U.S. Ski & Snowboard investigating allegations
U.S. Ski & Snowboard confirmed Friday that it is investigating allegations of sexual misconduct and inappropriate behavior on the U.S. snowboard team, including by longtime head coach Peter Foley.
The investigation was spurred by Instagram posts made by former athlete Callan Chythlook-Sifsof, 32, a member of the 2010 U.S. Olympic snowboard team.
“U.S. Ski & Snowboard has been made aware of the recent allegations,” U.S. Ski & Snowboard said in a statement to ESPN. “We take these allegations very seriously and the allegations are being investigated.”
U.S. Ski & Snowboard spokesperson Tom Horrocks did not respond to questions asking whether Foley, who is in Beijing, will continue to coach throughout the Olympics, and did not provide further details of the investigation.
In a series of posts to Instagram beginning on Feb. 6, Chythlook-Sifsof, 32, accused Foley of sexual harassment and taking “naked photos of female athletes for over a decade.”
In her posts, Chythlook-Sifsof also accused an athlete — 30-year-old Hagen Kearney, who is currently competing in snowboardcross in Beijing — of intimidating behavior and using racial slurs.
Instagram twice removed Chythlook-Sifsof’s posts for violating “our guidelines on nudity or sexual activity” and “bullying or harassment.” She reposted the allegations to her Instagram story and has continued to post throughout the Olympics.
“I cannot watch another Olympic Games without saying this publicly …” Chythlook-Sifsof wrote in her initial post. She then tagged Foley, Kearney and the U.S. snowboard team, and detailed a race in Lake Louise, Alberta, Canada, in 2014 where she says Foley made inappropriate sexual comments to her and a female teammate. In the same post, she accused Kearney of physically intimidating behavior and repeatedly using the N-word in her presence.
Foley has served as a head coach of the U.S. snowboard team since it was founded in 1994.
Lindsey Jacobellis, who won her second gold medal of the Beijing Games by teaming with Nick Baumgartner in Saturday’s mixed snowboardcross event, said she never had an issue with Foley.
“I can speak very highly of his character and he’s always been supporting me through everything that I’ve gone through,” Jacobellis said.
Information from The Associated Press was included in this report.