A ruling by the California State Supreme Court on Thursday is being hailed as a “groundbreaking decision” that will help protect young athletes from sexual abuse in the future.
The Court reaffirmed a lower court decision, ruling that USA Taekwondo, a United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee (USOPC) National Governing Body (NGB), had a legal duty to protect its athletes from sexual abuse.
The Court of Appeals had previously ruled that USA Taekwondo could be held liable for the harm caused to the three athletes who were sexually abused by convicted coach Marc Gitelman. The appellate court had also said that the USOPC did not have a duty to protect the athletes, which the State Supreme Court reaffirmed on Thursday as well.
Attorney Stephen Estey, who represents one of the three victims, says the ruling will help put the safety of the athletes first and foremost.
“For decades, the USOPC’s National Governing Bodies have refused to implement necessary safeguards to keep athletes safe from predatory coaches,” Estey said in a press release from EJV Communications’ Ed Vasquez. “This ruling will force the 61 NGB’s overseen by the USOPC to place the safety of youngsters over money and medals.”
Many National Governing Bodies, such as USA Swimming, receive direct payments from the USOPC and rely on it to manage their respective Olympic Trials.
The press release also says that, per USA Swimming training documents, some experts suggest that “as many as 20% of children in competitive sports are at risk of abuse or exploitation.”
“NGBs can no longer ‘turn a blind eye’ and blame small clubs which are in most instances underinsured, underfunded and mostly run by volunteer parents,” said attorney Robert Allard, a member of another law firm, Corsiglia, McMahon & Allard, working on behalf of the abused athletes.
“Minor athletes in the Olympic movement are far better protected now than they were in the past because NGB’s, now facing significant legal exposure if they fail to do the right thing, will be highly motivated to strengthen its child protection systems.”
“The ruling will make NGBs think twice about taking money from local clubs without providing a safe environment for kids, free of predatory coaches,” Estey said.