Several sources, including the women who accused former US snowboard head coach Peter Foley of sexual harassment and misconduct, detailed to ESPN the events behind the US Safe Sports Center accusation that US Ski & Snowboard interfered with its investigation. . They told ESPN that US Ski & Snowboard officials failed to properly report the women’s allegations, misled them, and initially prevented them from reporting directly to SafeSport.
On Tuesday, after ESPN detailed allegations by three former U.S. ski and snowboard athletes and a former employee against Foley, Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA) sent a letter received by ESPN to U.S. Ski and Snowboard President and CEO Sophie Goldschmidt and General Counsel Alison Pitt.
“The messages shared by the Center are very disturbing. They allege that US Ski and Snowboard is conducting its own investigation outside of the Center’s investigation, failing to notify the Center of sexual harassment, and failing to provide the Center with evidence in the possession of US Ski and Snowboard in a timely manner,” Grassley said in the letter.
“Furthermore, it was reported that US Ski and Snowboard actively provided disinformation to individuals involved in the investigation in order to prevent the Center from participating in the investigation and to try to establish who might be involved in the investigation.”
Grassley also passed on SafeSport’s concerns to the FBI, according to the letter.
“US Ski & Snowboard is aware of the concerns raised by Senator Grassley’s office and takes those concerns seriously,” the federation said in a statement Wednesday. “However, US Ski & Snowboard does not agree that it has not acted in accordance with its obligations or expectations of the US Safe Sports Center. US Ski & Snowboard cooperated fully with the Center, including communicating all information that was brought to our attention. to the Center in real time.
The federation, which announced Foley’s departure on Sunday, also said in a statement that he had been sacked. On February 21, he was sent on vacation without contact with the athlete. Through a lawyer, Foley denied all wrongdoing.
Following the criminal conviction of Larry Nassar, the disgraced USA Gymnastics team physician, Congress passed legislation in August 2020 requiring amateur sports organizations to report any reasonable suspicion of abuse to SafeSport and law enforcement. SafeSport is also required to report to Congress if an organization interferes or attempts to interfere with an investigation.
Under federal law, Congress granted SafeSport “exclusive jurisdiction” to investigate allegations of sexual harassment in amateur sports. Individuals from the National Governing Body (NGB) who do not report suspicions to SafeSport, misrepresent information, attempt to dissuade anyone from participating in or conducting an investigation into sexual harassment, may be investigated for interference and may be subject to sanctions.
Penalties for misdemeanors may include a lifetime ban from all events and sports under the jurisdiction of the US Olympic and Paralympic Committee.
“For this system to work, NGBs must follow the law and cooperate with SafeSport. Unfortunately, too many NGBs seem to have tried to circumvent the oversight, and US Ski and Snowboard is the latest example,” Grassley told ESPN.
Congress had previously investigated US interference in badminton, US hockey and the US CEO of water polo.
In a statement, the federation denied the cover-up and said it disclosed two additional claims against SafeSport after Callan Chitluk-Sifsof, the 2010 Olympic champion, made the initial accusations against Foley on social media during the Beijing Olympics in February. The federation also stated that it had “launched its own investigation into whether Coach Foley’s conduct was in line with US Ski & Snowboard values”, and that SafeSport was aware of its internal investigation.
But the federation’s statement contradicts the chain of events detailed to ESPN by the athletes and others involved in the investigation, as well as texts and emails provided to ESPN in support of their claims.
The Olympic medalist, who asked not to be named, said that on February 16, five days after Chitlook-Sifsof’s social media posts, she received an unsolicited message from Lisa Cosglow, a former U.S. snowboarder and current board member of US Ski & Snowboard. .
According to the medalist, Cosglow asked if they could talk on the phone. The medalist said that when she picked up the phone, Cosglow quickly told her, “Oh my God, Peter is so devastated. His children flew home, and he had to tell his wife about all these things.
The athlete said she told Cosglow that she was one of the women affected by Foley, but did not give details of the attack. The athlete said Cosglow told her: “I have to tell you that the first thing Peter said to me when I saw him in person was: ‘You spoke to [the Olympic medalist]’ and could I address you?”
Erin O’Malley, who told ESPN that Foley pinned her against an elevator wall and tried to kiss her without her consent, said Cosglow also reached out to her. “I didn’t know she was on the board of directors,” O’Malley said. “I spoke to her like a former teammate.”
“I start telling her some things and she says, ‘Don’t tell me, I’m on the board of directors.’ It shows that she knows the rules.”
Kosglow did not respond to requests for comment.
Five days after calling Cosglow, O’Malley and the Olympic medalist told ESPN that they both received an unexpected phone call from US Ski & Snowboard General Counsel Alison Pitt.
According to O’Malley, Pitt told her during their first phone call in February, “Think of me as Human Resources. I’m just trying to see if we can still keep Peter Foley.”
“I thought, ‘Cool,'” O’Malley said. “I’m going to put this on line for you.”
The Olympic medalist said when Pitt called her, “She was excited. She said “You can trust me” and “I’m going to get to the bottom of it.”
The medalist said Pitt told her explicitly that she could report her allegations to either Pitt or an independent lawyer working on behalf of US Ski & Snowboard. The medalist also said that Pitt described what she said was SafeSport’s reporting process, including revealing that the SafeSport athlete was being interviewed on videotape for Foley to view.
“Alison said, ‘I want to make it clear that this is really vast and complex.’ She made it sound like [the SafeSport] the process will be difficult. It left me with such a feeling,” said the medalist. “It made me wonder if I want to go through this process.”
As ESPN previously reported, the medalist claims Foley raped her when she was 19 and then subjected her to unwanted kisses. She said she didn’t feel she could stop him because he controlled which athletes could go to the Olympics.
“I told her all the details,” the medalist continued. “At the end of the call, she said that I should let you know that at this level of sexual assault, I have a duty to report to SafeSport and I will file a lawsuit.”
Both Chitluk-Sifsof, on the advice of his lawyer, and Lindsey Nicola — a former US Ski & Snowboard employee who told ESPN that Foley harassed her in 2008 — refused to speak to US Ski & Snowboard.
“I was suspicious of their motives for contacting and trying to do their own investigation outside of SafeSport,” Nicola said. “I kept telling the group, ‘This is SafeSport’s jurisdiction.’ I think US Snowboard were trying to find common ground.”
O’Malley said she and other women were later informed that Pitt asked SafeSport if the federation could investigate allegations of sexual harassment as part of a “personnel investigation” but did not tell SafeSport that she had already interviewed O’Malley. and another athlete when she made the request. According to O’Malley, SafeSport did not give the federation permission to conduct its own investigation.
O’Malley said after talking to Pitt that “nothing has changed”.
The Olympic medalist told ESPN it was their lowest point since Chitluk-Sifsof first made her allegations. The four women became increasingly frustrated that someone could take action based on their claims.
“This speaks to the dysfunction of the organization,” the athlete said. “It seemed to me that this was really a minimization. Our stories weren’t enough.”
O’Malley then emailed Pitt last week asking for a written copy of what Pitt introduced to US Ski & Snowboard and SafeSport, according to O’Malley and the emails ESPN reviewed. O’Malley said Pitt told her that her own statements were “confidential” and could not be shared with her. O’Malley told ESPN that she later received messages showing that Pitt had confused her account with that of the medalist and failed to mention the sexual assault allegation that the medalist had reported to Pitt.
Now O’Malley is suspicious of Pitt’s motives and decided to call SafeSport directly. During the first phone call, she was told that they did not know anything about her complaint.
The Olympic medalist confirmed that she then also contacted SafeSport and was told that the supervisory authority was also unaware of her report.
“It was really dishonest and mean,” the Olympic medalist said, referring to her experience with Pitt and the US Ski & Snowboard. “But am I surprised? No. Because when it comes to stability, credibility, and even transparency or accountability, [U.S. Ski & Snowboard] he has never been known to exhibit any of these traits.”
O’Malley and the medalist said that, based on conversations with the SafeSport reception coordinator, they felt that the supervisory body would take their complaints seriously.
“The women I spoke to at SafeSport were very supportive and very kind,” the Olympic medalist told ESPN. “The process was contrary to what Alison had explained to me.”
She and O’Malley said they encouraged Chitluk-Sifsof and Nicola to contact the agency. By Thursday, SafeSport had received complaints from all four women.
The next day, Foley was suspended by the agency pending an official investigation.
Two days after that, and four days after ESPN started asking questions about their investigation, US Ski & Snowboard fired him.
Current and former members of the US Ski and Snowboard Team, and anyone involved in a sport covered by the US Safe Sports Center, can report 24 hours a day by calling (833) 5US-SAFE (587-7233). ) or via the Internet.
Alyssa Renigk is a senior writer and Tisha Thompson is an investigative reporter for ESPN. Contact them at [email protected] and [email protected]. On Twitter their handles @alyroe as well as @TishaESPN.
John Mastroberardino of ESPN contributed to this report.