Does anyone know about the subject of this article on John Coughlin in USA Today?

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If anyone knows anything that they believe would be helpful, I would hope he or she would contact SafeSport directly and not post on an Internet forum.

ETA that Brennan's article was updated online as of 6:08 pm ET:
Later Monday afternoon, Coughlin responded to an email seeking comment.

"While I wish I could speak freely about the unfounded allegations levied against me, the SafeSport rules prevent me from doing so since the case remains pending," he said. "I note only that the SafeSport notice of allegation itself stated that an allegation in no way constitutes a finding by SafeSport or that there is any merit to the allegation."
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TSL reported this briefly in their most recent video (yesterday). They wondered why no one was writing about it.
 
Tavi said:
TSL reported this briefly in their most recent video (yesterday). They wondered why no one was writing about it.
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Apparently a coach and former figure skating competitor alerted The Skating Lesson. They have a good relationship with Christine Brennan who is not afraid to write articles that make US Figure Skating mad, so I'm assuming that given the dearth of other independent sports writers interested in skating, she was the likely one to write about it.

That said, it is true that these are currently only allegations, but there's a reason that if an interim measure is put into place that its appears publicly. Sadly, US Figure Skating doesn't appear to care to inform their community about this. (Note: I'm not saying that they should take sides, but allowing for full transparency is a minimum that they should follow).
 
Yup, Coughlin is right there on the SafeSport skating list in the “Cs,” a couple of names removed from “Callaghan”. Of course, different status. Coughlin’s is Interim - being investigated. Hopefully will be cleared...we can hope, since he’s presumed innocent unless proven guilty.
 
meggonzo said:
Not that I disagree with you, but the interim restriction is on SafeSport's site, and TSL is just reporting it. It was discussed a few weeks ago here, and I'm actually surprised we haven't heard more about it until now.
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Thanks for the heads-up. I seem to have misinterpreted the issue, based on post #4.

Anyway, here's hoping Dave and his big mouth doesn't make things worse.
 
I have absolutely no info on this complaint.

I do know that in my area, a Safe Sport allegation against an Olympic medalist *running for Congress* (as in one of the two major party candidates) was not reported until two or three months after it was made. The complaint was dismissed and the candidate, who lost, is suing the paper that reported it (IMHO the allegations had diddly squat to do with his losing).

So, with all due respect to John Coughlin, I have no idea who would care enough to report this allegation and where, other than venue like TSL, it would be reported.:confused:
ETA: before Christine Brennan.

JMO.
 
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essence_of_soy said:
Thanks for the heads-up. I seem to have misinterpreted the issue, based on post #4.

Anyway, here's hoping Dave and his big mouth doesn't make things worse.
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I can't believe I'm saying this, but based on the few minutes I listened to, DL was very careful with what he said . He did not focus on Coughlin but on the Safesport org. and its lack of transparency. I took a look at the site and was surprised to find certain names there. Somehow I missed all of this.
 
Scrufflet said:
I can't believe I'm saying this, but based on the few minutes I listened to, DL was very careful with what he said . He did not focus on Coughlin but on the Safesport org. and its lack of transparency. I took a look at the site and was surprised to find certain names there. Somehow I missed all of this.
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This makes me wonder if TSL is enough of a name, that they could be sued for defamation?
 
I am shocked by this. Hopefully it's like the Alex Naddour case and nothing is found.
Everyone I know that's met him says he's absolutely lovely, and his commentary is great. He also works a lot of USFSA youth camps, and it seems parents really liked his presence there.

But people are good at hiding things, and sometimes it's the nicest people, so I'm going to wait to see what comes out of this.
 
I hope it's not true and then he sues the s!!! out of the accuser. I'll start the gofundme account.
 
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Sylvia said:
If anyone knows anything that they believe would be helpful, I would hope he or she would contact SafeSport directly and not post on an Internet forum.
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I would hope that no one would post the identity of an alleged victim of sexual abuse unless the victim outed him or herself. If someone did out a victim or alleged victim of sexual abuse who had not outed themselves, I would hope the admins of FSU would, at minimum, remove the post and preferably ban the poster. The press and court systems in the U.S. do not make public the identity of victims of sexual assault or sexual abuse. We can do the same here.

Aceon6 said:
I’ll wait for a full investigation. The SafeSport guidelines are so vague that making someone uncomfortable is reportable. .
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The Center for SafeSport does not issue interim measures lightly. There have been a number of figure skating cases cleared without any publicity and/or are under investigation without any interim measures. The SafeSport guidelines for sexual misconduct, the type of SafeSport cases handled by the Center, are not vague at all. For interim restrictions to be issued, it's significantly more than "making someone uncomfortable."

Clutz said:
I hope it's not true and then he sues the s!!! out of the accuser. I'll start the gofundme account.
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Do you want sexual abuse in sports to continue? Are you on the side of abusive coaches and pedophiles and sexual predators? No? Then don't shame victims when you know nothing about a situation except that an accused has a nice triple toe and provides interesting commentary.

The majority of the internet wants sexually abusive coaches in gymnastics and all of USAG to be burned at the stake, but name a well-known and good-looking successful former athlete as a potential abuser and this is the reaction.

Federal law prohibits anyone from being sued for reporting to SafeSport if the report was made in good faith.
 
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meggonzo said:
Not that I disagree with you, but the interim restriction is on SafeSport's site, and TSL is just reporting it. It was discussed a few weeks ago here, and I'm actually surprised we haven't heard more about it until now.
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I checked TSL’s FB Page this morn. They seem to have removed all of the posts related to SafeSport - about both Coughlin and the Hackensack Dance coach Andrew.
 
I can still see the TSL post about John.

I have to say, knowing John, I would be absolutely shocked if this was true. I would say he was one of the people in skating who has shown true sportsmanship over time. He was always not just an inspiration to those around him, but he was so supportive of younger skaters, always clapping and encouraging them as they acquired new skills.

I know that’s no guarantee of anything, but having seen, in a different arena, someone who was accused of something they hadn’t done, I’ll be waiting for Safe Sport to finish their investigation before jumping to any conclusions.
 
John Coughlin came to my rink once to watch a friend’s daughter skate, and he was just the most unassuming and down to earth person imaginable. I was not a particular fan of his skating, but that encounter made me really like him as a person.

I will also wait before jumping to conclusions.
 
Frau Muller said:
I checked TSL’s FB Page this morn. They seem to have removed all of the posts related to SafeSport - about both Coughlin and the Hackensack Dance coach Andrew.
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TSL’s FB just re-posted the link to the Andrew story, 25 mins ago.

https://dailyvoice.com/new-jersey/h...h-charged-with-sexually-abusing-child/746565/

I haven’t been able to find the original Coughlin-related posts. I’m guessing that TSL reposted them with more appropriate (less liable) titles and to wipe the slate of comments.
 
Frau Muller said:
I haven’t been able to find the original Coughlin-related posts. I’m guessing that TSL reposted them with more appropriate (less liable) titles and to wipe the slate of comments.
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Knowing Facebook these days, someone probably reported TSL's posts as inappropriate and FB more or less summarily deleted them overnight (USA time).
 
feraina said:
John Coughlin came to my rink once to watch a friend’s daughter skate, and he was just the most unassuming and down to earth person imaginable. I was not a particular fan of his skating, but that encounter made me really like him as a person.

I will also wait before jumping to conclusions.
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There is such a dark side to fame, celebrity, or anyone who is a public target.

Meaning, rumours, gossip, spite or speculation can become fact so quickly, even if a person is innocent, it is still very difficult to shake any seeds of doubt.
 
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FWIW I think Safesport's mandate includes bullying and harassment as well as sexual abuse. Also, per @VIETgrlTerifa comment in the thread about the other coach, there were a lot of parents and others who said Larry Nassar couldn't have possibly done anything wrong to anyone because he never did anything to their kids.

Let the process unfold and see what evidence emerges.
 
overedge said:
FWIW I think Safesport's mandate includes bullying and harassment as well as sexual abuse.
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This is also very important to note.

At this stage people don’t even know what the nature of the allegation is.

I’ve seen a situation where a false allegation was made about bullying. This was a parent who thought that their child wasn’t getting enough attention and another child was being favored over theirs. Therefore they claimed their child was being bullied and alleged that something untoward was happening between the coach and the other child. In the end the truth all came out, but it doesn’t mean that it wasn’t an awful time for the coach involved while it was all investigated.

Hopefully Safe Sport will get on with their investigation quickly.
 
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