Keeping Track of Criminal Cases & SafeSport Suspensions in Skating

[overedge]

Statement from USFS, from Brennan's Twitter account:

By courageously reporting the details of her trauma, Tarah Kayne's actions may help other survivors to come forward. USFS encourages anyone who has been abused or suspects abuse to report it to local law enforcement, US Center for SafeSport or USFS.

USFS needs to take responsibility for how it enabled Sappenfield. This isn't it. Tarah only had to be "courageous" because she wasn't listened to at the time the abuse happened, in a rink that was right near USFS headquarters.

 

[Trillian]

Statement from USFS, from Brennan's Twitter account:



USFS needs to take responsibility for how it enabled Sappenfield. This isn't it. Tarah only had to be "courageous" because she wasn't listened to at the time the abuse happened, in a rink that was right near USFS headquarters.

Seriously. This isn’t one of those times when top USFS officials can be like, “Whoa, that’s so crazy, we’ve never heard of that guy, totally forgot we even had a club in that city.” This was all happening right under their noses, and frankly, there were red flags out of that camp long before the hat incident. Did anyone know the full extent of whatever SafeSport learned in their investigation? I don’t know, probably not. But did they and/or should they have known there were serious issues that were damaging the athletes in that camp? Absolutely.

I admire Tarah Kayne and wish nothing but the best for her, but USFS shouldn’t be thanking her. They should be apologizing to her, and taking a close look at what internal failures allowed someone like Dalilah to thrive within their organization for so long. It seemed like Tarah came forward because she wanted to make the sport safer and healthier for other girls - so if USFS wants to show their appreciation, they could start by doing the work to make that change happen.

 

[TanithandBenFan]

I've seen reference made to the SafeSport report on Dalilah by TSL and others on X, saying it's over 500 pages. Is the report publicly available?

 

[Willin]

Statement from USFS, from Brennan's Twitter account:



USFS needs to take responsibility for how it enabled Sappenfield. This isn't it. Tarah only had to be "courageous" because she wasn't listened to at the time the abuse happened, in a rink that was right near USFS headquarters.

You have to give credit to Mitch Moyer. Seems he was the only one that cared even a little. In Gracie's case he helped her report it to SafeSport and in Dalilah's case he helped an underage student move out of her house - and apparently reported that violation.

But he also let other things go unreported. You wonder how much of him not helping more was him not knowing (which I doubt given he was likely at World Arena quite a bit - though I'd believe he didn't know everything), how much was political pressure from both inside and outside USFS, and how much was just him preferring to stay out of things...

I've seen reference made to the SafeSport report on Dalilah by TSL and others on X, saying it's over 500 pages. Is the report publicly available?

I don't think the reports are generally made available to protect the victims.

 

[overedge]

I've seen reference made to the SafeSport report on Dalilah by TSL and others on X, saying it's over 500 pages. Is the report publicly available?

The report on Richard Callaghan was leaked online by someone who had access to it, but otherwise it wasn't publicly posted. I would guess this report isn't formally available.

 

[Vagabond]

But he also let other things go unreported. You wonder how much of him not helping more was him not knowing (which I doubt given he was likely at World Arena quite a bit - though I'd believe he didn't know everything)

Going to the World Arena wouldn't necessarily shed any light on what was going on at the rink in Monument, which is about twenty-five miles away.

I don't think the reports are generally made available to protect the victims.

As an entity established by federal legislation, SafeSport is bound by the protections of the Constitution. The Due Process clause likely guarantees the complainants the right to obtain a copy of the report, though that doesn't mean that this is what happens in practice.

 

[Willin]

Going to the World Arena wouldn't necessarily shed any light on what was going on at the rink in Monument, which is about twenty-five miles away.

As an entity established by federal legislation, SafeSport is bound by the protections of the Constitution. The Due Process clause likely guarantees the complainants the right to obtain a copy of the report, though that doesn't mean that this is what happens in practice.

Except a lot of the abuses allegedly took place at World Arena. She only moved to Monument recently - and while we can assume abuses continued there, it sounds like there's plenty of complaints and evidence from when she was at World Arena.

And while SafeSport has to give then complainants the right to obtain a copy, that does not mean it's available to the public (skating fans).

 

[Sylvia]

Dalilah Sappenfield moved from the World Arena to the Monument rink in the summer of 2020 (along with Kayne/O'Shea who left Sappenfield by September of that year).

Re-posting what Claire posted in this thread on November 5, 2021:

Christine Brennan reports that in September 2020, Mitch Moyer of USFS reported Dalilah Sappenfield to SafeSport because Sappenfield was hosting a 16-year-old Russian female pairs skater in her home, a situation expressly forbidden according to the USFS SafeSport handbook for coaches. Moyer "directed the operation" to remove the 16-year-old from Sappenfield's home:

US figure skating coach, now temporarily barred, had teenage skater removed from her home in 2020

U.S. Olympic pairs coach Dalilah Sappenfield had a then-16-year-old Russian female skater removed from her home by a U.S. Figure Skating official.

www.usatoday.com

On September 24, 2020, Kayne/O'Shea announced they were leaving Sappenfield to seek another coaching situation:

https://www.instagram.com/p/CFidBg5pzPU/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

 

[sk9tingfan]

Dalilah Sappenfield has been banned for life for violations that include physical and emotional misconduct. No gift link has been posted yet

U.S. skating coach banned for life after misconduct allegations

SafeSport banned pairs figure skating coach Dalilah Sappenfield for life for violations that include physical and emotional misconduct.

www.nytimes.com

 

[Sylvia]

^^^ Do you or someone else have a gift link to NYT's The Athletic's article? I'm just wondering if there's any original reporting in it.

ETA - doesn't look like it. I did see this sentence: "Attempts to find contact info for Sappenfield were unsuccessful."

 

[sk9tingfan]

^^^ Do you or someone else have a gift link to NYT's The Athletic's article? I'm just wondering if there's any original reporting in it.

ETA - doesn't look like it. I did see this sentence: "Attempts to find contact info for Sappenfield were unsuccessful."

Usually, there is a share link but not yet.

 

[sk9tingfan]

Usually, there is a share link but not yet.

Here's a partial text:

"The U.S. Center for SafeSport banned U.S. Olympic pairs figure skating coach Dalilah Sappenfield for life for violations that include physical and emotional misconduct.

SafeSport issued the ban Wednesday on its centralized disciplinary database. Sappenfield’s additional violations, per the database, included retaliation, proactive policy violation, abuse of process and failure to report a potential SafeSport violation.

In 2021, SafeSport temporarily banned Sappenfield from having contact with a dozen figure skaters and coaching other athletes without another adult’s supervision while the organization investigated misconduct allegations against her. USA Today published a report in 2021 that detailed the abuse allegations against Sappenfield from 2016 U.S. pairs champion Tarah Kayne.

Attempts to find contact information for Sappenfield were unsuccessful.

After two-plus years of SafeSport’s investigation, Sappenfield coached a pairs team at the 2024 U.S. figure skating championships in January. She was allowed to continue coaching with the SafeSport measures in place, USA Today reported.

Sappenfield began her coaching career in 1993 and won the 2008 Professional Skaters Association/U.S. Figure Skating Coach of the Year award. She coached three-time U.S. champions Alexa and Chris Knierim, who competed at the 2018 PyeongChang Olympics."

 

[AngieNikodinovLove (ANL)]

Just a sidenote, I was never sure why so many people wanted to go to her like including the two pairs that were with her until yesterday. I mean, I’ve never even heard of her as a figure skater, and I’ve been watching for decades.

Now…. Natalia….Natalia I’m going to, even if I have to work all day long to afford the fees

 

[ice coverage]

Sappenfield began her coaching career in 1993 and won the 2008 Professional Skaters Association/U.S. Figure Skating Coach of the Year award.

Thank you for the NYT excerpt.

Side note that the 2008 Coach of the Year award was vacated -- I don't remember exactly when, but I think in 2021?

skatepsa.com - skatepsa Resources and Information.

skatepsa.com is your first and best source for all of the information you’re looking for. From general topics to more of what you would expect to find here, skatepsa.com has it all. We hope you find what you are searching for!

skatepsa.com

 

[Sylvia]

I mean, I’ve never even heard of her as a figure skater, and I’ve been watching for decades.

That's not necessarily relevant for coaching success, though?

Found this in the FSU Archives (David Lowery was banned by USFS many years ago):

About Dalilah Sappenfield:
Dalilah skated and trained in Florida. Her first coach was Carole Widom who taught her at the Sunrise Ice Arena in Florida. Later, she was coached by David and Rita Lowery.

Dalilah came from a family with an acrobatic background. Her family is the Flying Farfans, a flying trapeze circus family. By using a trampoline, her father taught her how to jump on the ice the way that the circus performers jump in the air.

Dalilah did both pair skating and single skating. She began coaching skating in South Florida at the Miami Ice Arena in 1993 and was the rink's Skating Director. She moved to Colorado in 1999.

 

[BrightSkates]

Going to the World Arena wouldn't necessarily shed any light on what was going on at the rink in Monument, which is about twenty-five miles away.

I've heard the officials do frequently go to Monument to monitor skaters if they want it to be more secretive and less crowded than at the World Arena.
Examples -
Amber Glenn
Ilia
Bradie

 

[overedge]

delete, wrong thread

 

[Duchess]

Coaches at the WA have been complaining about Dalilah for the last decade. Several of us regular attendees of SA, Nationals, Worlds and Olympics were totally in the loop regarding the many concerns of Dalilah.

 

[Mezzy09]

Any updates on the Brendan Kerry case, did he dispute the allegations?

 

[AngieNikodinovLove (ANL)]

That's not necessarily relevant for coaching success, though?

I know, but if I’m going to invest in something, I’m gonna go to someone I’ve watched, admired and have seen their success. Even if it means I’m working All day and night like calla and Rocky did to afford it

 

[Sylvia]

Link to the separate GSD thread created for "Allegations of abuse in Australian figure skating and related issues":
https://www.fsuniverse.net/forum/th...ian-figure-skating-and-related-issues.111808/

Morgan Matthews' latest blog post (May 31):

Coaches Behaving Badly

The news this week of top pairs coach, Dalilah Sappenfield, being banned from the sport for “physical and emotional misconduct, retaliation, abuse of process and failure to report a potential SafeSport violation” was unexpected, not because it’s rare for coaches to exhibit this kind of behavior...

morganmatthews.substack.com

 

[Minou]

The NYT subscription service and sports section have changed. A basic subscription can access, but cannot gift an "Athletics" article. Pasted below:
"The U.S. Center for SafeSport banned U.S. Olympic pairs figure skating coach Dalilah Sappenfield for life for violations that include physical and emotional misconduct.
SafeSport issued the ban Wednesday on its centralized disciplinary database. Sappenfield’s additional violations, per the database, included retaliation, proactive policy violation, abuse of process and failure to report a potential SafeSport violation.
Advertisement

In 2021, SafeSport temporarily banned Sappenfield from having contact with a dozen figure skaters and coaching other athletes without another adult’s supervision while the organization investigated misconduct allegations against her. USA Today published a report in 2021 that detailed the abuse allegations against Sappenfield from 2016 U.S. pairs champion Tarah Kayne.
Kayne — one of the skaters Sappenfield was temporarily banned from contacting — told USA Today that Sappenfield’s verbal abuse, which included sexual comments, led her to cut her left wrist with a razor blade in 2019 while at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colo.
...
Attempts to find contact information for Sappenfield were unsuccessful.
After two-plus years of SafeSport’s investigation, Sappenfield coached a pairs team at the 2024 U.S. figure skating championships in January. She was allowed to continue coaching with the SafeSport measures in place, USA Today reported.
Sappenfield began her coaching career in 1993 and won the 2008 Professional Skaters Association/U.S. Figure Skating Coach of the Year award. She coached three-time U.S. champions Alexa and Chris Knierim, who competed at the 2018 PyeongChang Olympics.
(Photo of Dalilah Sappenfield (right) with skaters Alex Knierim and Chris Knierim and coach Eddie Shipstad in 2018: Matthew Stockman / Getty Images)
Jenna West is a staff editor on The Athletic's news team. Before joining The Athletic, she served as a writer and producer for Sports Illustrated's national news desk. Jenna is a graduate of Northwestern University." The Athletic, May 30, 2024

Statement from USFS, from Brennan's Twitter account:



USFS needs to take responsibility for how it enabled Sappenfield. This isn't it. Tarah only had to be "courageous" because she wasn't listened to at the time the abuse happened, in a rink that was right near USFS headquarters.

e

 

[Carolla5501]

Statement from USFS, from Brennan's Twitter account:



USFS needs to take responsibility for how it enabled Sappenfield. This isn't it. Tarah only had to be "courageous" because she wasn't listened to at the time the abuse happened, in a rink that was right near USFS headquarters.

Reading that article and seeing the US figure skating line of BS made me so mad. They did not stop families from sending kids there. They did nothing to address the situation and now they’re acting like Tarah was so brave

She would not have had to be so brave if you hadn’t been so clueless. Why don’t you issue an apology to her and other skaters that you have completely failed?

 

[Karen-W]

Reading that article and seeing the US figure skating line of BS made me so mad. They did not stop families from sending kids there. They did nothing to address the situation and now they’re acting like Tarah was so brave

She would not have had to be so brave if you hadn’t been so clueless. Why don’t you issue an apology to her and other skaters that you have completely failed?

Issuing an apology would imply culpability and open them up for a lawsuit. I get why they don't even if it's all utterly distasteful and horrible.

 

[Carolla5501]

Issuing an apology would imply culpability and open them up for a lawsuit. I get why they don't even if it's all utterly distasteful and horrible.

That maybe they should’ve kept their fingers off the keyboard and their mouth shut.
That line of BS praising a young woman for being braver than they are is pathetic.

Honestly, honestly, I’m hoping that there’s some good attorney out there who’s figuring out a way to bring a class action lawsuit against an organization that not only ignored abuse, but encouraged skaters to go someplace where it was happening. Let’s see them try to pretend they were clueless about what was going on in the backyard under the pressure from some good attorneys.

 

[Debbie S]

That maybe they should’ve kept their fingers off the keyboard and their mouth shut.
That line of BS praising a young woman for being braver than they are is pathetic.

Honestly, honestly, I’m hoping that there’s some good attorney out there who’s figuring out a way to bring a class action lawsuit against an organization that not only ignored abuse, but encouraged skaters to go someplace where it was happening. Let’s see them try to pretend they were clueless about what was going on in the backyard under the pressure from some good attorneys.

After the Coughlin allegations became public, IIRC the lawyer that was representing the Nassar survivors gave an interview and said he was representing some of those abused by Coughlin in a suit against USFS. But I don't remember hearing anything more after that.

 

[MacMadame]

SafeSport has a new policy around coaches. I got this email today about it from USA Triathlon:

The U.S. Center for SafeSport has implemented new requirements for all event directors who have minor participants in any capacity at their event. Event Directors with minor participants must:

• Ask each participating athlete during registration to provide the contact information for their coach(es) potentially attending your event
• Provide list of coaches identified by athletes during registration to the USAT email [email protected] approximately two weeks in advance of your event
• Have an identified area for coaches where coaches’ IDs will be checked against the banned list and their SafeSport training will be verified
• Record a list of all coaches who check-in at the event, and
• Submit the list of all coaches who checked-in to USAT post-race in addition to results.

All coaches who check in at your event must be SafeSport trained to qualify as a coach at that event. If you do not have any coaches check in, you may mark that during post-race. [/TD]

Do USFS and the ISU already have a requirement that athletes at their events specify their coaches? I know there are coaches listed in elite skaters' ISU bio and USFS is always announcing coaching changes so it seems so. I vaguely remember having to write down my coach on any entry form I filled out as well.

 

[BittyBug]

Do USFS and the ISU already have a requirement that athletes at their events specify their coaches?

Yes, and those coaches must be credentialed in order to have participate in the event as a coach.

 

[kwanfan1818]

There are a fixed number of coaches who can be credentialed. Occasionally coaches will be ticketed like the rest of us. Do these rules apply to non-credentialed coaches? To choreographers who are heavily invested, but not official coaches? Would Mira Leung’s mother have been considered a coach ( )

 

[BittyBug]

Anyone can attend as a spectator, but unless a person is credentialed, they can't access any the restricted competition areas, like the K&C, backstage, locker rooms, meal rooms, and athlete transportation. And if the practice arena is closed to the public, they can't access that either.