Olympics
UNITED STATES OLYMPIC COMMITTEE LIED ABOUT SEXUAL ASSAULTS OF ATHLETES
BY DANIEL ETCHELLS
Philadelphia Indemnity Insurance Company has filed a lawsuit against the United States Olympic Committee (USOC), claiming its leaders falsely said they had received no sexual assault claims when in fact the problem had been prevalent for decades and included a large number of victims.
As reported by The Denver Post, the lawsuit was filed by Denver Attorney L. Kathleen Chaney in the US District Court in Denver.
It details numerous examples of sexual assault allegations dating back to at least 2010 to make its case.
The lawsuit cites a report by the US Senate’s Energy and Commerce Committee that stated sexual abuse had been happening within the Olympic community for three decades.
The report also said the USOC had determined in 2010 that “the issue of sexual abuse is very real in sport and that a call to action is needed”.
Philadelphia
Indemnity Insurance Company wants a judge to determine that it is not
accountable for multiple lawsuits filed in recent years against the USOC.
The Philadelphia Indemnity Insurance Company wants a judge to determine that it is not accountable for multiple lawsuits filed in recent years against the USOC, including those that have come in the wake of the Larry Nassar scandal
This includes those that have come in the wake of the sexual abuse scandal surrounding former USA Gymnastics team doctor Larry Nassar.
More than $75,000 (£58,000/€67,000) is also being sought in damages by Philadelphia Indemnity Insurance Company.
According to the lawsuit, the USOC applied for the insurance in 2015, filing applications for two sexual or physical abuse liability cover policies with limits of $2 million (£1.5 million/€1.8 million) and $10 million (£7.7 million/€8.9 million).
The USOC denied it had ever had an allegation or claim of sexual abuse when filling out its applications for insurance cover, and claimed an insurer had never denied it cover.
The policy was signed by the USOC’s director of risk management Eric Marsh on March 11, 2015.
Last month, it was reported that a group of 51 women were suing the USOC for failing to prevent sexual abuse carried out by Nassar.
The Denver Post stated a 134-page lawsuit had been filed on March 12 in Colorado, where the USOC is based, asking for an “unspecified amount” in damages.
The claimants are also demanding reform and accountability at the USOC to protect athletes in the future, alleging they could have prevented the abuse of young female athletes, but instead actively tried to conceal the case and were negligent with reports and investigations.
It continues to assert, The Denver Post says, that even today the USOC’s directors are not taking proper measures against employees or representatives who are accused of sexual abuse.
Nassar is serving up to 175 years in prison having been found guilty of sexually abusing dozens of young American gymnasts under the guise of medical treatment.
An independent report published in December by law firm Ropes & Gray claimed both the USOC and USA Gymnastics had facilitated Nassar’s abuse and had failed to act when allegations against him first emerged.
The majority of the claimants in the case, which covers abuse from the 1990s to 2018, were children at the time of the abuse.
insidethegames has contacted the USOC for comment.
- Insidethegames
Roy Jones Jr has been handed the Olympic gold medal he was controversially denied in 1988 in an extraordinary act of sportsmanship by the South Korean fighter who beat him.
Hall of Fame boxer Jones shared a video on Wednesday from two years ago that showed Park Si-hun visiting the American’s ranch in Pensacola, Florida to present him with the light middleweight gold medal.
“I had the gold medal, but I want to give it back to you. It belongs to you,” Park said in the video through his son, who translated.
Jones, who was overcome with emotion by the gesture, covered his face with his hand before saying: “Wow, that is crazy.”
Their match at the Seoul Olympics remains one of boxing’s most contentious moments as Jones appeared to dominate the fight but lost to Park by a 3-2 decision that drew instant criticism and sparked enduring controversy.
Despite losing the gold medal match, Jones was selected as the Val Barker Trophy winner as the best boxer of the 1988 Olympics.
Jones went on to become a four-division world champion and is regarded as one of the sport’s best pound-for-pound fighters of all time.
“In 1988, I was robbed of the gold medal in what became one of the biggest controversies in boxing history,” Jones wrote in his Instagram post.
“By the grace of God, a couple of years ago, the man who won that medal made the trip from South Korea to my home to return it to me, feeling it was rightfully mine.
“I hope you enjoy this moment as much as I did.”
-Reuters
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U.S. President Donald Trump will sign an executive order on Tuesday creating a White House Olympics task force to handle security and other issues related to the 2028 Summer Olympic Games, an administration official told Reuters.
The task force, made up of members from Trump’s cabinet and government agencies, will coordinate federal, state and local government work on transportation, the official said.
It also will “streamline visa processing and credentialing for foreign athletes, coaches, officials, and media,” the official said in an email.
The United States will host the Olympics in Los Angeles in three years. Trump, a Republican who lost the 2020 election to Democrat Joe Biden, has expressed pleasure that his second term will coincide with the Olympics and the World Cup.
“During his first term, President Trump was instrumental in securing America’s bid to host the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. The president considers it a great honor to oversee this global sporting spectacle in his second term,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement on Monday.
Last month organizers of the Los Angeles games released the first look at the Olympic competition schedule . The city had also hosted the Olympics in 1932 and 1984.
“The creation of this task force marks an important step forward in our planning efforts and reflects our shared commitment to delivering not just the biggest, but the greatest Games the world has ever seen in the summer of 2028,” Casey Wasserman, the chair and president of LA28, said in a statement.
–Reuters
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By DAVID LEE
Home is many places for swimmer Adaku Nwandu, who was born in China, lives in Singapore and wears the Nigeria flag on her swimsuit.
And it is at her current home in Singapore that the 17-year-old is making her debut at the World Aquatics Championships (WCH).
In the second heat of the 100m freestyle at the WCH Arena, the teenager, who has a Nigerian father and Chinese mother, led at the turn before finishing third in 1min 0.89sec – she eventually placed 59th out of 82 athletes overall.
After her race, Adaku shared with The Straits Times that she was born and raised in Shanghai, and started swimming when she was eight. Interestingly, it was ice cream that kept her in the sport.
Adaku, who still has the 50m freestyle heats on Aug 2, said: “At a school competition, I didn’t do so well and I asked my dad if we could make a deal. He said if I do better, he would buy me ice cream once every week, and that’s a promise we have kept with each other. And that’s what brought me here.”
In 2023, the family moved to Singapore due to her mother’s work posting. With her fluent Mandarin and love for Asian and spicy food, it did not take long for her to pick up Singlish and enjoy local delights like chicken rice and chilli crab.
She said: “We came here mainly because of my mother’s work, and also because the swimming scene back where I lived in China was a little bit toxic, so she also thought Singapore would be a new experience and better for my swimming.”
By then, she had already committed to representing Nigeria after its aquatics association contacted her after the National Sports Festival in Asaba, where the then 16-year-old was part of the national record-breaking women’s 4x200m freestyle relay team.
But Singapore is where she has been honing her swimming skills, as she has set her 50m and 100m freestyle long- and short-course Nigeria national records at meets here.
Noting her improvements, Singapore swimming coach and performance director Gary Tan said: “Adaku has been participating in our system for a while, and we hope it helps her develop as a swimmer and achieve what she wants while training in Singapore with her school (German European School Singapore).”
For someone who is inspired by Olympic champions David Popovici, Caeleb Dressel and Adam Peaty for “their dedication and the way they are able to take breaks for themselves to improve and get back to the water”, qualifying for Paris 2024 on ranking points was a dream come true.
Her Olympic debut was also unforgettable as her swimsuit ripped 20 minutes before her 50m freestyle heat, but she managed to finish second in her heat and 33rd out of 78th overall in 26.62 seconds, just 0.03 of a second off her personal best.
Back in Singapore, Adaku, who is in the International Baccalaureate (IB) programme at her school, realised that she needed more of such resilience to reach her goals.
The swimmer, who also plays for the school’s volleyball team, said: “I had a lot of improvement the first year I came to Singapore. But this past year has been especially hard for me with family problems and also school. The workload in my first year of IB made it hard to balance training and school.
“Especially in the next year, I want to focus more on swimming and try to get some new personal bests because this year I just plateaued. I’m looking forward to training harder and preparing for my next competition and hopefully qualify for the next Olympics.”
-Strait Times, Singapore
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