U.S. Center for SafeSport

Donna Spencer – The Canadian Press

Canada’s sports minister, Pascale St-Onge expects a rush of complaints when the new Office of the Sport Integrity Commissioner starts its mandate later this month.

The country’s first sport integrity commissioner, Sarah-Eve Pelletier, begins receiving and addressing complaints June 20.

The U.S. Center for SafeSport, established in 2017, has said it received 5,000 reports and sanctioned over 600 individuals in its first three years of operation.

Pascale St-Onge’s first five months as Canada’s sports minister, allegations of maltreatment, sexual abuse or misuse of funds were levelled against at least eight national sport organizations in what she called a “crisis.”

St-Onge established the Office of the Sport Integrity Commissioner (OSIC) as an independent entity to investigate reports of abuse.

“We anticipate a backlog also,” St-Onge told The Canadian Press. “I know that there’s going to be a lot of phone calls just because of the stories that we’ve heard in the past few weeks and months.

“I’m really shaken by the stories that we’ve heard.

“I’m happy that we’re going to have an independent mechanism. I know that the first years are going to be hard, but what I hope is that we can have a future where athletes, as soon as situations happen, they know (where) they can turn to, so that we can intervene as fast as possible.”

This year’s federal budget provided $16 million to fund OSIC’s operations over its first three years.

Sport Canada already contributes over $1 million annually to the Sport Dispute Resolution Centre of Canada (SDRCC), which provides arbitration and mediation to settle disputes.

By comparison, the U.S. Center for SafeSport’s funding envelope in 2020 was $18.2 million US, with the United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee contributing $11.5 million to it.”

“We’re going to watch closely how things go, if the resources are sufficient,” St-Onge said. “We are already funding the SDRCC. This additional $16 million over the next three years, we’ll see how it goes.

“This new mechanism is top priority for me, that it’s efficient.”

All national sport organizations will be bound by a universal code of conduct. St-Onge says she’s been meeting with NSOs about safe sport.

“They all know that it’s a real big problem, that I’m not going to stand by tolerating the situations and the stories that we’ve heard,” the minister said.

“They all know that we’re working toward a culture change, that they have to be part of it. We’re going to raise the bar about what we expect from them, how they need to prevent those situations from happening.”

Push for reports of maltreatment, abuse

St-Onge backs Canada Basketball’s “Learn About The Signs” campaign announced Thursday in Ottawa during a Canadian Elite Basketball League game between the BlackJacks and Scarborough Shooting Stars. The minister attended the game.

The campaign, funded by Sport Canada, features an ad dramatizing toxic behaviours.

“We can’t be in every gym in this country, but we can hold every gym accountable,” Canada Basketball chief executive officer Michael Bartlett said.

“Our job has to be using our megaphone, our platform, our marketing muscle, our resources, to get the basketball community’s attention collectively on what is acceptable and what is not, so they have the empowerment to call out the unacceptable behaviour, and have tools and resources available to them to know what to do in those situations.

“We’re doing this because it’s our job to lead on determining and sharing and promoting right from wrong.”

Bartlett is prepared for the ad campaign to potentially prompt people to report instances of maltreatment and abuse in the sport of basketball.

“I won’t be upset, or disappointed or embarrassed about our sector if all of a sudden instances start coming forward because I actually think in some cases, maybe this campaign will give people the confidence to come forward,” he said.

“No sport is perfect. No ecosystem is perfect. There is a values disconnect that exists everywhere that we can’t control, but we can do something about it.

“I want our sport to be leading the way in doing something about it if something is brought forward to us. Creating that confidence marker in the basketball community is a goal here.”

Said St-Onge: “It’s a good sign that such a big organization like Canada Basketball is going to do something around that theme. In light of the latest stories that we’ve heard, one of the problems in the sports system is the culture of silence.

“People have stayed silent in front of those situations. Talking about it, it’s a really important first step.”

‘Athletes have had enough’: Money, medals putting pressure on Canadian high-performance sport culture

Source: cbc.ca

By Katie Strang The Athletic

February 11, 2022

U.S. Senator Chuck Grassley sent a letter Friday to USA Hockey concerning the national governing body’s “cooperation” and “compliance” with the U.S. Center for SafeSport’s policies and investigations. The U.S. Center for SafeSport investigates claims of sexual misconduct within the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee’s purview.

In the letter, addressed to USA Hockey executive director Pat Kelleher and president Mike Trimboli, Grassley (R-Iowa), the ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, reminded USA Hockey of their legal obligations under the Empowering Olympic, Paralympic, and Amateur Athletes Act of 2020, which requires national governing bodies to protect athletes from sexual abuse; under the law, NGBs also have the duty to immediately report any “reasonable suspicion” of child abuse to both law enforcement and the Center.

“As the Nassar case exemplifies, inaction may lead to many more victims being harmed, which would be intolerable,” Grassley wrote, referencing the case of Larry Nassar, who sexually abused hundreds of young female gymnasts.

The law referenced by Grassley requires the U.S. Center for SafeSport to report to Congress within 72 hours “any attempt to interfere in or influence the outcome of an investigation” by a national governing body. The U.S. Center for SafeSport reported USA Hockey earlier this week, multiple sources confirmed to The Athletic.

It is not immediately clear the nature of the investigation being conducted by the U.S. Center for SafeSport. A spokesperson for the Center declined to comment on the investigation, citing the Center’s policy for ongoing probes. USA Hockey was not immediately available for comment.

Previously, the U.S. Center for Safesport reported to Congress that USA Badminton had potentially run afoul of the law based on allegations that it was discouraging reporting of sexual misconduct, encouraging concealment and destruction evidence on the subject and refusing to cooperate with the Center’s investigation, according to a letter published by Grassley’s office in October 2021.

In that case, Grassley’s office warned USA Badminton officials of its legal obligations and also advised that Grassley had alerted the Federal Bureau of Investigation about the concerns.

USA Hockey has come under scrutiny for how it handled allegations of sexual misconduct. Former USA Hockey president Jim Smith was investigated by the U.S. Center for SafeSport because of allegations he mishandled claims of sexual abuse involving former prominent Chicago-area youth and college hockey coach Thomas “Chico” Adrahtas. The matter was closed by SafeSport, but Smith later announced he would not seek re-election, referencing these allegations and telling members of the need to be “totally united as we move forward.”

USA Hockey is a co-defendant in a May 2021 federal lawsuit brought by victims of Adrahtas. The complaint alleges that Smith and others within USA Hockey and AHAI (Illinois’ amateur hockey state governing body) were told about the coach’s sexual misconduct and did not report the allegations to law enforcement or investigate the matter. USA Hockey filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit in September, asking the court to dismiss the complaint for failure to state a claim.

(Photo: Bruce Bennett / Getty Images)