Three former athletes and a former employee of U.S. Ski and Snowboard have accused former longtime head coach Peter Foley of sexual misconduct including sexual assault, unwanted kissing and touching, and coercing them into taking nude photos, according to interviews and documents obtained by ESPN.
The women lodged their complaints last week with the U.S. Center for SafeSport, a watchdog organization authorized by Congress to police issues related to sexual abuse in U.S. amateur sports. SafeSport then temporarily suspended Foley on Friday, pending its investigation. On Sunday, U.S. Ski and Snowboard announced that Foley was no longer employed by the organization.
“Any allegations of sexual misconduct being made against him are false,” Foley’s attorney, Howard Jacobs, told ESPN on Sunday. “Mr. Foley has not engaged in any conduct that violates the SafeSport Code, and he will cooperate with the U.S. Center for SafeSport when and if they contact him.”
Foley, the head coach of the U.S. snowboard team since its inception in 1994, led the national squad to seven Olympics, including the most recent Beijing Games. His athletes, male and female, won a combined 35 Olympic medals.
But those who came forward last week told ESPN the medals came at a high price for women working and competing with the team. They allege women have long had to tolerate sexual misconduct because Foley controlled which athletes were selected to go to the Olympics and they feared he would retaliate by withholding Olympic opportunities or ending their employment.
ESPN has interviewed all four women about their allegations and confirmed that they individually contacted and filed reports to SafeSport last week that included allegations they relayed in their interviews with ESPN.
Allegations against Foley, 56, first surfaced publicly during the Beijing Olympics in February, when former snowboardcross athlete Callan Chythlook-Sifsof, a 2010 Olympian, wrote a series of Instagram posts accusing Foley of sexual misconduct and two male athletes of misogynistic and racist behavior. U.S. Ski and Snowboard said at the time that it took “the allegations very seriously and the allegations are being investigated.”
Current and former members of the U.S. Ski and Snowboard team as well as anyone associated with a sport that falls under the jurisdiction of the U.S. Center for SafeSport can make a report 24 hours a day by calling 833-5US-SAFE (587-7233) or by reporting online.
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