Keeping Track of Criminal Cases & SafeSport Suspensions in Skating

[Vagabond]

That is not a proper question for this forum.

 

[jackson]

That is not a proper question for this forum.

What isn't?

 

[overedge]

I may be wrong, but I think the photo at the top of the post (on the Substack site) is the skater in question. If it is, personally I wouldn't use that photo since the allegations are unproven at this point.

 

[Theatregirl1122]

I read that to mean that the accused identified who his accuser was and then provided the investigator with his accuser's contact information, which the investigator did not have previous to that point.

That was also very much my understanding.

 

[IHH0628]

In our house we are tearfully relieved to see who is not on the US Olympic team. The results bring a balm of closure after nearly 7 years of holding our collective breath. It doesn't take away what happened to our child repeatedly but it's still some form of justice for us personally.

 

[Wyliefan]

In our house we are tearfully relieved to see who is not on the US Olympic team. The results bring a balm of closure after nearly 7 years of holding our collective breath. It doesn't take away what happened to our child repeatedly but it's still some form of justice for us personally.

What's the status of your daughter's case with SafeSport, do you know?

 

[tony]

What's the status of your daughter's case with SafeSport, do you know?

It’s in process AFAIK.

 

[purple skates]

In our house we are tearfully relieved to see who is not on the US Olympic team. The results bring a balm of closure after nearly 7 years of holding our collective breath. It doesn't take away what happened to our child repeatedly but it's still some form of justice for us personally.

I don’t know the backstory, but many hugs.

 

[IHH0628]

I don’t know the backstory, but many hugs.

Thank you this is very sweet.

 

[overedge]

The US Safe Sport disciplinary database was updated with a suspension for Vlad Palkhouski, effective January 15, and conditions including a no-contact directive. https://uscenterforsafesport.org/response-and-resolution/centralized-disciplinary-database/

 

[Alilou]

Article from Broken Ice - interview with Solene Mazingue. Ivan Desyatov permanently banned.

‘The pain is already here’: Solène Mazingue on learning her accused assailant was permanently banned.

A figure skater reflects on being believed, living with trauma, and why speaking out still matters.

brokenice.substack.com

 

[Karen-W]

Well, Brennan didn't hold back in the mixed zone today.

https://twitter.com/x/status/2019729169278775548

 

[Tesla]

Go Christine! I hope she keeps hammering.

 

[Vagabond]

Fournier Beaudry: "We have no thoughts."

She is indeed thoughtless.

 

[overedge]

Apparently some people got major media training in the last few weeks.

"We're just here to skate" = deflection

 

[MacMadame]

Apparently some people got major media training in the last few weeks.

"We're just here to skate" = deflection

I'm actually okay with that response. But "I have no thoughts" is off-putting. Just say you won't be commenting further. As she did later.

 

[Miezekatze]

I'm glad Christine Brennan doesn't let this topic disappear.

 

[PRlady]

I wish it were not an American journalist since I’m sure the French will see it as pro-C/B tactics. But at least someone is asking.

 

[cris]

I wish it were not an American journalist since I’m sure the French will see it as pro-C/B tactics. But at least someone is asking.

Just an idea. So as the French would not complain, perhaps the impartial American journalist could have asked C/B, too, since they were also in the mixed zone: Madi and Evan, you have spoken before about your friendship with Sorensen. You did invite him to your wedding, didn't you? What message do you have for the victims?

 

[Debbie S]

Just an idea. So as the French would not complain, perhaps the impartial American journalist could have asked C/B, too, since they were also in the mixed zone: Madi and Evan, you have spoken before about your friendship with Sorensen. You did invite him to your wedding, didn't you? What message do you have for the victims?

Not really an equivalence, though. Unless I missed something, C/B have not spoken publicly about their friendship with Nik since the allegations/suspension. Yes, he was (presumably) at their wedding with Laurence but I don't recall him in any pics they shared. They haven't defended him, blamed the victim or suggested Laurence was "collateral damage".

 

[Vagabond]

I remember reading something after Fournier-Beaudry and Cizeron teamed up where Chock and Bates said that they regarded those two as their competition, not as their friends.

 

[Private Citizen]

Laurence's first language is not English. I don't think "I have no thoughts" is as callous as it may sound. I took it as "no comment."

Questioning Chock and Bates is fair game. Weren't Chock and Bates pictured with FB&C and others eating together in a social media post quite recently? Regardless, it is absolutely fair to ask Chock and Bates similar questions about their training environment's attitudes toward rape, victimization, and silencing of those who speak out. There's no good answer they can give -- they're either defending a rapist or slagging their closest competitors -- but it's a fair question, and they may be part of the problem. I think a lot of people -- perhaps even most in the competition -- are putting the chance of Olympic medal above doing what's right. FB&C are the biggest part of the problem, but certainly not the only problem in this situation.

While I fully respect the victim's preference for privacy, I hope she considers going very public during the ice dance competition. The only way she will ever get justice is to drop an atomic bomb on ice dance at the most opportune time -- now. Ideally in coordination with Gabriella Papadakis and perhaps others.

 

[floridaice]

I wish it were not an American journalist since I’m sure the French will see it as pro-C/B tactics. But at least someone is asking.

I hope there were other journalists who wanted to ask that question, but held back knowing that Brennen would probably do it

 

[Foolhardy Ham Lint]

Who is this beloved dude? Is it who i think it is?

Based on the coded information already posted, I would be really shocked and disappointed if it also is the person I am thinking off, too.

 

[cris]

Not really an equivalence, though. Unless I missed something, C/B have not spoken publicly about their friendship with Nik since the allegations/suspension. Yes, he was (presumably) at their wedding with Laurence but I don't recall him in any pics they shared. They haven't defended him, blamed the victim or suggested Laurence was "collateral damage".

I am not into social media, but I do remember people saying at the time of the wedding that there were photos with Sorensen in the background (possibly later deleted). As for the rest, you are right, they haven't said anything about the whole situation. Which is at least partially why they are now perceived as the good guys and there is a strong rhetoric of "Let them win, so as the bad ones wouldn't". So, if the said journalist is to use the mixed zone to ask big, important questions, unrelated to the skating performance, let us hear the good ones speak their mind, loud and clear. Especially with Bates being athletes' representative.

 

[Sylvia]

"BREAKING: Raimo Reinsalu (Latvian coach accused of physical and emotional abuse of athletes) has had his Olympic credentials revoked. It seems that Lithuanian OC took action after consulting the ISU." https://x.com/choreosequence/status/2020436922288816485

"The Lithuanian National Olympic Committee, having received a negative conclusion from the International Skating Union, is suspending the accreditation of figure skating coach Raimas Reinsalu [coach of Meda Variakojyte (LTU)]."

Po neigiamos išvados – stabdoma Lietuvos čiuožėjos trenerio akreditacija

www.delfi.lt

Fedir Kulish (LAT) "is officially coached by [Reinsalu's wife, Olga] Kovalkova who (as far as I know) is still accredited (she is with Latvian OC). Meda will be accompanied by the Lithuanian sport director. It’s hard on them that this happened now." https://x.com/choreosequence/status/2020530115256488259

Anna Kellar will have a story for AnythingGOE later today. ETA link to part 4 of her article series on this topic:

Latvian police investigating allegations of abuse by coaches

Latvian police have opened an investigation into coaches Raimo Reinsalu and Olga Kovalkova for allegations of emotional, and in Reinsalu’s case, physical abuse of minors.

anythinggoe.com

 

[Vagabond]

It may well be hard on the skaters, but revoking the coach's Olympic credentials  at the Olympics before either of his skaters has competed should send a loud, clear signal not only to coaches in Latvia but to National Olympic Committees and coaches worldwide.

 

[Sparks]

To be fair, why wouldn't Maddie and Evan invite him to their wedding 2 years ago? That doesn't pass the so what test

 

[Karen-W]

To be fair, why wouldn't Maddie and Evan invite him to their wedding 2 years ago? That doesn't pass the so what test

Well, Nik was accused in January 2024, a good 5 months before their wedding, so some fans believe they should have excluded him even though, by the time of the wedding he still had no finding against him or a suspension. Once accused, one must be automatically excised from polite society - those are the new rules.

 

[jmtfti]

I will say I always thought it was a bit odd that Chock/Bates were the only ones blamed for this when that wasn't the only high-profile skater wedding that Nikolaj attended that summer. That said, in both cases I don't know that either couple had a duty to disinvite Laurence and/or tell her to keep her boyfriend at home, and both couples (and most skater guests) avoided drawing attention to his presence in the social media they shared from the weddings.