Tarah Kayne details abuse allegations against sanctioned coach Sappenfield

[nikjil]

So sad for Tarah! Time for the USFSA to stop hiding their heads in the sand and start working to change the skating culture.

 

[aka_gerbil]

I knew that she was a vile creature but this additional news about Tarah and what she went through has made me sick to my stomach. That woman is a monster.

I knew Sappenfield was bad. The specifics of what Tarah went through I was not expecting.

I sometimes wonder if the institution of skating needs to all be destroyed.

 

[puglover]

Sad, but oh so familiar tale of an absolute bully. No doubt this is not about the skater at all and entirely about an angry and disillusioned person in power who has taken out their frustrations on someone ill equipped to fight back. We all need to be on the look out for this as often people on the peripheral get a sense something is not right but are hesitant to involve themselves.

 

[ChelleC]

Sappenfield is vile, trash.

All the best to Tarah, it took incredible bravery to speak publically.

 

[overedge]

IMHO letting someone continue to coach, even under restrictions, when they're accused of this kind of behaviour - it makes the whole "athlete protection" process look like a farce.

If a coach acted this badly toward an athlete, and multiple complaints have been filed against the coach, the coach should be suspended and/or banned from coaching until the complaints have been resolved. As far as I'm concerned, the athletes' right to be treated respectfully and safely outweighs the coach's right to earn a living.

In other professions involving contact with underage or vulnerable people, if someone is accused of abusive behaviour, they can be placed in a non-contact job or suspended while the investigation is being conducted. Skating and all sports shouldn't be any different.

 

[LeafOnTheWind]

I keep thinking about this quote from Tarah:

“But that all changed because of Dalilah,” she said. “These awful experiences forced me out of the sport I love. Dalilah said multiple times that she wanted to end my career, and she succeeded.”

I hope she can return the favor after all this is over and feel like she has received some justice.

 

[overedge]

So sad for Tarah! Time for the USFSA to stop hiding their heads in the sand and start working to change the skating culture.

The same USFS that jointly named Sappenfield "Coach of the Year" in 2008?

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[overedge]

Like gymnastics, there needs to be an independent investigation into whether the governance structure at the Springs facilitated this horrific abuse. There are so few secrets in skating, and with this happening at a USOTC, it's really hard to imagine that people within USFS and/or USOPC didn't at least hear whispers about this behavior.

I think it was @Willin who said that when USFS HQ staff went skating on their breaks and before/after work, they skated at the rink where Sappenfield's skaters trained. If that's so, it's even harder to believe that they didn't know anything about what was going on.

 

[manhn]

Isn’t Colorado Springs USFS Headquarters? They would have more regular contact with her and her team. It’s not like she trains her skaters in Maine or Hawaii or Alaska.

 

[maatTheViking]

Isn’t Colorado Springs USFS Headquarters? They would have more regular contact with her and her team. It’s not like she strains her skaters in Maine or Hawaii or Alaska.

tbh I think this is part of the problem. I bet she is 'such a nice person' and 'easy to get along with' when she has lunch with USFS officials

(yes I have no evidence - but it is pretty typical that abusers are very careful with their image around people they don't abuse)

 

[skipaway]

It makes me sad and angry that Tarah and others were subjected to this abuse and that she felt unable to find someone to help her. USFSA should feel ashamed of themselves.

 

[Lacey]

I wish in every sport & throughout life in business & pleasure there should be an Oversight Committee that can once a year or anytime, unannounced, walk into a room or a rink or an office & ask if anyone wants to speak up to raise their left hands for a turn (left being not right..) & then names can be taken & investigations begun.

After SafeSport has found reason for suspension or firing, there must be legal support to find financial remuneration for victims.

 

[MacMadame]

The same USFS that jointly named Sappenfield "Coach of the Year" in 2008?

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TBF that was 13 years ago. Perhaps she wasn't like this then. The issue I have with USFS is that they didn't do more in the present. Apparently, they recently have warned skaters away from being coached by her but I don't think that is enough.

Reading about Tarah hurting herself is so distressing. I want to find her and give her a hug. And find Sappenfield and punish her.

I have to say reading about Sappenfield saying she was going to make Tarah quit was pretty WTF and also that she wouldn't let Tarah speak on ice and also that Sappenfield talks about sex all the time. This is not normal behavior. It's fairly deranged actually. And USFS and other people at the rink had to know about it. They at least knew about back when Coughlin killed himself and she forced skaters to wear those red caps because we all knew about it then.

I understand that people need due process but so many times I think people in charge just throw up their hands about this kind of thing. It's particularly bad in skating because coaches are rarely employees of anyone. If they were employees of the rink or of USFS, then they could be fired just on rumors in "Right to Work" states and probably fired in other states for breaking clauses in contracts.

 

[Doggygirl]

Has the USFS responded yet to Christine's article? I'm assuming USFSA has the authority to take action on their own against Sappenfield to protect skaters without waiting for Safesport to do it, right? Come on USFSA. For once in your life do the right thing!

 

[LeafOnTheWind]

I keep wondering if Sappenfield's abusive behavior intensified after the Nationals red hat incident. Several of us noticed Tarah was trying to avoid wearing the hat. If so, that act alone took a lot of courage on Tarah's part.

 

[AnnM]

Has the USFS responded yet to Christine's article? I'm assuming USFSA has the authority to take action on their own against Sappenfield to protect skaters without waiting for Safesport to do it, right? Come on USFSA. For once in your life do the right thing!

No, but they did post across social media about now accepting cryptocurrency for donations to support athletes and then turned off replies (at least on Twitter) when people started bringing up protecting skaters from abusive coaches in order to truly support athletes.

 

[Colonel Green]

I'm assuming USFSA has the authority to take action on their own against Sappenfield to protect skaters without waiting for Safesport to do it, right?

No, they don't. Once a SafeSport investigation has been opened, it's out of the USFS's hands entirely.

 

[vu2019]

No, they don't. Once a SafeSport investigation has been opened, it's out of the USFS's hands entirely.

Is that necessarily true if there are non-sexual allegations though? I know that the Center for SafeSport has exclusive jurisdiction over sexual misconduct.

 

[rfisher]

Tarah can certainly file a civil suit against Sappenfield if she can prove harm in a court of law.

 

[coppertop1]

This might be the USFSA'S equivalent to the Karolyis. How many more suffered under this woman?

 

[Hedwig]

thank you Tarah in the name of all people who ever suffered abuse for speaking out. This must have been so hard.

 

[Debbie S]

No, they don't. Once a SafeSport investigation has been opened, it's out of the USFS's hands entirely.

This is true. But USFS can certainly speak out (and turning off replies on Twitter and ignoring the issue is definitely the wrong way to go, they need a new comms dir) and commit to working to change their culture and prevent abuse in the future. But this is only the latest in a long line, as we know, and they have shown no interest in systemic change.

 

[Yuri]

The same USFS that jointly named Sappenfield "Coach of the Year" in 2008?

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Well it's the same USFS that names Richard Callaghan Coach of the Year in 1995 (now vacated), well into his period of abuses.

I am completely unfamiliar with Sappenfield other than what I have read on FSU and elsewhere online, but this really wasn't what I was expecting. These allegations are kind of a new level of sickness in digging into and mocking the sexuality of a student and otherwise completely eroding self-confidence to the point of causing the student to harm themselves. And clearly Tarah is just a high-profile name in a line of multiple abuses over the years about which no one ever heard. Glad to see her ex-partner's support.

Even more distressing is this happening in Colorado Springs right in the backyard of USFS HQ, not some secret gymnastics ranch of the Karolyis. How can the USFS miss something this horrid at such a nearby, high-profile rink? So sad and disappointing.

ETA Correction that Callaghan won coach of the year in 1995 (not 1996), now vacated.

 

[Doggygirl]

No, they don't. Once a SafeSport investigation has been opened, it's out of the USFS's hands entirely.

That is so unfortunate. I would love to be part of the OUTCRY to hold USFS accountable for proactively doing the right thing in this tragic mess.

 

[Colonel Green]

Is that necessarily true if there are non-sexual allegations though?

That's my understanding.

And it does make sense in theory, insofar as the whole point of SafeSport was to professionalize and systematize these investigations. If federations can punish people outside of the mandated processes then the whole thing is redundant at best.

Now, the biggest issue with SafeSport in practice is that it's so underfunded and understaffed that its investigations take forever.

 

[overedge]

FWIW it looks like USFS re-opened the comments on its Twitter post about cryptocurrency donations. So if anyone with a Twitter account wants to say something to them about this shameful situation and Tarah's bravery.....

 

[Willin]

Wow. Reading Tarah’s account saddens me. Mostly, though, it pisses me the f*ck off. How much of this did USFS know? If we have an account like this, why is it taking so long to permanently ban her in the US?!

Sappenfeld is a monster, an absolute monster.

Like gymnastics, there needs to be an independent investigation into whether the governance structure at the Springs facilitated this horrific abuse. There are so few secrets in skating, and with this happening at a USOTC, it's really hard to imagine that people within USFS and/or USOPC didn't at least hear whispers about this behavior.

I think it was @Willin who said that when USFS HQ staff went skating on their breaks and before/after work, they skated at the rink where Sappenfield's skaters trained. If that's so, it's even harder to believe that they didn't know anything about what was going on.

Yes. I don't know if it's on lunch breaks per se, but I know they skate there regularly. One of my friends worked at USFS for a while and USFS office staff even have access to the USOTC rink at the World Arena (closed to everyone but elite skaters). She worked on that surface around Dalilah when practicing pair's skills with John Coughlin, which she'd demonstrate at USFS seminars. So yeah, they were there a lot and almost certainly would've witnessed inappropriate and abusive behavior from her - and yet did nothing.

Now, it's entirely possible that she was able to clean up her act while USFS officials were around, but given what Tarah describes I doubt it. You also have multiple other coaches including huge names like Tom Z, Tammy Gambill, Ben Augusto, and Chriti Krall that were around even when USFS office staff weren't. They almost certainly 100% saw many things and never reported anything. They're complicit as well.

It's important to point out that USFS eventually did something: move her to Monument and encourage their top pairs to part with her - but that was far too little far too late. It only happened after SafeSport got involved.

 

[overedge]

Now, it's entirely possible that she was able to clean up her act while USFS officials were around, but given what Tarah describes I doubt it. You also have multiple other coaches including huge names like Tom Z, Tammy Gambill, Ben Augusto, and Christi Krall that almost certainly 100% saw many things and never reported anything. They're complicit as well.

There have been some allegations of questionable behaviour around some of those coaches too, e.g. Tom Z allegedly pushing skaters to train/perform through injuries when they should have rested. If that's true, then I can see those coaches not wanting to blow the whistle on another coach at the same rink, if they were afraid that she would rat them out too.

 

[Colonel Green]

I am completely unfamiliar with Sappenfield other than what I have read on FSU and elsewhere online, but this really wasn't what I was expecting.

This is definitely a bit different from the most common criticisms of Sappenfield previously, which were mainly that she was an enabler and apologist for her male students. But the stuff about telling Tarah her career should be over and Danny should skate without somebody else is definitely of a piece with the longstanding knock against her, that she regards pair girls as basically disposable.

 

[Debbie S]

FWIW it looks like USFS re-opened the comments on its Twitter post about cryptocurrency donations. So if anyone with a Twitter account wants to say something to them about this shameful situation and Tarah's bravery.....

And comments are open on their IG post, too. Poor Chris Knierim, trying to be a good soldier and respond to the post itself, but in this case, I think he should just focus on his students ATM.