Three former athletes and a former employee of the U.S. Ski and Snowboard have accused their former head coach of sexual assault, unwanted kissing and touching, and coercing them into taking nude photos.
The women lodged their complaints 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. On Friday, SafeSport temporarily suspended Foley. On Sunday, U.S. Ski and Snowboard announced that they had parted ways with Foley.
According to Howard Jacobs, the attorney for Mr. Foley, any allegations of sexual misconduct being made against him are false.
The head coach of the U.S. snowboard team for the last fourteen years, is Foley. The male and female athletes won a combined 35 medals.
Those who came forward last week said the medals came at a high price for women working and competing with the team. They claim that women have had to tolerate sexual harassment because of the fact that they were afraid of being retaliated against if they chose to go to the Olympics.
The four women contacted SafeSport last week to report their allegations, which were relayed in their interviews with ESPN.
During the Beijing Olympics in February, allegations of sexual misconduct and misogynistic and racist behavior were made against Foley by a former snowboardcross athlete and two male athletes. The allegations are being investigated by the U.S. Ski and Snowboard.
In the wake of Chythlook-Sifsof's posts, ESPN attempted to contact every former employee as well as every current and former female member of the U.S. snowboard team.
One Olympian who has filed an oral complaint with SafeSport claims that she was sexually abused by a man when she was a teenager. The athlete, who spoke on the condition that her name not be used, said that she didn't perform well at the camp and didn't make the team.
She said that at the conclusion of the camp, the athletes were told they would all be sleeping in the same room until their flights the next day. The athlete said three men and two women slept in the same bed.
The athlete said that at one point he felt someone sneak in behind him while he was asleep. She said the coach put his fingers inside of her and she realized it was Foley.
She said that she just laid there. He got up and left after it stopped for a while.
The athlete said she only told one person about what happened.
She and several other athletes said that a team culture that was celebrated for its party-like atmosphere and informal traveling style allowed male athletes and coaches to act with impunity while sharing lodging with their female counterparts.
"Do as we want and keep your mouth" was the advice that was given to the first woman to join the U.S. snowboard team.
There was a lot of rowdiness. I didn't know anything better and I thought, "Well, this is how it is." This is how the boys act. We girls do what we have to to make it through the day.
By the time she made the team, the Olympian said, the man had established himself as a dirty dog.
The athlete said that he was frothing over young girls and saying crude comments. It was what the guys did. We had drunk guys busting into your room, getting in your bed, humping your leg, grabbing bras out of the drawer, and running down the hall with them.
The athlete said that as she exited the event, she was kissed by a man.
The athlete said she didn't feel like she could tell him to stop because he was in charge of seeding athletes and controlling who would travel to World Cup competition. He decided which athletes would make the Olympics.
The athlete said that there is now a power position.
The athlete said that he was leaving after he stopped kissing her. I said that this should not be happening. I am an athlete and you are a coach. You are married!
She said that several years later, when she and others were celebrating her gold medal at the Olympics, she was approached again by Foley.
He whispers in my ear and I remember how you were breathing. I knew what he was talking about. It gave me a chill. I was back to being 19 again.
What makes someone think or say that?
She and the other three women said they would cooperate with the multistep investigatory process that would include written and verbal statements of alleged wrongdoing.
A former employee of the U.S. Ski and Snowboard said last week that she had filed a report with SafeSport about being coerced into taking nude photos and sexually assaulted at a World Cup ski race in 2008.
The snowboarders were the first thing that came to my mind when I started working in the communications department. It was everything you could want in your first professional experience, to be accepted by your peers.
She said she grew up in a bubble because she was raised in the Mormon faith.
She was invited to stay at one of the team houses. She said he asked if he could stay with her at the World Cup ski race in Colorado, where he wasn't coaching. He said that he didn't have a place to stay. At the time, she thought the request seemed normal, since either the room would have two beds or the hotel provided a cot.
He should not have asked to stay in a room alone with me because I thought it was normal. I did not know what position I was in.
When racing was delayed due to weather, Foley showed her photos he had taken of an athlete who was clothed and asked if she would like to do a similar photo shoot.
She doesn't want to do anything that makes him feel like she's being prude or standoffish. I let him.
After she was nude, I felt very anxious. I felt like I had given someone a lot of control because I wouldn't want anyone to see them. I lost my job if he showed someone. Or he showed someone and they didn't think of me?
I think an important question is why a person in a position of power would want to take pictures of a younger employee. He is the head coach. The power dynamics were not evenly distributed.
She realized she might not be the only one when she read the posts about the naked photos of female athletes. She thinks the photos were a way to groom her.
The intent of the photo shoot was to have a secret, and once photos like this exist, they become their own source of power. They were used to keep me quiet. I felt like I couldn't say anything because of the images of me.
She left early from a team dinner because she was tired. She went back to the hotel room and fell asleep, assuming that he would sleep in the cot in her room.
The woman consented to a back rub despite feeling uncomfortable.
She said that at some point he wants to do something physical with her. I was not. I said no. No. You are married. There are a million reasons why this isn't going to happen.
He began to ask her intimate questions, including whether she wanted them to touch themselves in front of each other. She said that she was frozen because he was touching her under her clothes. She said he continued to touch her breasts and genitals without her consent.
The woman said that she was undressed, rolled onto her stomach, and ejaculated onto her back before falling asleep. I recall that.
She tried to continue working with athletes she respected and admired, but she had a fear of people finding out her side of the story and not believing her side of the story. She left the position a year later.
She said that it comes back to inequitable power dynamics and that it raises the question of whether or not consent can actually be obtained.
After seeing Chythlook-Sifsof's posts, O'Malley came forward for the first time in an interview with ESPN. In both a verbal and written complaint to SafeSport, O'Malley said that she was pinned against the wall by a man who tried to kiss her, and that he followed her and another female athlete into an elevator.
I can see that Peter is pressing against my back against the wall of the elevator.
The female athlete who asked for anonymity supported the account of Peter pinning her against the wall. She said, "Foley, stop." He tried to kiss her and pinned her. We run out and he's like, "I'm coming with you" and I'm like, "No."
O'malley said she ran into the hotel room and hid. I am trying to get under the bed to avoid contact with him.
I have a picture in my mind of him getting in her bed and sitting in her bed and saying, "I'm not leaving until you come out."
Both women said that Foley gave up and left.
She made her first social media posts after trying to change the culture of the team for years, first as an athlete and later as a development coach.
I see him doing weird grooming stuff with the next generation of athletes.
One of the few athletes of color to compete on the snowboardcross team, Chythlook-Sifsof said that she often faced sexism and racism from her male teammates. Rather than punishing those athletes for their behavior, Foley rewarded them by bringing them into the fold and icing out those who spoke up. She said that she participated in this culture because she felt she had to.
A list of allegations she witnessed and personally experienced during her 14-year tenure with the team was submitted to SafeSport by her attorney.
In the summer of 2014, a large male athlete used the N-word in a confrontation with a much smaller female athlete, and she complained to the coach and the coach's assistant. She said that after she was reprimanded by Foley, she was retaliated against by being left out of the Olympic team. She was cut from the team.
According to additional sources connected to the team, they too have been afraid to come out with their allegations for fear of being retaliated against.
According to multiple sources, they didn't think there was a woman in a position of authority who they could trust if they were sexually harassed. The U.S. Snowboard has only had one female coach since 1994.
There are women who are capable of helping athletes succeed and we should be seeing those women coaching all the way up to the Olympic level.
The athletes and employees of the U.S. Ski and Snowboard Association filed complaints with SafeSport to create a safer environment for current and future athletes and employees.
It is my hope that this can be part of normalizing reporting abuse and for anyone who might be out there with an experience like this to feel more confident to come forward.
I am not responsible for a man attacking me after I clearly and repeatedly said no, even though there are probably still people who will think that.
Anyone associated with a sport that falls under the jurisdiction of the U.S. Center for SafeSport can make a report by calling 833-5US-SAFE.
All survivors of sexual assault can connect with a trained staff member from a sexual assault provider in their area by calling the National Sexual assault Telephone Hotline.
Tisha Thompson is an investigative reporter for ESPN. They can be reached at alyssa.roenigk@espn.com and tisha.thompson@espn.com. Their handles are on the social networking site.
John Mastroberardino was a contributor to this report.
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