SafeSport investigating Peter Oppegard

[hoptoad]

Is anyone still stuck on the fact that he as an adult BIT a student? I mean WTH. In practice, I try to understand what leads to given situations in order to develop an understanding and I can't make sense of this.

Yes.

There are sadly too many abuse stories in skating, but this is a real-life "man bits dog" story. I'm a little surprised someone didn't go with the headline "Man Bites Skater."

 

[Judy]

Where is there mention of obtaining emails? I didn’t catch that but I was zonked last night.

 

[bethy135]

@Yuri wow I am just shocked a former USFSA official is going above and beyond to try and make a child responsible for their own abuse at the hands of a coach. Just shocked. (Not even a little tho).

It is horrifying and yet a mindset I've personally witnessed often within the sport. It's eerie.

 

[Prancer]

It would have been nice to know exactly why Oppegard became furious at Jessica, to better understand the context

“He was helping to position me on the ice to show me a landing position on a jump. Both of his hands were holding me, and he leaned over and bit me on the skin on my upper right arm, near the bicep,” Pfund said.

This isn't enough context for you?

I am completely puzzled how anyone could bite someone--a behavior normally only seen in animals as a defense mechanism when they are in danger of physical harm from an attacker.

You really want to go here? Biting in animals can be act of self defense, but it can also be an act of aggression in both animals and human beings. Toddlers often bite each other; rapists and murderers often bite their victims (a primary reason an entire field of forensic science exists); animals often bite to establish dominance.

We won't even go into the sexual undertones of such an act.

I am not accusing Oppegard of anything here or attempting to understand the psychology of what he did. I am merely trying to point out that this line of questioning Pfund's story will not end well.

 

[kwanette]

Well the skater who didn’t report because it might embarrass michelle kwan is really something to talk about

Do you have a link to that article?

 

[MacMadame]

It would have been nice to know exactly why Oppegard became furious at Jessica, to better understand the context (

WTF is wrong with you? There are no circumstances where it's okay for a coach to bite a student. None.

 

[anonymoose_au]

@Yuri wow I am just shocked a former USFSA official is going above and beyond to try and make a child responsible for their own abuse at the hands of a coach. Just shocked. (Not even a little tho).

Yeah what the Hell?!

Like if this was something like "I was a bit shaky in a lift and he grabbed me tightly to steady me and left bruises" that would be one thing (it would be fair enough to ask questions like "Did he need to do that? Was it intentional?") but biting does not fall under this category.

If anyone's reaction to getting angry is to bite someone else then they need professional help and not be allowed to coach.

 

[overedge]

@Yuri I for one am glad that "modern journalism" isn't afraid to call out allegations of abusive behaviour, instead of pretending that powerful people can't do anything wrong, or ignoring the behaviour if the abuser is otherwise a nice guy.

Now as for the rest of your post: it doesn't matter what she did that might have made him angry. It doesn't matter if he apologized afterward. It is never okay to do what is alleged, especially for someone in a position of power over the other person.

Even adults who do that sort of thing for fun only do it if both of them agree. And if they're responsible adults, they make sure they both know when to stop, if one of them isn't enjoying it.

Oppegard has no business being a coach if he can't control his temper, or if he thinks that sort of behaviour is acceptable as a joke.

 

[IceJunkie]

We won't even go into the sexual undertones of such an act.

Honestly I thought of this. It's incredibly inappropriate and could even be considered sexual assault. It's creepy as hell and NOT normal by any means.

Also LOLing at whoever in this post needed "more info" on what Jessica did. I've served in the military where people literally do dangerous stuff that can not only hurt themselves but others all the time in training, but I've never seen or heard of a trainer BITING one of the students. What the hell.

 

[okokok777]

Nothing new in these two articles, just regurgitating the original USA Today story. So this passes as modern journalism?

This is a very common practice. The USA Today article broke the story - other outlets cite the article when discussing the case. This is done frequently with interviews, retirement announcements, etc.

It would have been nice to know exactly why Oppegard became furious at Jessica, to better understand the context (e.g., did she do something to endanger him or her own safety while working on the throw-jump landing that could have caused an inadvertent injury to one of them with a fall?). It would also be nice to know if there were any apologies after the heat of the moment.

I'm sorry, but how would those factors change anything? Jessica was a 15 year old student and Peter was her 50+ year old coach. In what world is it acceptable for an adult to bite a literal child in "the heat of the moment"? There is nothing that she could've done to deserve that type of assault & an apology from him wouldn't absolve him of responsibility from his actions.

Joshua (Jessica's current partner) recently tweeted the following: "The crazy thing about this story is that the physical abuse was really nothing in comparison to the emotional abuse. I really wish the bite thing was the worst, but it’s not, not even close."

Jessica's full story is hers to tell - so I won't divulge anything that hasn't been said publicly. However, what I will say is that the allegations go far beyond the singular biting incident. The ones that I'm directly aware of span over two decades and come from several people.

@Yuri I truly hope that after taking a step back and digesting the recent article, you'll be able to recognize how your responses contribute to the culture of silence surrounding abuse.

 

[misskarne]

It would have been nice to know exactly why Oppegard became furious at Jessica, to better understand the context (e.g., did she do something to endanger him or her own safety while working on the throw-jump landing that could have caused an inadvertent injury to one of them with a fall?). It would also be nice to know if there were any apologies after the heat of the moment.

Not saying that happened here, but most pairs elements are extremely dangerous especially in the learning phase--as are high-level lifts in ice dancing--and I have witnessed partners screaming at each other if one causes a painful fall from carelessness. Coaches teaching on ice can be placed in the same position of potential injury if a student missteps, but clearly must have a higher standard of behavior than a partner (but not excusing actual partner abuse).

And you had the absolute audacity to whinge in this thread when I implied you were an abuse apologist, and then post this?

Looks like my reading was spot-on after all.

 

[Vagabond]

most pairs elements are extremely dangerous especially

if there's any biting involved.

 

[Yuri]

Good to know that I am horrible person for wanting certain questions asked and a fuller story be developed. The alleged biting incident happened 7-8 years ago with multiple witnesses in a training session at an elite ice rink and with evidence on Jessica's arm, so this isn't a he said-she said situation like a sexual assault. Plenty of people could have reported it even if a 15-year old and her mother didn't want to do so. It doesn't make sense to me that no one reported the alleged incident to protect his wife and children, if anything, that's more reason to report it because they could become victims to the same behavior. It seems to me that this goes beyond whether Oppegard has a suitable temperament to coach children, but also whether assault charges should have been filed with the local police at the time. Showing a bite mark seems pretty open and shut to me, so where's the fear of reprisals?

I seem to recall that in the Cipres investigation that many FSU posters and those on other figure skating boards were calling for the head of the owner of the Florida ice rink for its potential liability for hiring an abusive coach. Given the allegations that Oppegard's behavior seem to have been ongoing for years and he was an employee at the East West Ice Palace for over 15 years, where is the similar outrage at its owners for looking the other way for so many years? Has there been an active cover-up for all these years? A good investigative journalist should be asking those sorts of questions as well, something just doesn't compute here. If so many posters claim that the abusive situation has been going on for possibly a couple decades, certainly other coaches and skating officials must have been aware of them as well. This is precisely the head-in-the-sand attitude that led to the sexual abuse cases.

Further, what more evidence does SafeSport need than what already has been reported last summer and is already out in the public domain? Why didn't US Figure Skating have a more damning response to Ms. Brennan's questions? You can get angry with me all that you want, but I am outraged that SafeSport and USFS haven't taken any action yet if the USA Today story is completely accurate and merely the tip of the iceberg of decades of abusive behavior by an elite coach. Frankly one of the reasons that I am no longer a USFSA official is that I no longer wished to volunteer for an organization that allowed abusive situations to not be investigated, as long as the coaches were producing medals and therefore big ratings and major TV contracts for the then-USFSA.

Finally, some of you need to learn how to read. I never blamed the 15-year old victim, and I never said that a coach biting a student (or anyone biting anyone) is ever justifiable, but I am blaming the adults as to why an incident like this with obvious physical evidence and witnesses could go unreported for nearly eight years. But even people with bad tempers get triggered somehow, asking why it happened is not the same thing as defending the resulting action. Ms. Brennan's phone interviews must have elicited more information that the sensationalist, tabloid stuff reported so far. Is there more she should be reporting?

 

[Vagabond]

Finally, some of you need to learn how to read. I never blamed the 15-year old victim, and I never said that a coach biting a student (or anyone biting anyone) is ever justifiable, but I am blaming the adults as to why an incident like this with obvious physical evidence and witnesses could go unreported for nearly eight years. But even people with bad tempers get triggered somehow, asking why it happened is not the same thing as defending the resulting action. Ms. Brennan's phone interviews must have elicited more information that the sensationalist, tabloid stuff reported so far. Is there more she should be reporting?

The problem I have with your first post isn't any of these things. It's that you cast doubt on whether Oppegard actually bit Jessica Pfund:

Biting a student, really? Doesn't even seem real to me, so crazy, that's a first for physical abuse.

I suspect that I am not alone on this.

And calling the event

The alleged biting incident

instead of "the biting incident" in your most recent incident will only confirm how people view you.

This is FSU. If you aren't prepared to be criticized for what you write, you have come to the wrong place.

 

[olympic]

^And trust me, FSU is mild compared to FS fan boards or boards for other sports! Even FS fan boards were too much for me

 

[okokok777]

Plenty of people could have reported it even if a 15-year old and her mother didn't want to do so. It doesn't make sense to me that no one reported the alleged incident to protect his wife and children, if anything, that's more reason to report it because they could become victims to the same behavior.

but I am blaming the adults as to why an incident like this with obvious physical evidence and witnesses could go unreported for nearly eight years.

As I stated in my first couple of posts in this forum, you're assuming that no one reported the biting incident. All the article explicitly stated is that Jessica and her mother decided not to say anything at the time because a) Jessica was afraid that saying something would result in Peter lashing out at her during lessons and b) they were concerned about how the report would impact his family. It also stated that Jessica and her mother weren't the ones to report to SafeSport - meaning that someone else gave the investigators their name.

1. I just want to reiterate my past comment in re: to the difference between a report, an investigation and an adjudication. You're assuming that the most recent report was the first time that the alleged biting of Jessica was reported to an authoritative body. It's important to note that claimants aren't the only people who can make reports - witnesses and related parties can as well.

Let's give an example. You mentioned the Cipres case in your earlier reply. Cipres was reported to DCF and the local authorities in late December of 2017 by the then 13 year old girl's psychologist (who herself was made aware by the girl's tutor). When the authorities arrived to interview the girl, she refused to discuss the abuse due to a variety of reasons (being intimidated into silence by the coaches and rink staff, fear that coming forward would ruin her life, etc.) The "picture" incident, along with many others, had been reported to SafeSport, DCF and the authorities several times between December 2017 & August 2019 . However, the official SafeSport investigation did not start until August 2019 when a family friend wrote a report & the young girl, alongside her family, decided that they were ready to speak to investigators.

In the aforementioned scenario, it would be inaccurate to state that nobody reported the incident(s).

Showing a bite mark seems pretty open and shut to me, so where's the fear of reprisals?

I've worked with underaged athletes whose coaches have pled guilty to sexual assault in which the evidence included videos of the assaults, evidence collected from a SAFE kit, recorded verbal confessions and hotel receipts. They were still bullied out of their rink and ended up retiring because the local skating community was so hostile to them. The fear of reprisal is very real.

Given the allegations that Oppegard's behavior seem to have been ongoing for years and he was an employee at the East West Ice Palace for over 15 years, where is the similar outrage at its owners for looking the other way for so many years? Has there been an active cover-up for all these years? A good investigative journalist should be asking those sorts of questions as well, something just doesn't compute here.

So the answer to this is more complicated than I have to time to type right now but the short answer is:

• You're assuming that those questions haven't been asked or answered.
• Brennan's style of reporting ongoing abuse investigation is usually to drop different pieces of information over time, rather than in one, long-form article. For example, I remember being confused by her first Cipres article because it didn't mention that he was coaching the then 13 year old girl at the time. She then added that to a subsequent article. The reasons for the format are numerous (waiting for authorization to share that info from the source, editorial approval, etc.)

Further, what more evidence does SafeSport need than what already has been reported last summer and is already out in the public domain?

SafeSport investigations can take a very long time. Understaffing, underfunding and the complications naturally involved in investigating these types of cases all contribute to that. I'm working with claimants on a few that are well past the three year mark of active investigation.

 

[Judy]

All abuse is emotional abuse.

I agree. Sexual assault is a criminal charge. Verbal abuse is not. Each extremely damaging though. Difficult enough as an adult but kids .

My experience and I am in my 50’s but I only experienced it for three weeks. It is about power and control and ultimately treating the person with no respect.

I talked to people in my workplace and it was well known. It is normally not a secret.

I had to work through my own anger at what happened and it took at least a month. However, things can still trigger it.

 

[olympic]

I think there have been so many abuse accusations, there needs to be a deep discussion in FS (and gymnastics) regarding what is considered just 'tough' and what is considered 'abuse'?

Is this an American issue? I finished watching Witt's bio that was posted and Jutta Mueller seemed to cut a scary figure. Would that be considered abusive? How about hi-profile Soviet pairs coach, Stanislav Zhuk? Everyone from Irina Rodnina to Katya Gordeyeva had very unflattering things to say about him. I think Katya told TSL of how he ordered her to jump off a high dive to get over her fear of heights. Or have opinions and attitudes changed?

 

[Prancer]

I seem to recall that in the Cipres investigation that many FSU posters and those on other figure skating boards were calling for the head of the owner of the Florida ice rink for its potential liability for hiring an abusive coach.

Ah, but you like context, IIRC. The owner of the rink was notified of the Cipres incident and gave a statement:

“I think there’s a situation with a young girl, a 13-year-old at that time, very disturbing social media situations out there of things that this girl that I’ve heard say about people,” Zimmermann said. “I think she’s dangerous as hell, I think the girl is dangerous. This girl was in our building. … The parents were told that she probably needs some supervision.”

Thus making it overtly clear he was part of the problem.

Finally, some of you need to learn how to read. I never blamed the 15-year old victim, and I never said that a coach biting a student (or anyone biting anyone) is ever justifiable

Let's see:

Christine Brennan's reporting is not to be trusted.
The alleged biting story is hard to believe and doesn't make sense.
What is the context of the biting story? Because animals only bite in self defense and pair elements are dangerous.

I don't think anyone here needs reading lessons.

 

[aliceanne]

I just can’t get over the mental picture of a grown man grabbing someone’s arm and taking a bite. That makes him sound schizophrenic or on hallucinogens.

 

[Karen-W]

I think there have been so many abuse accusations, there needs to be a deep discussion in FS (and gymnastics) regarding what is considered just 'tough' and what is considered 'abuse'?

Is this an American issue? I finished watching Witt's bio that was posted and Jutta Mueller seemed to cut a scary figure. Would that be considered abusive? How about hi-profile Soviet pairs coach, Stanislav Zhuk? Everyone from Irina Rodnina to Katya Gordeyeva had very unflattering things to say about him. I think Katya told TSL of how he ordered her to jump off a high dive to get over her fear of heights. Or have opinions and attitudes changed?

I think that this is very true, across all sports, and it does seem to be more of an American (or maybe NA) issue right now. You can read/hear similar stories of how athletes are treated in American football and other sports if you look for them, though I think there is even less will to bring those issues to light than there is in FS/Gymnastics. I think someone mentioned upthread that there has been a shift in attitudes toward authority figures, in part due to the RC/BSA sexual abuse scandals, but even before those really started coming to light, my own parents generation was putting an end to things like corporal punishment in schools - I can remember my elementary school principal in the late 70s/early 80s having a paddle in his office but by the mid-80s when my brothers finished elementary school that was a thing of the past.

Youth sports is a different animal in the sense that successful coaches, in any sport, have networks that get the kids noticed by the collegiate/pro scouts or the NGBs for niche Olympic sports, and parents look at youth sports as an avenue to get college scholarships/earn money, so they want their kids to have the coaches who can help their kids get that. But, we are now at least a generation into the questioning of whether or not the authority figures in our children's lives are always acting in their best interests (whether it be sexual, physical or emotional abuse), and youth sports is probably the last bastion to be attacked in that regard.

I'm not sure what the answer is because, like it or not, there are a lot of different parenting styles and that is a factor too in why some tough/hard coaches are going to be viewed as "abusive" by some parents/kids and as "just tough" by others.

 

[Frog Foot]

There are two very different yet both equally harmful types of abuse being discussed in this thread. Sexual abuse (not relevant to Oppergard) almost always occurs in secret. In contrast, emotional and physical abuse very often occur in public. With sexual abuse there may be whispers and innuendo, but with emotional abuse it's frequently all there for many to see. So why was it tolerated? Well, there are a number of possible reasons.

First, most people are reluctant to insert themselves into other people's business. They might see something that they think is inappropriate, but they leave it to those directly involved to address it.* (I'll come back to this one.)

Second, and this is by no means an attempt to excuse the conditions that allowed this to foster, but pre Safe Sport, the US Figure Skating grievance policy had very specific constraints that made it very difficult for anyone other than the immediate victim to initiate a complaint, and it had to be done within 60 days of occurrence. This frequently led to complaints being dismissed because they didn't meet these highly-limiting criteria.

And third, Oppergard was a package deal. Disciplining him risked upsetting Karen Kwan, and by extension the Kwan skating dynasty. I have seen this happen in another coaching team situation in which one half is notoriously prone to lacerating rage. Addressing the abuser would risk losing the other half of the team, which can give pause if that duo has a large volume of business and is well-connected within US Figure Skating. It's not right, but I'm mentioning it because it can cloud one's judgment.

As for why those directly involved don't come forward immediately, there are myriad reasons. Skating is a judged sport, so there is always the fear that ruffling feathers will come back to bite you. But further, being the victim of emotional abuse can be very confusing and victims often look to themselves first to question whether they may have done something to cause the outburst. And if it happens a few times, victims often start to believe that they somehow are responsible for the behavior, which erodes self-esteem. The thought process is, "If I'm so horrible that I deserve this treatment, who else would want me?"

It's easy to make assumptions about how you would behave if you're not directly involved, but it's not as simple as it may seem. It's also very difficult to speak out, so I applaud those who are doing so now. It's never too late to seek justice.

What you wrote is thoughtful, and I believe, correct. These are complicated issues to deal with and yet they must be. In the end it doesn't matter why someone abuses, they are wrong and need to be away from a position of control over anyone.

 

[overedge]

@Yuri you are blaming the victim if you keep asking for context as to why the bite happened. These are not the questions that no one else dares ask; no one else is asking them because they're irrelevant. What happened was wrong.

 

[mjb52]

It's probably not an American issue so much as that the US is the country most prominently having a conversation about it. Because the US is so influential though, it may contribute to starting the conversation in other countries.

 

[Lemonade20]

Yeah what the Hell?!

Like if this was something like "I was a bit shaky in a lift and he grabbed me tightly to steady me and left bruises" that would be one thing

If anyone's reaction to getting angry is to bite someone else then they need professional help and not be allowed to coach.

This. This is the problem. I don't care how much someone upsets you, you don't go around biting people. It has become all about finger pointing, blaming the parents, blaming the club, etc. But this? Why? He should have been banned immediately from coaching ever again.

 

[Coco]

I think it's so ominous that they were concerned about the impact of reporting Peter on his immediate family.

 

[overedge]

I've worked with underaged athletes whose coaches have pled guilty to sexual assault in which the evidence included videos of the assaults, evidence collected from a SAFE kit, recorded verbal confessions and hotel receipts. They were still bullied out of their rink and ended up retiring because the local skating community was so hostile to them. The fear of reprisal is very real.

This breaks my heart. Our sport is so fcuked up.

 

[VGThuy]

I think it's so ominous that they were concerned about the impact of reporting Peter on his immediate family.

I’m also concerned about that.

 

[Maximillian]

I could be wrong, but I think the proximity to skating 'royalty' might have played a significant part in that concern.

 

[B.Cooper]

Does anyone else wonder how Ms Brennan becomes privy to Safe Sport investigations?

These investigations are supposed to be confidential until the information is posted on the SafeSport website, not just to protect all parties involved, but also to protect the quality of the investigations. The Pfunds state that Ms Brennan reached out to their family for information, so she knew that there was an ongoing investigation and that Pfunds could contribute to her article.