In a significant move, the U.S. Center for SafeSport has imposed a lifetime ban on Dalilah Sappenfield, a renowned U.S. Olympic pairs figure skating coach.
The ban, announced this week, comes in the wake of allegations of physical and emotional misconduct against Sappenfield. SafeSport, a national nonprofit organization established in 2017, has cited additional reasons for the ban, including retaliation, proactive policy violation, abuse of process, and failure to report.
"Culture change is happening," stated JuRiese Coln, CEO of SafeSport, in a conversation with USA Today. "Actions that were once tolerated or ignored are no longer accepted, and accountability is taking root," she added. Coln emphasized the importance of fostering safe environments for athletes to reach their potential and warned that those who persist in toxic tactics will find themselves on the wrong side of history.
The decision to ban Sappenfield follows an investigation that SafeSport initiated more than two years ago. As reported by USA Today in 2021, Sappenfield was temporarily prohibited from interacting with a dozen skaters and coaching without supervision after allegations of verbal abuse were leveled against her by 2016 U.S. national pairs champion Tarah Kayne.
Kayne, who was among the skaters Sappenfield was barred from contacting, shared her experiences with the media. She revealed that the alleged abuse led her to self-harm with a razor blade in 2019 while at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs. "She was constantly talking about sex, about who I was dating, about my sex life," Kayne told the media. "She knew I was struggling with my mental health, but instead of helping me, she chose to make fun of me. She even went to other skaters and told them about it, calling me names and asking the guys why anyone would want to date me."
Another incident reported to SafeSport involved a 16-year-old female Russian pairs skater who was residing at Sappenfields home in 2020, according to USA Today.
U.S. Figure Skating, in a statement on its website, announced that it "adopts the sanction imposed by the Center finding Dalilah Sappenfield Ineligible effective May 29, 2024."
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