Richard Callaghan banned by the Center for SafeSport

Lacey

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I think Tara stayed in the Olympic Village when she came back, but I still believe she went out of the country with Craig for practice first. And then I actually read here somewhere just the other day that she stayed with her parents the night before either the short or the long or both because they were so upset that she wouldn't sleep in the OV.
 

Artistic Skaters

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The world has changed dramatically in regards to what is considered abuse compared to what was considered normal discipline of youth. There are many people from a generation or two ago who wished they had it so easy as to only experience a skate guard smack or being publicly shamed.
Just for clarification, 20-30 years ago at the rinks where I lived, hitting a minor with a foreign object was considered child abuse and investigated. Managers at municipal rinks had to report it when they or rink employees witnessed it or parents witnessed it and complained. I have direct knowledge of at least two incidents with skating parents resulting in court appearances. I don't know where you lived during this time, but it was certainly not considered "normal discipline" in many areas.
 

watchthis!!

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Just for clarification, 20-30 years ago at the rinks where I lived, hitting a minor with a foreign object was considered child abuse and investigated. Managers at municipal rinks had to report it when they or rink employees witnessed it or parents witnessed it and complained. I have direct knowledge of at least two incidents with skating parents resulting in court appearances. I don't know where you lived during this time, but it was certainly not considered "normal discipline" in many areas.

Assault has been illegal for hundreds of years. How assault has been dealt with is an entirely different matter. If you spent time at a rink taking figure skating lessons, you hit the jackpot. You are very lucky. Not everyone was born into a middle class family. đź’ś
 

Artistic Skaters

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I wasn't at the rink to take figure skating lessons. I do not consider it lucky when a coach (likely earning at least $70+ per hour around that time) thinks a good method for instruction is hitting a student with a skate guard or any other equipment or subjecting them to verbal abuse. I consider it completely unprofessional and question all the reasons others might find it acceptable, because it seems like these are incompetent actions for people who are being paid pretty well to come up with a better plan for success.

I support protecting children and advocating against child abuse. Many bad things happen to children no matter their class standing.
 
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Prancer

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Assault has been illegal for hundreds of years. How assault has been dealt with is an entirely different matter. If you spent time at a rink taking figure skating lessons, you hit the jackpot. You are very lucky. Not everyone was born into a middle class family. đź’ś

Then how do you know how assault was dealt with 20-30 years ago in skating lessons?

For what it's worth, I was a child more than 30 years ago, I wasn't middle class, and I don't remember a lot of adults assaulting kids or other adults considering such behavior acceptable.

I do think things have changed in terms of emotional and mental abuse--somewhat.
 

Simone411

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Here is a quote by Todd Eldredge from the Phil Hersh article in the Chicago Tribune regarding the original grievance filed in 1999 :

... Callaghan believes that the allegations have grown out of some skaters shifting blame to the coach for unfulfilled careers. Eldredge, 27, whom Callaghan has coached for 17 years, had a similar reaction when asked last month about allegations that had yet to become public.

"People have tried to bring that stuff up before and, to me, it is ridiculous," Eldredge said. "If you're successful, people always try to come up with something to taint your image."

The implication is apparently that "unsuccessful" skaters made horrible accusations against Callaghan for no reason. Take a look at the skaters who made allegations in 1999 besides Maurizi. Eddy Zeidler has a 20+ year career with Disney on Ice after doing competitive skating. He skated pairs with Sabrina Corbaci (Todd Eldredge's wife) and they medaled at two Nationals. Roman Fraden graduated from Berkley and has a career as a comedian. So I would not really consider this unsuccessful.

Thank you so much for sharing what Todd had to say on the matter at hand. I was going to post that same quote, but you beat me to it. :)

This isn't the first time that the subject of Todd has been brought up. When Todd's first marriage didn't work out, there were so many insinuations regarding why. I knew about the situation at least a month or so before it finally came out on message boards I was a member of including here at FSU. I didn't post about it because I already knew what was about to hit the fan, and I knew it would be a lot of nasty rumours.

I'll simply come to the point. The insinuations did come out and they were very devious to say the least, and it was merely to spread rumours about Todd being gay. I had never seen so many trolls come out from under the rock where they had been hiding.

It's not surprising or unusual for trolls or anyone for that matter to take cheap shots at the skaters, coaches, etc. that they don't like, and it sometimes comes in the form of jealousy.

I'm so glad that Todd gave his response in the Phil Hersh article because he's right; people will try to come up with something to taint the image of someone who is successful.
 

Tavi

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Thank you so much for sharing what Todd had to say on the matter at hand. I was going to post that same quote, but you beat me to it. :)

This isn't the first time that the subject of Todd has been brought up. When Todd's first marriage didn't work out, there were so many insinuations regarding why. I knew about the situation at least a month or so before it finally came out on message boards I was a member of including here at FSU. I didn't post about it because I already knew what was about to hit the fan, and I knew it would be a lot of nasty rumours.

I'll simply come to the point. The insinuations did come out and they were very devious to say the least, and it was merely to spread rumours about Todd being gay. I had never seen so many trolls come out from under the rock where they had been hiding.

It's not surprising or unusual for trolls or anyone for that matter to take cheap shots at the skaters, coaches, etc. that they don't like, and it sometimes comes in the form of jealousy.

I'm so glad that Todd gave his response in the Phil Hersh article because he's right; people will try to come up with something to taint the image of someone who is successful.

I’m not sure I understand- are you saying that Callaghan didn’t abuse any skaters, and that all of the accusations were made up?
 

jlai

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they have changed but really not a lot as one can also see by some really horrible and blasé reactions to abuse on this forum.
Not sure whom you refer to but I have no doubt some say it to wound others up. Others are just scenarios out of contexts. It happens now and will 50 years from now
 

Simone411

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I’m not sure I understand- are you saying that Callaghan didn’t abuse any skaters, and that all of the accusations were made up?
No. I'm not saying that at all. I'm merely saying that some are quick to jump the gun or jump to conclusions before the actual facts come out. It's been done in the past, and to assume things isn't the same as actual fact. So bringing up Todd because Callaghan was his coach doesn't mean that Todd was abused by him.
 

skatfan

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No. I'm not saying that at all. I'm merely saying that some are quick to jump the gun or jump to conclusions before the actual facts come out. It's been done in the past, and to assume things isn't the same as actual fact. So bringing up Todd because Callaghan was his coach doesn't mean that Todd was abused by him.

Agreed. But it is pretty hard to think that he never saw any suspicious behavior on the part of Callahan given the many years they were coach/skater and then coaching together. His defense of Callahan is what sticks out to me.
 

Tavi

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No. I'm not saying that at all. I'm merely saying that some are quick to jump the gun or jump to conclusions before the actual facts come out. It's been done in the past, and to assume things isn't the same as actual fact. So bringing up Todd because Callaghan was his coach doesn't mean that Todd was abused by him.

Ah, thanks for clarifying that!
 

overedge

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Agreed. But it is pretty hard to think that he never saw any suspicious behavior on the part of Callahan given the many years they were coach/skater and then coaching together. His defense of Callahan is what sticks out to me.

Not only his defense of Callaghan, but the fact that as a skater he followed Callaghan from rink to rink to rink, and then coached alongside him for several years (I'm not sure when they stopped working together). Todd probably spent more time with Callaghan than anyone else in skating.

The final SafeSport report was 200+ pages, which must have covered a lot of information about multiple allegations. IMO it's next to impossible that Todd wasn't aware of any of those incidents.
 
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nguyhm

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Will there be any criminal charges against Callghan? Permanently banning him is doing justice but he should not be a free person enjoying retirement after what has happened. The man should "pay" for all his crimes. Sorry if I'm off subject.
 

hanca

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Just for clarification, 20-30 years ago at the rinks where I lived, hitting a minor with a foreign object was considered child abuse and investigated.
Was it really? Even nowadays, corporal punishment at school is still legal in 18 US states. So a coach can’t hit a child at the skating rink, but it is ok the hit the child at school?
 

Tavi

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Will there be any criminal charges against Callghan? Permanently banning him is doing justice but he should not be a free person enjoying retirement after what has happened. The man should "pay" for all his crimes. Sorry if I'm off subject.

Whether criminal charges can be brought depends on the state’s “statute of limitations.” Generally, there’s a limited time - say a few years - to bring criminal charges against someone, although there are some exceptions. Unless someone is alleging recent abuse, it’s most likely too late to bring criminal charges, and the standard of proof is probably a lot higher. It may be possible to sue him for money damages, though.
 

Simone411

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Not only his defense of Callaghan, but the fact that as a skater he followed Callaghan from rink to rink to rink, and then coached alongside him for several years (I'm not sure when they stopped working together). Todd probably spent more time with Callaghan than anyone else in skating.

The final SafeSport report was 200+ pages, which must have covered a lot of information about multiple allegations. IMO it's next to impossible that Todd wasn't aware of any of those incidents.

But the fact remains that unless Todd comes out and admits abuse, then we cannot assume that because we're not 100 percent sure about it. Assuming that Todd was abused by Callaghan is just like placing a verdict of guilty until proven innocent regarding that matter.
 

Vagabond

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Was it really? Even nowadays, corporal punishment at school is still legal in 18 US states. So a coach can’t hit a child at the skating rink, but it is ok the hit the child at school?
News flash: Richard Callaghan was not a school teacher.
 

jlai

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Just out of curiosity...did people close to Nassar know what he did? I thought there were some that were clueless and defended him (or something like that?)
 

platniumangel

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Yeah, but it seems Callaghan wasn't very good at hiding it since people on this forum knew about it decades ago when the first allegations became public. Todd's been sticking with Callaghan the whole time.

I think people trying to hint that Todd is gay or assuming he MUST have known about abuse is ridiculous and unfair to him. It is quite possible he never personally witnessed anything, and it’s also possible that maybe he was abused and he’s just not ready to come out about it. Either way, we don't know.
 

VGThuy

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I don't think anybody should ever hint or assume or guess that someone has been a victim unless that person actually comes out and says it themselves. As for assuming if Todd knew about it, it may seem harsh but I don't think it's particularly unfair to at least wonder about it given their seemingly life-long working relationship and moving to locations together when all of these allegations have run rampant. I don't think one should declare that Todd actually knew whether Callaghan committed abuse, but it would not be unfair to wonder if he knew and hid it given their history together and Todd's big defense of Callaghan throughout the years as Artistic Skaters quoted:


Todd put himself out there to defend Callaghan against accusers, so he made his bed with one. People are just reacting to that and wondering how much did Eldredge know. I think he would also be fair to think Todd really did not know and was trusting a person who he saw as an authority figure and defended him in good-faith.
 

MacMadame

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In the 60s, public school principals had paddles to discipline students. But that was almost 60 years ago. I think by the 1990-2000s, that wasn't at all the norm in the US.
 

Simone411

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@Simone411 I agree that we won't know unless Todd himself speaks up. What I was trying to say was that given the long time that Todd worked with Callaghan, it seems very unlikely that Todd couldn't know that Callaghan was abusive to more than one of his students.

Thanks, overedge. That's what I was trying to say, and I meant it strictly about Todd. Unless Todd speaks up about it and says he wasn't abused, then we won't know whether he was or not and we can't assume that he was.
 

Artistic Skaters

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Was it really? Even nowadays, corporal punishment at school is still legal in 18 US states. So a coach can’t hit a child at the skating rink, but it is ok the hit the child at school?
I certainly did not state it was OK to strike a child at school but not at the skating rink or that this ONLY applied to ice rinks.

There was a law that children could not be struck with a foreign object as a form of punishment. Examples of foreign objects would be things like a hairbrush, bread board, paddle, belt, even a skate guard, etc. just so we don't have to delineate that point in another post. Public employees (which includes those at municipal ice rinks) were supposed to report incidents when they witnessed it or received complaints. It was against the law whether it happened in public schools, public activities, or by a parent or guardian in the home. Hopefully this provides enough detail for you so that we can move on to actually solving the problem at hand of abuse of children in sports.
 

Artistic Skaters

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Thanks, overedge. That's what I was trying to say, and I meant it strictly about Todd. Unless Todd speaks up about it and says he wasn't abused, then we won't know whether he was or not and we can't assume that he was.
Likewise when others speak up and say they were abused, maybe Todd didn't know whether they were or not, yet he did make that determination in a public statement.
 

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