The U.S. Center for SafeSport accused the U.S. Ski and Snowboard of interfering in its investigation. They said that representatives of U.S. Ski and Snowboard misled them and initially prevented them from reporting the allegations to SafeSport.
The letter was sent to the U.S. Ski and Snowboard President and CEO.
The reports shared by the Center are troubling. They claim that the U.S. Ski and Snowboard leadership has been conducting its own investigation outside of the investigation being conducted by the Center, has failed to make notifications regarding sexual misconduct to the Center, and has failed to timely provide the Center with evidence in the possession of U.S.
Further, it has been reported that the U.S. Ski and Snowboard has provided misinformation to individuals involved in the investigation in an effort to discourage participation in the investigation.
The FBI was referred to SafeSport's concerns by the senator.
The federation said in a statement that it takes the concerns seriously. U.S. Ski and Snowboard cooperated with the Center, reporting all information that was brought to their attention in real-time.
The federation said in a statement that he had been terminated. He was put on leave with no athlete contact. Through an attorney, he denied any wrongdoing.
Congress passed a bill in August of 2020 that requires amateur sport organizations to report any reasonable suspicion of abuse to SafeSport. Congress requires SafeSport to report if an organization tries to interfere with an investigation.
According to the federal statute, Congress has given exclusive jurisdiction to SafeSport to investigate allegations of sexual misconduct in amateur sports. The National governing body who fail to report an allegation to SafeSport can be investigated for interference and can be subject to sanctions.
A lifetime ban from participating in all activities and sports is one of the punishments for wrongdoing.
For this system to work, the NGBs need to follow the law. The U.S. Ski and Snowboard is an example of how many NGBs attempt to skirt oversight.
The CEO of USA Water Polo was investigated by Congress.
In its statement, the federation denied withholding information and said it reported two additional claims to SafeSport after Callan Chythlook-Sifsof, a 2010 Olympian, made initial allegations against Foley on social media during the Beijing Olympics in February. The federation began its own investigation into whether the conduct of the coach was in line with the values of the U.S. Ski and Snowboard Association.
The federation's statement runs contrary to the chain of events detailed to ESPN by athletes and others involved in the investigation.
An Olympic medalist, who requested her name be kept confidential, said she received a text from a former U.S. Snowboard athlete.
Kosglow asked if they could talk on the phone. Kosglow told the medalist that Peter was so devastated when she picked up the phone. His kids flew home and he had to tell his wife about it.
The athlete told Kosglow that she was one of the women who was hurt by Foley, but she did not give any details of her assault. The athlete said Kosglow told her that the first thing he said when he saw her was that he would reach out to her.
Kosglow reached out to her as well, after she was told that Foley pinned her against an elevator wall and tried to kiss her without her consent.
She knows the rules and she told me that I was on the board of directors.
Kosglow didn't respond to requests for comment.
Five days after the phone calls with Kosglow, O'Malley and the Olympic medalist said they both received phone calls from the U.S. Ski and Snowboard's general counsel.
Pitt told O'Malley to think of him as HR during their February phone call. I am trying to figure out if we can keep Peter Foley employed.
I was like, "Oh, cool." O'Malley said that he was going to lay it out for you.
She came in hot when Pitt called her. She said that she would get to the bottom of the situation.
Pitt told the medalist that she could either report her allegations to him or an independent lawyer. Pitt told the athlete SafeSport did interviews on videotape that they would be able to view, according to the medalist.
Alison made it sound like the SafeSport process was going to be difficult. It made me question if I wanted to go through with it.
The medalist claims that when she was 19 years old, she was sexually assault by the man. She said she didn't feel she could stop him because he controlled which athletes could go to the Olympics.
I told her everything I knew and she told me I had to tell SafeSport.
The former employee of U.S. Ski and Snowboard, who claimed that she was sexually assault in 2008, declined to speak with U.S. Ski and Snowboard.
I was suspicious of their motives for reaching out and trying to conduct their own investigation outside of SafeSport.
The women were told that Pitt had asked SafeSport if they could investigate sexual misconduct allegations as part of a human resources inquiry, but they didn't know that SafeSport had already interviewed O'Malley. The federation did not have permission from SafeSport to conduct its own investigation.
After talking to Pitt, O'Malley said, "nothing moved."
That was the lowest point since the first allegations were made, according to the Olympian. The women were discouraged that anyone would take action based on their claims.
The athlete said it spoke to the organization's problems. That our stories were not enough.
According to O&Malley, he wrote Pitt an email last week asking for a written copy of what Pitt had said. Pitt told her that her own allegations were confidential and could not be shared with her. The allegation of sexual assault that the medalist had reported to Pitt was left out of O'Malley's account after she received communications that Pitt had mixed up her account with that of the medalist.
Now suspicious of Pitt's motives, O'Malley decided to call SafeSport directly. She was told they were unaware of her complaint.
The Olympian contacted SafeSport and was told the watchdog was unaware of her report.
The Olympic medalist said that her experience with Pitt and the U.S. Ski and Snowboard was really dishonest. No. When it comes to stability and trustworthiness, the U.S. Ski and Snowboard has never been known to exhibit any of those qualities.
The medalist said that based on conversations they had with the SafeSport intake, they began to feel that the watchdog would take their complaints seriously.
The women I have spoken with at SafeSport have been very kind to me.
They both said they encouraged Chythlook-Sifsof and Nikola to contact the agency. By Thursday, SafeSport had received all of the women's complaints.
On the next day, he was suspended by the agency.
The U.S. Ski and Snowboard terminated him four days after asking questions about its investigation.
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.
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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