SafeSport suspends ex-US Olympic snowboarding coach Peter Foley after sexual misconduct probe
Longtime U.S. Olympic snowboarding coach Peter Foley has been suspended following a sexual misconduct investigation by the U.S. Center for SafeSport, according to the center's online disciplinary database.
The decision, issued Tuesday, comes nearly 18 months after former U.S. snowboarder and 2010 Olympian Callan Chythlook-Sifsof wrote on social media that Foley had acted inappropriately during her time on the team. She and two other female snowboarders, Rosey Fletcher and Erin O’Malley, later sued Foley for sexual battery and assault, alleging that he had digitally penetrated, groped and made unwanted sexual comments about women on the team.
Foley has denied the allegations. U.S. Ski & Snowboard placed him on administrative leave following the 2022 Winter Olympics, then fired him in March 2022.
Foley's attorney did not immediately reply to an email seeking comment on SafeSport's ruling Tuesday night. A spokesperson for the center also did not immediately reply to a request for comment.
SafeSport does not generally publicize the specific findings of its investigations, nor the details of its sanctions. Kenya Davis, an attorney who is representing the three former snowboarders in their lawsuit against Foley, said in a statement that Foley's suspension is for 10 years, with five years of probation to follow.
"For survivors of assault and harassment, being able to hold your abuser accountable is not always a given," Chythlook-Sifsof, Fletcher and O’Malley said in a statement issued through their legal team.
"While this process has been painful, we are gratified that SafeSport has finally issued a ruling helping us remove a predator from his position of power over young women for the next ten years. As women we have stood together to help protect the sport for the future and today we have peace in knowing that the sport is safer."
Foley, 58, coached the U.S. snowboard team for nearly three decades, beginning with the team's inception in 1994. He led the team to seven Olympics. Chythlook-Sifsof's, Fletcher's and O'Malley's lawsuit described him as "the Kingmaker and Queenmaker of the sport."
SafeSport's disciplinary database also indicated Tuesday that a former U.S. Ski & Snowboard board member, Lisa Kosglow, has been suspended for "abuse of process" and "failure to report." Kosglow resigned following an ESPN report that she had attempted to interfere in an investigation into Foley. Attempts to reach her Tuesday were not immediately successful.
Both suspensions are still subject to appeal.
Contact Tom Schad at tschad@usatoday.com or on social media @Tom_Schad.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: SafeSport suspends former USA snowboarding coach Peter Foley
