Ice dancer Mazingue faces inaction from authorities after rape complaint

Solene’s very brave report was certainly the cherry on top of last night.

I couldn’t help being proud of IAM’s success since P&C and had always been a fan of Dubreuil/Lauzon. Will be hard to stomach seeing her in the kiss’n’cry from now on. So incredibly disappointed and disgusted.
 
I'm not going limit my disgust to Marie-France - the other coaches at IAM must have known about this. How is it possible that not a single one of them did anything to help one of their own?

I wonder what kind of discussions are going on amongst the skaters there right now? I hope they realize their coaches cannot be relied upon if something happens to them.
 
Lara said:
Solene’s very brave report was certainly the cherry on top of last night.

I couldn’t help being proud of IAM’s success since P&C and had always been a fan of Dubreuil/Lauzon. Will be hard to stomach seeing her in the kiss’n’cry from now on. So incredibly disappointed and disgusted.
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My sentiments exactly. Watching her cheer and support her skaters that are competing will only make her total lack of support for Solene seem that much worse. Hugs and smiles only for those who can help her career?
Barbara Manatee said:
I'm not going limit my disgust to Marie-France - the other coaches at IAM must have known about this. How is it possible that not a single one of them did anything to help one of their own?

I wonder what kind of discussions are going on amongst the skaters there right now? I hope they realize their coaches cannot be relied upon if something happens to them.
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That's EXACTLY my thought. Safesport and Skate Canada protocols dictates that any suspicion of misconduct requires reporting. It does not require first hand knowledge or witnessing of misconduct. Anyone who knew about her assault would be bound to report it. THEY ALL FAILED HER.

And I have to imagine, between the time of her telling them and her finally reporting it herself, she must have asked MF or any of the people she went to help for about the status of the situation. What could they have possibly said to her about their inaction?
 
Why was it so hard to report this and let SafeSport investigators take over? Even if IAM is subject to Skate Canada and not USFS rules, it was sexual assault - something that could leave other skaters vulnerable. It isn’t like Desyatov was also her skater so she felt some sort of loyalty that required investigation or decision making on her part. It doesn’t even sound like she looked into it any further.
 
Vagabond said:
Here, USFS has suspended Destyakov and may ban him. I hope that the Estonian Skating Union would provide Mazingue with whatever support it can, but I don't know what authority and resources it has. It’s also possible that USFS will refer the matter to prosecutors in Croatia.
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Did these things happen because someone reported to the ISU? That was my question. What happens when skaters report misconduct to the ISU?

We know what happens when they report to federations and whatever version of SafeSport that country may have. What happens is very uneven. Some reports get immediate action. Some languish for years. Some are just ignored.
 
Sylvia said:
Just saw this posted by "JudgeThree" on X: "Reporting sexual misconduct or even being a witness on behalf of a survivor in an allegedly confidential investigation is also career suicide within figure skating according to the lived experiences of many, although the TPTB would deny that of course."
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I imagine that IAM has done enough politicking that it could avoid some of this blowback - compared to, say, a newer coach at a rink without any "star" skaters - but there's more than a bit of truth in this.
 
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Sylvia said:
Just saw this posted by "JudgeThree" on X: "Reporting sexual misconduct or even being a witness on behalf of a survivor in an allegedly confidential investigation is also career suicide within figure skating according to the lived experiences of many, although the TPTB would deny that of course."
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For individuals - a reasonable fear. For one of the most politically connected and powerful schools in skating - not buying it. The USFS certainly wouldn't have pulled Chock/Bates or Car/Pon or any of its other teams for reporting Desyatov. Regardless, IAM had the status to challenge that lived experience and they didn't even try. So much for their "very high expectations for the fundamental values of Sport and Human Interaction."
 
Sylvia said:
Just saw this posted by "JudgeThree" on X: "Reporting sexual misconduct or even being a witness on behalf of a survivor in an allegedly confidential investigation is also career suicide within figure skating according to the lived experiences of many, although the TPTB would deny that of course."
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I dont see anywhere JudgeThree post, but the virtumoiered account is run by a person who is full of “opinions” and no sources, but all gossip and uber fandom crap. Also all conspiracy theories about the favourite couple and how it was always everything against them.
Had she watched skating prior to 2018, she would coauthored Secret baby tumblr or Jessica Dube watchlist.
 
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The Center for SafeSport rarely issues sanctions for Failure to Report. When they do, the sanctions rarely affect participation with the consequence neither findings nor sanctions are ever public.
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We saw this with Fontana and Zimmerman.
 
Can someone please enlighten me as to why a coach would choose not to report something like this to protect their own reputation? The coach isn't involved in what happened. They also aren't responsible in general for what happens to the athlete when they are at a competition - they aren't minors and they aren't being followed 24/7. So how would Marie France's or the school's reputation get spoiled if the word had come out?

Am I too naive? I feel like I'm missing something here because I just can't imagine a student telling me this and me just doing NOTHING.
 
I see, based on the last few years, IAM can do and coach just about anyone without their reputation, success and standing suffering, but if they reported someones elses misconduct that for once has nothing to do with their own school directly, it would ruin their reputation?
 
annie_mg said:
Can someone please enlighten me as to why a coach would choose not to report something like this to protect their own reputation? The coach isn't involved in what happened. They also aren't responsible in general for what happens to the athlete when they are at a competition - they aren't minors and they aren't being followed 24/7. So how would Marie France's or the school's reputation get spoiled if the word had come out?

Am I too naive? I feel like I'm missing something here because I just can't imagine a student telling me this and me just doing NOTHING.
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Sadly, this seems to be the norm. Look at Penn State/Joe Paterno/Jerry Sandusky, Larry Nassar & USA Gymnsatics. People knew for YEARS (decades??) and swept it under the rug until it couldn’t be hidden anymore. It seems people are worried that a scandal, even if they aren’t directly involved, will ruin their reputation so they stay quiet. That needs to change!!!!
 
Forgive me as I'm not reading the article so I can avoid the description of the crime.

Do we know definitively that no coach from IAM made any attempt to report? Has any journalist/blogger asked them this directly?

Is it possible that a Canadian coach, based in Canada, called the relevant skating/sports authority to report what she was told about the actions in Croatia of a non-American, based in and repesenting America, and was told her report wasn't credible enough because she wasn't told close enough in time to the event or they didn't have jurisdiction or whatever?

I'm just trying to get facts and not particularly interested in defending anyone. It just seems that the factual circumstances we do know are super complex when determining jurisdiction.

As others have pointed out, skating needs an authority that won't be limited by immaterial issues like location of crime, citizenship of parties, etc. As long as there is a connection of the incident to participation in a sport, that should be enough.
 
Coco said:
Is it possible that a Canadian coach, based in Canada, called the relevant skating/sports authority to report what she was told about the actions in Croatia of a non-American, based in and repesenting America, and was told her report wasn't credible enough because she wasn't told close enough in time to the event or they didn't have jurisdiction or whatever
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That’s not how reporting this stuff works. No one gets told that it isn’t credible enough off the bat. (see the report that was made on Gracie Gold’s behalf). A report would have been taken at a minimum.
 
If MFD reported to SafeSport (as she said she would do) and told them of an action committed by a member of a U.S. sports governing body under the SafeSport umbrella (all Olys sports) there is no way they would have denied jurisdiction or told her she reported too late. As we know, plenty of complaints have been filed and investigated years after the fact...Gracie's case, Sorensen survivor, etc.

MFD and IAM have not made any statements, except the talking head comment provided by Othman. I assume they have lawyered up, which is probably a smart move on their part. But until anything is proven to the contrary, I think we can accept Solene's account.
 
I don't understand why MFD or Patrice, if he knows US officials better, wouldn't have reached out to someone at USFS. They have coached multiple American skaters and thus I'm sure have plenty of contacts within USFS. The only thing I could maybe see is if team IAM thought USFS would try to protect their athlete and somehow help Ivan sweep it under the rug, but even then it's not their call, not to mention morally wrong not to report. Even if for whatever reason they didn't feel comfortable reaching out to USFS, they should have reached out to someone high up at Skate Canada for advice.
 
Is USFS the correct reporting org? Or is SafeSport the correct place to file a report.

Filing a report to SafeSport gets it on their list, and there should be a case number and audit trail. IAM can't make the SafeSport process any faster, but they could start it, which is the reporting mandate.
 
Sorry if it's a stupid question, but do we know for a fact that Marie France Dubreuil or one of her co-workers didn't report Solène's assailant to Safe Sport? Solène said she had had no support from her team but they could have given her only a vague answer then decided to take action. I'm not trying to excuse MFD/IAM, I'm just wondering if we know all the facts.
 
cholla said:
Sorry if it's a stupid question, but do we know for a fact that Marie France Dubreuil or one of her co-workers didn't report Solène's assailant to Safe Sport? Solène said she had had no support from her team but they could have given her only a vague answer then decided to take action. I'm not trying to excuse MFD/IAM, I'm just wondering if we know all the facts.
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That's what I was getting at.

I do believe Solene's account. It's entirely possible none of the IAM coaches did nothing. But it's also possible they did something which let's them tell themselves they did something but it had no impact whatsoever, which is why Solene believes they did nothing.

Ultimately, does that distinction really matter? Barely, or just a bit when assessing culpability. As authority figures, they should not have rested until an investigation was started and Solene had some assurances she wouldn't have to see this guy at a competition or training center at least while it was being investigated. Their motivations should have been to keep crime out of the sport and protect their skater.
 
cholla said:
Sorry if it's a stupid question, but do we know for a fact that Marie France Dubreuil or one of her co-workers didn't report Solène's assailant to Safe Sport? Solène said she had had no support from her team but they could have given her only a vague answer then decided to take action. I'm not trying to excuse MFD/IAM, I'm just wondering if we know all the facts.
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Translated from the article: “Did Marie-France Dubreuil make this report? When asked about it, she did not answer our questions.”
 
Sylvia said:
Translated from the article: “Did Marie-France Dubreuil make this report? When asked about it, she did not answer our questions.”
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Yes, and then the article said that the only complaint filed with SafeSport was the report filed in Sept by Solene.

It's possible that MFD did contact SafeSport and someone there never recorded the complaint, but I would expect that if MFD did contact someone there, she would have answered in the affirmative when contacted by the publication.
 
I’m not known to be checking who is liking or commenting on social media content, but it caught my eye when I was about to leave a comment on Solenes instagram how there were no actual skaters, her peers from figure skating liking or commenting. I recognise many accounts from long time fans of the sport and some media but I did not see any skater and their silence is deafening.
 
Sadly true. However, FWIW, I have seen a few skaters like and comment on her posts on this subject before (Carolane Soucisse, Emilea Zingas, Natalie Taschlerova, and Sandrine Gauthier were some I noticed). But I wish there were more.
 
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Thanks, @Debbie S and @Sylvia for your answers. I hadn't read closely enough. I'm a subscriber but I'm also a journalist so giving public access to an article behind a paywall is a bit touchy for me, that's why I didn't cut & paste it, sorry. The machine translation is reliable tough. I'm surprised Mediapart left this decisive question unanswered, they are usually extremely tenacious. But well, when someone really doesn't want to answer...
 
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Solène Mazingue today:
https://twitter.com/x/status/1854566849725304867

Also on her Instagram account (4 slides):
www.instagram.com

𝕊𝕠𝕝𝕖̀𝕟𝕖 𝕄𝕒𝕫𝕚𝕟𝕘𝕦𝕖 on Instagram: "Together, we can make a difference. Breaking the silence is difficult, but it’s by sharing our stories that we can create a safer environment for all. If you have experienced similar situations and would like to test

493 likes, 5 comments - solenemazingue_ on November 7, 2024: "Together, we can make a difference. Breaking the silence is difficult, but it’s by sharing our stories that we can create a safer environment for all. If you have experienced similar situations and would like to testify, you can...
www.instagram.com www.instagram.com

She has created this Instagram account: https://www.instagram.com/metooskating
 
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