3: Martial Arts Leaders: Education Key to Ending Sexual Abuse
Part
4: 7 Tips to Prevent Sexual Abuse, Misconduct
Part 5: COMMENTARY: Time to Hold Abusers and Enablers Accountable
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