Keeping Track of Criminal Cases & SafeSport Suspensions in Skating

[Sylvia]

Wagner/Rippon's The Runthrough podcast, Episode 7: Athlete Safety in Figure Skating (June 21):

Episode 7: Athlete Safety in Figure Skating

Podcast Episode · The Runthrough · 06/21/2023 · 1h 17m

podcasts.apple.com

Trigger warning: sexual assault, sexual/emotional/physical/verbal abuse, eating disorders

Ashley and Adam discuss the culture around athlete safety in figure skating and ways the sport can improve to be a safer place for everyone.

This conversation is based solely on the personal experiences and opinions of its participants.

ETA that Ashley mentioned that she spoke with USFS' new CEO Tracy Marek before recording this podcast - re-posting here from the Marek thread:

Letter from CEO Tracy Marek is on USFS site today: https://www.usfigureskating.org/news/article/letter-ceo (Jun 13)

Athletes First. Two bold words that are the driving mission of U.S. Figure Skating.​

​

After a defining first century, we are embarking on a transformative change across the organization and the entire sport. This change is being led by athletes who have shared tangible solutions and positive ideas as to how U.S. Figure Skating will better support them and grow the sport. Their voices and real-world experiences also compel us to do more to protect them from the myriad of abuses athletes can face, up to and including sexual abuse.​

​

Since 2000, U.S. Figure Skating has been a leader in the adoption and implementation of SafeSport, pre-dating the creation of the U.S. Center for SafeSport. We believe and support survivors of abuse, painfully knowing they carry this trauma their entire lives. We have invested in a dedicated SkateSafe® staff to advocate for athletes, train our membership and encourage all to report suspected or known abuse.​

​

But, as our athletes tell us, we can do more.​

​

Recognizing this need, the Board of Directors embarked on this mission of transformative change in 2022 and made it the cornerstone of its CEO search. As that new CEO, I am committed to this mission and, since entering this role in January, have spent numerous hours listening to all levels of athletes. Their directive is clear: create change and move U.S. Figure Skating forward.​

​

While much is in the works, I can share several steps we are taking:​

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• Convening a revolutionary Athletes Commission to elevate their voices and participation beyond the governance role of the existing Athletes Advisory Committee.
• Integrating the coaches’ program under the U.S. Figure Skating umbrella to establish consistent standards for certification, education, training and SafeSport reporting of more than 5,000 coaches.
• Creation of an Athlete Advocate staff position that will actively integrate the athlete voice into our decision making and put in place the processes and infrastructure to achieve real transformation.

In my short time as CEO, I have learned so much from speaking with athletes, volunteers, coaches, officials and fans. I’m energized by the tremendous sense of community, passion and desire to grow the sport and its fanbase.​

​

As we take these next steps toward our bold and exciting future, I look forward to connecting with you. Please reach out to me or a member of our staff at [email protected].​

​

But first, as one athlete said to me, we must “get better faster.” That mission is one we can all embrace.​

​

Tracy Marek​

CEO​

 

[skatfan]

Brennan's article on Kelsey's apology and "reassignment" away from the athlete-facing role. Her family must have sway since they now basically have to create a new job for her.

U.S. Figure Skating employee who supported John Coughlin apologizes, is reassigned

Kelsey Parker Gislason, a longtime social media supporter of the late John Coughlin, is removed from \

www.usatoday.com

 

[Debbie S]

Brennan's article on Kelsey's apology and "reassignment" away from the athlete-facing role. Her family must have sway since they now basically have to create a new job for her.

There are probably also legal implications if they fired her. Technically, they have the right to fire her for any reason but something like this is a lawsuit waiting to happen and I'm sure they didn't want to go there. From Marek's comments, I suspect they are hoping she won't like the new job and will leave voluntarily.

(I was looking around at Chesapeake Open last weekend to see if she was there with the dance camp but didn't see anyone close to her picture that TSL tweeted. I guess this explains why she wasn't there.)

 

[Rukia]

From Marek's comments, I suspect they are hoping she won't like the new job and will leave voluntarily.

Wow yeah I just read this and that was truly something. tbh I'm not really sure what to think of any of this. I mean I guess it's a fine response, but something about it all rings very strange to me.

 

[LeafOnTheWind]

I wish we had more journalists like Brennan willing to push issues like this. I don't always agree with her direction but she's all we have for figure skating right now. I think they can't really fire Kelsey and agree they are hoping she quits. She didn't get to stay with the job she wanted so will hopefully have to move elsewhere where she never has to be a mandated reporter.

 

[Wyliefan]

Wow yeah I just read this and that was truly something. tbh I'm not really sure what to think of any of this. I mean I guess it's a fine response, but something about it all rings very strange to me.

Trying to distance themselves without admitting they did something wrong.

 

[skatfan]

Wow yeah I just read this and that was truly something. tbh I'm not really sure what to think of any of this. I mean I guess it's a fine response, but something about it all rings very strange to me.

I think they had to respond to Senator Blumenthal coming after them when he heard about her hire, but yes, legally, they probably can't fire her and she won't resign because that would be the end of her involvement in USFS.

 

[overedge]

"Deeply regret[ting] any harm caused by the comments I made" is not an apology. The reaction to the comments is not the problem - the comments are the problem. An actual apology is something along the lines of "My comments were inappropriate and I recognize now that I should not have made them."

And she (or USFS) needn't have bothered with the "I am committed to continuous growth and education" part. As the story points out, it's been more than four years since Coughlin died. She had all that time to grow and educate herself, and to take down those comments and (truly) apologize for them. But she didn't.

 

[skatfan]

And she (or USFS) needn't have bothered with the "I am committed to continuous growth and education" part. As the story points out, it's been more than four years since Coughlin died. She had all that time to grow and educate herself, and to take down those comments and (truly) apologize for them. But she didn't.

Yep, and it took a Senator breathing down USFS's neck to get them to fix this terrible hire.

 

[VGThuy]

She can't get a job outside of what her mom can get for her?

 

[BittyBug]

I wish we had more journalists like Brennan willing to push issues like this. I don't always agree with her direction but she's all we have for figure skating right now.

Exactly. Absent Brennan's article about this situation, there would likely not have been a change.

 

[thvu]

There are probably also legal implications if they fired her. Technically, they have the right to fire her for any reason but something like this is a lawsuit waiting to happen and I'm sure they didn't want to go there. From Marek's comments, I suspect they are hoping she won't like the new job and will leave voluntarily.

I agree with your assessment, but to me, it also speaks to Marek's fear-based decision making. What she's telling the skating community is that she's still willing to shelter and employ a sexual abuse apologist. In firing Parker Gislason, Marek would be risking a lawsuit, but she could have leveraged further spotlight and reputation damage on Parker. That's how I would have handled it - fire her, and have the unsaid threat that we'll drag you through the mud if you make a fuss.

 

[Karen-W]

I agree with your assessment, but to me, it also speaks to Marek's fear-based decision making. What she's telling the skating community is that she's still willing to shelter and employ a sexual abuse apologist. In firing Parker Gislason, Marek would be risking a lawsuit, but she could have leveraged further spotlight and reputation damage on Parker. That's how I would have handled it - fire her, and have the unsaid threat that we'll drag you through the mud if you make a fuss.

I can't agree with this logic. Sure, there could have been an unspoken threat that Parker's name would have been dragged further through the mud had she sued the USFS for wrongful firing, but it would have also had the potential to make the USFS look even worse than it does now. It isn't as though those comments and tweets made by Parker weren't out there and known at the time of her hiring. It begs far more questions about the search process and background checks being conducted by the USFS than they probably want exposed in a legal setting.

 

[thvu]

I can't agree with this logic. Sure, there could have been an unspoken threat that Parker's name would have been dragged further through the mud had she sued the USFS for wrongful firing, but it would have also had the potential to make the USFS look even worse than it does now. It isn't as though those comments and tweets made by Parker weren't out there and known at the time of her hiring. It begs the far more questions about the search process and background checks being conducted by the USFS than they probably want exposed in a legal setting.

I think these are legitimate concerns, so it would need to be paired with messaging that essentially says "that was the old USFS. I'm leading USFS into a new age of modern standards, practices, and expectations."

Even if they're avoiding a lawsuit by keeping Parker Gislason employed, they're still incurring costs, mainly reputation costs. This bad press and attention from congress diminishes USFS's reputation, which has affects on almost every aspect of USFS's "business".

 

[Karen-W]

I think these are legitimate concerns, so it would need to be paired with messaging that essentially says "that was the old USFS. I'm leading USFS into a new age of modern standards, practices, and expectations."

Even if they're avoiding a lawsuit by keeping Parker Gislason employed, they're still incurring costs, mainly reputation costs. This bad press and attention from congress diminishes USFS's reputation, which has affects on almost every aspect of USFS's "business".

Oh, I fully understand about reputational damage and how it can have long-ranging effects across multiple areas/divisions.

Keep in mind, ultimately, Marek is also JUST and employee. If she couldn't get the Board of Directors to agree with firing Parker Gislason instead of merely shifting her to a non-athlete-facing role and she still went down that path, she could be jeopardizing her own job. On the whole, which is the worse scenario?

 

[Debbie S]

Kelsey's mother's/family's status with USFS also complicates things. They clearly want her to leave voluntarily and as a new CEO, Marek's position is precarious and this is probably not a hill she wants to die on, so to speak. She could have avoided all this if Gislason wasn't hired in the first place, and USFS is a small enough org for her to know who is being hired but she likely didn't think to do a background search herself, trusting the hiring manager as she should....the real problem here is an embedded culture that prioritizes those who are entrenched regardless of what is appropriate or necessary.

 

[LeafOnTheWind]

Marek came from a marketing position with the Cavaliers in basketball and before that was with hockey. I doubt she knows where all the embedded culture traps are too. I doubt that she would have known how problematic Parker Gislason's hire was in the first place. I find it encouraging that she was hired from the outside. To me it looks like they are trying to shift the culture from that move alone.

Marek first woman CEO of US Figure Skating

Longtime sports executive Tracy Marek will take over as the head of U.S. Figure Skating in January, becoming the first woman chief executive in the 101-year history of the national governing body.

www.espn.com

 

[skatfan]

Marek came from a marketing position with the Cavaliers in basketball and before that was with hockey. I doubt she knows where all the embedded culture traps are too. I doubt that she would have known how problematic Parker Gislason's hire was in the first place. I find it encouraging that she was hired from the outside. To me it looks like they are trying to shift the culture from that move alone.

Marek first woman CEO of US Figure Skating

Longtime sports executive Tracy Marek will take over as the head of U.S. Figure Skating in January, becoming the first woman chief executive in the 101-year history of the national governing body.

www.espn.com

Ashley Wagner talks about having a conversation with Marek recently on the podcast The Runthrough. It’s interesting.

 

[LeafOnTheWind]

That article I linked said Marek is the first female CEO. I thought we had one before or am I mistaken? If she really is the first it's sad that a sport so filled with women couldn't make CEO until now.

 

[Debbie S]

That article I linked said Marek is the first female CEO. I thought we had one before or am I mistaken? If she really is the first it's sad that a sport so filled with women couldn't make CEO until now.

USFS has had female presidents, who come from the vol side and are elected by the membership at Gov Council. But not a female CEO (who are paid staff hired by the Board of Directors).

 

[skatingguy]

I can't agree with this logic. Sure, there could have been an unspoken threat that Parker's name would have been dragged further through the mud had she sued the USFS for wrongful firing, but it would have also had the potential to make the USFS look even worse than it does now. It isn't as though those comments and tweets made by Parker weren't out there and known at the time of her hiring. It begs far more questions about the search process and background checks being conducted by the USFS than they probably want exposed in a legal setting.

It suggests that the USFS didn't see the comments as a negative, and given Coughlin's position within the USFS prior to his death they may have seen Parker Gislason's comments as defending one of their own.

 

[Willin]

Yeah. Coughlin was definitely very ingrained in USFS - they were trying to make him part of their brand: he'd done some TV work, podcast work, and was a staple of their USFS official camp circuit. One of the skaters I grew up with (who worked for USFS) even did pairs skills demonstrations with him for USFS synchro camps. She has since left, but I'd imagine there's plenty of others still there that worked and skated with him.

Oh, I fully understand about reputational damage and how it can have long-ranging effects across multiple areas/divisions.

Keep in mind, ultimately, Marek is also JUST and employee. If she couldn't get the Board of Directors to agree with firing Parker Gislason instead of merely shifting her to a non-athlete-facing role and she still went down that path, she could be jeopardizing her own job. On the whole, which is the worse scenario?

I do wonder how much of this plays a role. They hired her to do the business and finance stuff - and I'm sure they hope(d) her connections to the wider sports world will help in that aspect. Because USFS's business structure seems to have her in less of a position of power due to the power of the Board of Directors, I wonder if they expect her to sit down, shut up, and do what they hired her for - not realizing part of why they hired her was making skating big again (which this will hurt).

 

[overedge]

Yeah. Coughlin was definitely very ingrained in USFS - they were trying to make him part of their brand: he'd done some TV work, podcast work, and was a staple of their USFS official camp circuit. One of the skaters I grew up with (who worked for USFS) even did pairs skills demonstrations with him for USFS synchro camps. She has since left, but I'd imagine there's plenty of others still there that worked and skated with him.

He was also one of the regulars at the autograph sessions at Skate America. IIRC he also came to some of the Friends of Figure Skating member-only events.

 

[Debbie S]

He was also one of the regulars at the autograph sessions at Skate America. IIRC he also came to some of the Friends of Figure Skating member-only events.

In addition to grooming their victims, abusers are also usually good at grooming others to think they are great people who would never do anything like what they could be accused of.

I met John a couple times at comps and he was always very nice. Obviously, my brief interactions as a fan at an event is not the same level as daily interaction outside of the spotlight. It's become clear to me after reading everything over the past 4+ years that he was skilled at manipulating others, esp those with influence in the sport, and creating the persona he wanted them to see.

 

[overedge]

In addition to grooming their victims, abusers are also usually good at grooming others to think they are great people who would never do anything like what they could be accused of.

I met John a couple times at comps and he was always very nice. Obviously, my brief interactions as a fan at an event is not the same level as daily interaction outside of the spotlight. It's become clear to me after reading everything over the past 4+ years that he was skilled at manipulating others, esp those with influence in the sport, and creating the persona he wanted them to see.

I completely agree. I remember seeing him at some of those autograph sessions, and he was genuinely charming and looked happy to be there. Unlike some of the other skaters at the same sessions

 

[Ananas Astra]

I completely agree. I remember seeing him at some of those autograph sessions, and he was genuinely charming and looked happy to be there. Unlike some of the other skaters at the same sessions

I met John Coughlin during the 2007 Junior Worlds where I was volunteering and later at 2013 TEB in Paris.

At Jr. Worlds, he was the life of the party. Always cracking jokes and being a fun dude, most of the time with Rockne Brubaker as his sidekick. Everyone at that rink in Oberstdorf LOVED him, they even said so during the exhibition gala ("He has been THE 'Stimmungskanone' (literal translation: atmosphere cannon, but it is used to describe someone who can light up a room by entering it and just being great and lots of fun) over this entire week!"). He was still skating with Bridget Namiotka back then and I always thought she had been kinda strange and she didn't look healthy, to say the least. Now we all know why.

 

[Trillian]

He was still skating with Bridget Namiotka back then and I always thought she had been kinda strange and she didn't look healthy, to say the least. Now we all know why.

I believe Bridget’s accusations against John and think the lack of support she got from the skating world was shameful. But back in that era, I also remember hearing that she had issues due to some kind of chronic illness (celiac disease, maybe?), which was likely also true. The reason I point that out is because I think it’s very easy to take the limited information and interactions we have with these people and draw a lot of conclusions, but that line of thinking is used to discredit victims at least as often as it’s used to support them. A lot of sexual assault cases have hinged on conversations about whether the victim acted the way a victim is “supposed” to act. Abuse victims don’t always even register that they were abused in the moment, so for all we know, there may be pictures of her smiling and having a great time with John during that same event. If she was fine during their partnership, if she didn’t call it abuse until years later, it wouldn’t make her story any less valid.

 

[miffy]

Bridget had pancreatitis, she did speak about it at the time they were skating, I remember reading about it too. She always stayed in my mind because of that, it just seemed incredible she could skate at such a high level.

 

[Ananas Astra]

I believe Bridget’s accusations against John and think the lack of support she got from the skating world was shameful. But back in that era, I also remember hearing that she had issues due to some kind of chronic illness (celiac disease, maybe?), which was likely also true. The reason I point that out is because I think it’s very easy to take the limited information and interactions we have with these people and draw a lot of conclusions, but that line of thinking is used to discredit victims at least as often as it’s used to support them. A lot of sexual assault cases have hinged on conversations about whether the victim acted the way a victim is “supposed” to act. Abuse victims don’t always even register that they were abused in the moment, so for all we know, there may be pictures of her smiling and having a great time with John during that same event. If she was fine during their partnership, if she didn’t call it abuse until years later, it wouldn’t make her story any less valid.

I get your point, but I remember all the other American skaters being extremely sociable and talkative except for her. Maybe she was just an introvert, but it was really noticeable, especially compared to the other members of Team USA.

 

[overedge]

From reports on the social media site formerly known as Twitter:

• Andrew Lavrik, who I believe was formerly banned, is now on a temporary suspension as shown on the SafeSport database. He coaches in Hackensack, NJ.
• Uladzislau "Vlad" Palkhouski is on a temporary suspension with a no-contact directive. The posts on the former Twitter say he was registered with USFS last year as a test partner, but not as a coach.

SafeSport database: https://uscenterforsafesport.org/response-and-resolution/centralized-disciplinary-database/