Olympic governing body 'knows the truth' behind late figure skater's alleged sexual abuse

[lala]

It would be difficult to provide this kind of detailed evidence in a way that wouldn't identify the victims. You can read the article linked in the first post in this thread for a statement from their lawyer. The same article also has a link to an earlier one that covers the most recent statements from the Coughlin family.

Anything else would be gossip and speculation.

The lawyer who represented victims of Larry Nassar has come forward and stated he is representing 3 victims of John Coughlin. He stated the victims were minors at the time of the incidents.

Seriously @lala? I like you but if you're truly interested you could do a quick search on the internet as well as read the past threads on FSU. It's a complicated matter.

Thank you. I read the article already this is more than nothing but I'm not totally convinced. The organization has finished the investigation but this is not good for anybody. If the accusations are true John was already punished by himself on the hardest way. If they are not true they need to wash his name clean. I would like to see the answers to my questions. According to the lawyer, Manly said he has confessions from the victims. He must public them!

 

[MsZem]

Thank you. I read the article already this is more than nothing but I'm not totally convinced. The organization has finished the investigation but this is not good for anybody. If the accusations are true John was already punished by himself on the hardest way. If they are not true they need to wash his name clean. I would like to see the answers to my questions. According to the lawyer, Manly said he has confessions from the victims. He must public them!

SafeSport ended the investigation following Coughlin's death. They did not finish it in the sense of interviewing everyone, collecting evidence and reaching a conclusion.

Manly would not be doing his job properly if he forced his clients to go public. Deciding whether to come forward with allegations of sexual abuse and assault is very difficult, and victims deserve the protection of anonymity so long as they choose. While a victim who is willing to go public can be extremely powerful and encourage others to follow her lead (as Rachael Denhollander did in the Larry Nassar case) this should never be compelled.

Whatever happened, these women are not responsible for Coughlin's death, or for this putting an end to the investigation. If his family wants to try to clear his name, they are welcome to try - but it cannot be done at the expense of the complainants' rights.

 

[UGG]

Thank you. I read the article already this is more than nothing but I'm not totally convinced. The organization has finished the investigation but this is not good for anybody. If the accusations are true John was already punished by himself on the hardest way. If they are not true they need to wash his name clean. I would like to see the answers to my questions. According to the lawyer, Manly said he has confessions from the victims. He must public them!

Confessions?

 

[MsZem]

Confessions?

Lala is not a native English speaker. She probably means some kind of sworn statement.

 

[Tinami Amori]

Confessions?

In some languages "confessions" can mean "testimony".

 

[Prancer]

Thank you. I read the article already this is more than nothing but I'm not totally convinced. The organization has finished the investigation but this is not good for anybody. If the accusations are true John was already punished by himself on the hardest way. If they are not true they need to wash his name clean. I would like to see the answers to my questions. According to the lawyer, Manly said he has confessions from the victims. He must public them!

The lawyer's responsibility is to his clients, not to John Coughlin's memory. And his statement isn't really about John Coughlin, but about the responsibility of the USFS and punishing them for allegedly turning a blind eye to abuse and misconduct.

Chances are good that you will never know the details of the accusations against the Coughlin. Cases like this are usually settled out of court, and the details are never released.

 

[canbelto]

Thank you. I read the article already this is more than nothing but I'm not totally convinced. The organization has finished the investigation but this is not good for anybody. If the accusations are true John was already punished by himself on the hardest way. If they are not true they need to wash his name clean. I would like to see the answers to my questions. According to the lawyer, Manly said he has confessions from the victims. He must public them!

He must "public" them? Do you not know how the law works? Victims of sexual abuse are given anonymity in court. Underage victims are even more protected. I cannot believe you have so little empathy for three underage victims of sexual abuse.

 

[rfisher]

He must "public" them? Do you not know how the law works? Victims of sexual abuse are given anonymity in court. Underage victims are even more protected. I cannot believe you have so little empathy for three underage victims of sexual abuse.

Keep in mind the "law" isn't the same in all countries.

 

[lala]

I thought the lawyer must public their stories not their names. There are 3 cases. One of them wasn't minor. How old she was? How old was Caughlin? What happened? How old were the minors? 17? or 13? What happened? The victims know each other? Did they tell their stories together or separately? Very important questions.
I know after Nassar's scandal you are very sensitive if you read similar things but this story is so unclear for me.
About the lawyer this lawyer is like the lawyer in Spotlight movie?

 

[RoseRed]

I thought the lawyer must public their stories not their names. There are 3 cases. One of them wasn't minor. How old she was? How old was Caughlin? What happened? How old were the minors? 17? or 13? What happened? The victims know each other? Did they tell their stories together or separately? Very important questions.
I know after Nassar's scandal you are very sensitive if you read similar things but this story is so unclear for me.
About the lawyer this lawyer is like the lawyer in Spotlight movie?

The lawyer said all three of his clients were minors at the time.

 

[Prancer]

I thought the lawyer must public their stories not their names.

No. If there is an actual lawsuit, some details will be included in the papers that are filed with the court and you may see that. If the case actually goes to trial, then the details will likely to be made public. But at this point, no, nothing will be made public.

There are 3 cases. One of them wasn't minor.

As RoseRed says, the lawyer says that all three of his clients were minors. And nothing has been said to indicate that his clients have had anything to do with the SafeSport allegations.

 

[kwanfan1818]

The article did not state that Manly said anything about whether the three minors he represents were among those in the SafeSport complaint. One or two of them *may* be the two minors with complaints filed with SafeSport.

More victims can come forth at any time, as we've seen in the Nasser case. For example, Biles came forth "on the eve of former USA Gymnastic doctor Larry Nasser's sentencing..." At least a third minor is part of whatever legal action they have planned.

ETA: Sorry, I didn't see Prancer's post before mine.

 

[caseyedwards]

I thought the lawyer must public their stories not their names. There are 3 cases. One of them wasn't minor. How old she was? How old was Caughlin? What happened? How old were the minors? 17? or 13? What happened? The victims know each other? Did they tell their stories together or separately? Very important questions.
I know after Nassar's scandal you are very sensitive if you read similar things but this story is so unclear for me.
About the lawyer this lawyer is like the lawyer in Spotlight movie?

So true.

 

[UGG]

It’s reallyy easy to tell what is a rumor and what isn’t. The victims and their ages at the time of the sexual misconduct have never been confirmed. It’s not even confirmed the three (at the time) minors are even related to the safe sport investigations. Unless I am incorrect, all of the talk regarding Romeo and Juliet affair, a third party, a jealous rival are all coming from his family?

Also for the people asking for information on the victims, who they are, etc...I think it would be more appropriate to demand his family reveal the jealous rival who was supposedly the third party who started the allegations... why isn’t anyone asking about that?

 

[okokok777]

Figure skating is a very small world. Sharing certain details (such as the age of the women at the time of the alleged abuse, when it happened, where it happened, the age of JC at the time) could make it very easy to identify them.

I remember a similar situation arising during the early days of the US Gymnastics sex abuse scandal. News outlets would publish very detailed reports of Nassar's abuse by "anonymous" accusers, along with the age of the girls at the time and the setting of the abuse, and people within the gymnastics community (fans, athletes, and coaches alike) would accurately identify them within minutes. These girls were then targeted by Nassar's supporters - including members of the USAG, their coaches, their fellow athletes and in some cases, their own families. What those survivors went through was horrifying.

At this point, we know that JC was given at interim restriction in response to one allegation of sexual misconduct and was then given a interim suspension once additional accusers stepped forward (Source). We know that there are at least three separate women who are accusing JC of sexually abusing them as minors. These three women have all retained legal counsel.

I believe that SafeSport was doing their jobs properly by suspending JC pending further investigation.

 

[AxelAnnie]

Please correct me if I'm wrong but isn't it his family who's trying to continue the coverage (the "Spun out of control" article, the 03/28 Brennan article, the active FB group that is advocating for politicians to reform SafeSport).

IMO Christine Brennen has done enough damage here, in releasing information in the first place. The family can do as they please.

 

[meggonzo]

Also for the people asking for information on the victims, who they are, etc...I think it would be more appropriate to demand his family reveal the jealous rival who was supposedly the third party who started the allegations... why isn’t anyone asking about that?

Neither is appropriate.

 

[kwanfan1818]

Unless I am incorrect, all of the talk regarding Romeo and Juliet affair, a third party, a jealous rival are all coming from his family?

https://www.usatoday.com/story/spor...y-blamed-suicide-false-accusation/3300924002/

USA TODAY Sports has reported

that there were three reports of sexual misconduct against Coughlin, two of them involving minors, according to a person with knowledge of the situation who was not authorized to talk publicly about the matter.

The report doesn't specifically say Romeo and Juliet; although one he had was widely known and public, the source didn't specify which relationship/situation was with a non-minor.

The medical examiner codified the family's version of the rivalry as cause of his suicide in her formal report, according to a quote in this article by Brennan.

It was in the Kansas City Star article that the family said that the relationship with the non-minor was reported by a third party over suspicions of grooming, and they didn't know whether the minors or third-parties had reported.

https://www.kansascity.com/news/loc...-5opDOED0W5cSwxQKCJ8C5rKOiSr6A1k9rSYo9lnDpp8M

 

[overedge]

IMO Christine Brennen has done enough damage here, in releasing information in the first place. The family can do as they please.

WTF is wrong with you. The information was out there already as soon as the SafeSport complaint was listed online. She was not "releasing" information, she was reporting on publicly available documents that were on the Internet for anyone to see.

 

[angi]

WTF is wrong with you. The information was out there already as soon as the SafeSport complaint was listed online. She was not "releasing" information, she was reporting on publicly available documents that were on the Internet for anyone to see.

Even more than that, it wasn't just available information that it would have made no harm if it remained unknown, it was a matter with great significance to the general public that had the potential to be related to public safety. Not only should she have reported it, but it was also her responsibility to report it once the information reached her.

 

[caseyedwards]

But Coughlin was not listed as a child molester by safesport. Was not listed as another nassar according to safesport. That was added by people reporting on Coughlin being on the safesport list.

 

[caseyedwards]

Even more than that, it wasn't just available information that it would have made no harm if it remained unknown, it was a matter with great significance to the general public that had the potential to be related to public safety. Not only should she have reported it, but it was also her responsibility to report it once the information reached her.

No it wasn’t! She didn’t know why Coughlin was on the list. No one does really even now.

 

[overedge]

But Coughlin was not listed as a child molester by safesport. Was not another nassar according to safesport. That was added by people reporting on Coughlin being on the safesport list.

And continuing with the "WTF is wrong with you" theme - SafeSport doesn't list anyone as a "child molester", and SafeSport did not say at any point that this was "not another Nassar". There is enough fake news in this thread already without you adding to it.

 

[UGG]

No it wasn’t! She didn’t know why Coughlin was on the list. No one does really even now.

She never reported anything other than facts and never claimed to know why he was flagged other than what was available from Safe Sport

 

[Vagabond]

The only thing wrong with certain posters is other posters' steadfast refusal to ignore them.

 

[caseyedwards]

She never reported anything other than facts and never claimed to know why he was flagged other than what was available from Safe Sport

Not true. She said after “gymnastics scandal”” USFS is next” in tweets and her article on Coughlin mentioned sexual assault and had a link “ is your child’s coach a sexual predator?”

“More: Was your child’s coach banned for sexual misconduct? “

This was a brennen tweet

“troubling snapshot of a U.S. Olympic NGB post-Nassar: I have sent 5 emails to U.S. Figure Skating's spokeswoman over the past 50 hours, trying to get a response to SafeSport's restriction of the eligibility of 2-time national pairs champion John Coughlin. The result? Silence.”

Nassar and Coughlin together! Why?

https://mobile.twitter.com/cbrennansports/status/1083119964268187648

 

[caseyedwards]

And continuing with the "WTF is wrong with you" theme - SafeSport doesn't list anyone as a "child molester", and SafeSport did not say at any point that this was "not another Nassar". There is enough fake news in this thread already without you adding to it.

Yes there was a typo. Safesport could have said Coughlin is a nassar or not a nassar

Safesport should make clear who is a child molester or accused of being a child molester. Plus all the accusers and their allegations

 

[giselle23]

The lawyer who represented victims of Larry Nassar has come forward and stated he is representing 3 victims of John Coughlin. He stated the victims were minors at the time of the incidents.

The lawyer represents 3 who claim to be victims of Coughlin and are claiming they were minors at the time of the alleged incident.

 

[Yazmeen]

Whatever happened, these women are not responsible for Coughlin's death, or for this putting an end to the investigation. If his family wants to try to clear his name, they are welcome to try - but it cannot be done at the expense of the complainants' rights.

Thank you.

 

[caseyedwards]

The lawyer represents 3 who claim to be victims of Coughlin and are claiming they were minors at the time of the alleged incident.

But was Coughlin also a minor or late teens?