Keeping Track of Criminal Cases & SafeSport Suspensions in Skating

[Vagabond]

Having a brother who was once arrested for

Spoiler: Possible trigger warning

sexting with a pre-teen girl

, I have bad feelings about allowing Sorensen to attend those weddings, but I can see that excluding him would have brought about a host of problems at their training center that the couples getting married wanted to avoid.

 

[Karen-W]

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.

If the other couple had still been competing, I'm sure they would have drawn ire from their detractors. Really, all it was and remains is a "moral" justification to hate on/root against Chock & Bates.

 

[Barbara Manatee]

Really, all it was and remains is a "moral" justification to hate on/root against Chock & Bates.

A lot of people have a genuine horror of sexual abuse. The anger is true and righteous and doesn't deserve to be mocked as a silly uber pretense.

 

[Vagabond]

A lot of people have a genuine horror of sexual abuse. The anger is true and righteous and doesn't deserve to be mocked as a silly uber pretense.

As a survivor, I have a genuine horror of sexual abuse. Chock & Bates, however, are not accused of sexual abuse.

Posts like yours only serve to make it harder for people to have a proper discussion of abuse.

 

[Barbara Manatee]

Posts like yours only serve to make it harder for people to have a proper discussion of abuse.

Huh? How so?

 

[Jayar]

Wrong thread

 

[Vagabond]

Huh? How so?

Your post distracts attention from what happened to Sorensen's victim and why people like Fournier-Beaudry, Cizeron. Dubreuil, and Lauzon have been either standing up for him or at least letting continue to coach during periods when he is not under suspension. Neither Chock nor Bates has done anything of the sort, yet they have drawn more criticism on FSU than the people who run IAM.

I write this as a survivor who has lost my connection to most of my extended family and many family friends who have not stood up for or otherwise supported me.

 

[Barbara Manatee]

I don't understand how it is a distraction to say that people are not upset by C/B socializing with Sorensen simply because they are fans of another team. There are many conversations that need to be had around the response to abuse.

I do agree that IAM should be getting far more scrutiny than it is.

 

[MacMadame]

Chock nor Bates has done anything of the sort, yet they have drawn more criticism on FSU than the people who run IAM.

IAM has gotten major criticism all over the internet and this thread. The wedding attendance has been a blip in comparison.

 

[Vagabond]

IAM has gotten major criticism all over the internet and this thread. The wedding attendance has been a blip in comparison.

Find the posters criticizing Chock and Bates and then see which of those posters have also posted about Lauzon and Dubreuil's personal involvement in letting Sorensen on the premises. Even better, look for the ones criticizing Jamal Othman, whose job description requires him to take action against coaches and skaters accused of sexual abuse.

 

[MacMadame]

Find the posters criticizing Chock and Bates and then see which of those posters have also posted about Lauzon and Dubreuil's personal involvement in letting Sorensen on the premises. Even better, look for the ones criticizing Jamal Othman, whose job description requires him to take action against coaches and skaters accused of sexual abuse.

Moving the goalposts.

 

[Karen-W]

A lot of people have a genuine horror of sexual abuse. The anger is true and righteous and doesn't deserve to be mocked as a silly uber pretense.

And I stand by my position that there are a lot of people (not necessarily on FSU but in the FS fandom in general) who are absolutely using feigned moral outrage toward Chock & Bates having Nik Sorensen at their wedding as a justification to cheer against them rather than just owning the fact that they don't LIKE Chock & Bates' skating in general & want them to lose to other teams. As another poster pointed out, Kristen Moore-Towers & Liam Firus also invited Nik & Lolo to their wedding and yet they have encountered very little criticism despite the fact that Kristen has gone into broadcasting and coaching now. There is a double standard being applied which does NOTHING to move forward any discussion about sexual assault or power dynamics within the sport.

 

[Miezekatze]

Find the posters criticizing Chock and Bates and then see which of those posters have also posted about Lauzon and Dubreuil's personal involvement in letting Sorensen on the premises. Even better, look for the ones criticizing Jamal Othman, whose job description requires him to take action against coaches and skaters accused of sexual abuse.

I think most people don’t keep track of who posts what about whom, which would require a lot of work.

Personally I’ve seen a lot more criticism of IAM than I ever remember seeing about C&B, but I don’t read the team specific or general dance threads, since I’m quite put off ice dance and its culture in general and only like a few teams at the moment. Others might have other „subjective“ impressions based on their reading habits and interests.

 

[purple skates]

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?

This is the post that dragged C/B into the conversation. Doesn’t look like a neutral post to me. Just saying.

 

[SnowQueen11]

Good article about these topics-

What it means for skaters when abuse apologists win major titles

One of the biggest obstacles to SafeSport in figure skating is the lack of funding and competent execution of safeguarding within our sport.

open.substack.com

 

[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

https://www.tas-cas.org/generated/assets/lists/dceab111-07bc-435f-b5f9-de88eff9db72/CAS%20Media%20Release_Milano%20Cortina_Registration_AHD08.pdf

Milan, 10 February 2026 – The CAS Ad hoc Division has registered an application by figure skating coach Mr Raimo Reinsalu (Estonia) against the International Skating Union (ISU). The application requests to annul an ISU decision and to immediately lift Mr Reinsalu’s provisional suspension from participation in ISU events, including the figure skating competitions of the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026 (2026 OWG).

Mr Reinsalu is listed as a figure skating coach for Ms Meda Variakojytė (Lithuania), who is participating in the 2026 OWG. Following a Statement of Complaint of physical and psychological abuse by a former athlete coached by Mr Reinsalu, the ISU Disciplinary Commission issued an urgent provisional suspension on Mr Reinsalu on 7 February 2026. The provisional suspension is in place whilst the ISU investigates the matter and until a final decision is rendered.

Filed on 9 February 2026, the application by Mr Reinsalu to the CAS Ad hoc Division argues that the exclusion from the 2026 OWG causes irreparable harm to his professional reputation and adversely affects the athlete he coaches. Mr Reinsalu requests the CAS Ad hoc Division to immediately lift the provisional suspension imposed by the ISU Disciplinary Commission.

A hearing will take place in the afternoon of 11 February 2026. A decision will be announced once made.

This is an unofficial summary for media use.

 

[Andrea82]

https://www.tas-cas.org/generated/assets/lists/dceab111-07bc-435f-b5f9-de88eff9db72/CAS%20Media%20Release_Milano%20Cortina_Registration_AHD08.pdf

Milan, 10 February 2026 – The CAS Ad hoc Division has registered an application by figure skating coach Mr Raimo Reinsalu (Estonia) against the International Skating Union (ISU). The application requests to annul an ISU decision and to immediately lift Mr Reinsalu’s provisional suspension from participation in ISU events, including the figure skating competitions of the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026 (2026 OWG).

Mr Reinsalu is listed as a figure skating coach for Ms Meda Variakojytė (Lithuania), who is participating in the 2026 OWG. Following a Statement of Complaint of physical and psychological abuse by a former athlete coached by Mr Reinsalu, the ISU Disciplinary Commission issued an urgent provisional suspension on Mr Reinsalu on 7 February 2026. The provisional suspension is in place whilst the ISU investigates the matter and until a final decision is rendered.

Filed on 9 February 2026, the application by Mr Reinsalu to the CAS Ad hoc Division argues that the exclusion from the 2026 OWG causes irreparable harm to his professional reputation and adversely affects the athlete he coaches. Mr Reinsalu requests the CAS Ad hoc Division to immediately lift the provisional suspension imposed by the ISU Disciplinary Commission.

A hearing will take place in the afternoon of 11 February 2026. A decision will be announced once made.

This is an unofficial summary for media use.

Application by Reinsalu dismissed by CAS

https://www.tas-cas.org/generated/assets/lists/dceab111-07bc-435f-b5f9-de88eff9db72/CAS%20Media%20Release_Milano%20Cortina_Decision_AHD08.pdf

A hybrid hearing took place on the afternoon of 11 February in Milan. The CAS Ad hoc Division Panel heard the arguments and recalls that a provisional suspension is a precautionary and protective measure, and not a disciplinary sanction. Its function is not to imply any presumption of guilt, but to safeguard the integrity of the sport.

In light of the seriousness of the allegations, the CAS Panel considered that the ISU Disciplinary Commission was entitled to conclude that maintaining the coach in functions pending a final decision could pose risks incompatible with the preventative and protective objectives of the ISU Code of Ethics.

Consequently, the application was dismissed.