U.S. Ski & Snowboard president defends federation against charges it interfered in Foley probe
more women have come forward to file complaints against him since allegations first became public during the Beijing Olympics last month.
“We have a moral and legal obligation to our employees to take these matters incredibly seriously,” Goldschmidt told USA TODAY Sports on Thursday. “We’re clear on the lane that we need to act within, but I think where the murkiness comes up is you don’t know what’s going to come out of these conversations. Many of these allegations, not just in ours but from what I’ve observed elsewhere, they’re multi-faceted. … But for me, really understanding our culture and making sure we’re doing everything to protect our athletes is as important as it gets. I think we have to investigate and take these very seriously.”
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Grassley, who is the ranking member on the Senate Judiciary Committee that investigated sexual abuse in the Olympic movement, said that U.S. Ski Snowboard had interfered with SafeSport’s investigation and that he reported SafeSport’s concerns to the FBI.
A spokesperson for the center did not return a message from USA TODAY Sports on Thursday.
SafeSport has exclusive jurisdiction over sexual misconduct in the U.S. Olympic movement and has been investigating Foley since February. SafeSport temporarily suspended Foley, 56, for allegations of misconduct on March 18. U.S. Ski Snowboard terminated him on Sunday.
social media post by Callan Chythlook-Sifsof, a 2010 Olympian, to SafeSport in early February.
Chythlook-Sifsof first came forward with allegations against Foley during the Beijing Olympics, writing on Instagram that he had “taken naked photos of athletes for over a decade” and highlighting other parts of a toxic culture within the program.
Grassley’s letter raised concerns, in part, about the federation’s inquiry.
Under a 2020 federal law, SafeSport is required to report to Congress any attempted interference in its investigations by federations. SafeSport reported that U.S. Ski Snowboard leadership has not made necessary notifications of sexual misconduct to SafeSport and has failed to provide evidence it possesses in a timely manner, sought to identify those participating in the investigation and misinformed them “in an effort to discourage participation.”
Goldschmidt said the federation’s investigation included current and former athletes, as well as others in the organization.
“When (Pitt) was having these conversations, you don’t know what people are going to say,” Goldschmidt said. “I guess at that first point, we want whatever information people are willing to share but we’re very clear as soon as anything sexually misconduct oriented was shared then that’s immediately shared with SafeSport.”