United States Center for SafeSport

The United States Center for SafeSport is an American organization set up in 2017 under the auspices of the Protecting Young Victims from Sexual Abuse and Safe Sport Authorization of 2017. It aims to address the problem of child abuse in sport.[1] One of the functions of the SafeSport initiative is to collate a central database of disciplinary cases across all sporting disciplines, something which is still in process as of 2019.[2]

United States Center for SafeSport
HeadquartersDenver, Colorado
URLuscenterforsafesport.org
CommercialNo
RegistrationOptional
LaunchedMarch 2017
Current statusActive

The SafeSport program has been criticized for being underfunded,[3] and insufficiently independent from the United States Olympic Committee.[4] Its first CEO, Shellie Pfohl, resigned in 2019, and USA Today has reported her as saying that the Center for SafeSport had been "inundated" with more than 1800 reports of sexual misconduct or abuse, and lacked the resources to deal with all the cases.[5]

The Center provides education, training and outreach concerning bullying, harassment, hazing, physical abuse, emotional abuse, sexual abuse, and sexual misconduct within the United States Olympic & Paralympic organizations. Reporting, both online and by telephone, is key to its mission.[6] The Centralized Disciplinary Database provides online access to published actions regarding individuals and their current status.[7]

U.S senators Richard Blumenthal and Jerry Moran have proposed measures which would strengthen oversight and funding of the SafeSport program.[4]

See also

USA Gymnastics sex abuse scandal

References
  1. "The U.S. Center for SafeSport Opens". Team USA. Denver, Colorado: United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee. March 24, 2017. Archived from the original on 1 March 2018. Retrieved 27 March 2020. “There is a critical need to address abuse in sports and we want to do everything we can to provide athletes with a positive, safe and secure environment,” said U.S. Olympic Committee (USOC) CEO Scott Blackmun. “Violence, abuse and misconduct in sport not only threatens athletes, but also undermines the fundamental values that sport is based on.”“The launch of the U.S. Center for SafeSport is an essential step in protecting athletes from abuse,” said Han Xiao, Chairman of the USOC’s Athletes’ Advisory Council. “We look forward to working together to create a safe environment for our youth and athletes.”
  2. Branch, John (2018-09-25). "Sports Officials Are Making Lists of People Barred for Sexual Misconduct. Big Lists". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on 1 March 2019. Retrieved 2019-08-04.
  3. 2018 Congressional Record, Vol. 164, Page H640 "29 January 2018 Comments on S. 534 as amended" (PDF). 29 January 2018. pp. H636–H643. Retrieved 27 March 2020. Ms. JACKSON LEE...However, I must note a concern with a change the bill before us would make to the Senate-passed version of S. 534. The bill unanimously passed by the Senate would authorize funding to be provided to the U.S. Center for Safe Sport in the amount of $1 million for each of the next 4 years. Unfortunately, the version of the bill before us strips this funding authorization. I believe we should have taken up the Senate bill without amendment.
  4. Moskovitz, Diana (2 August 2019). "Congress Responds To The Larry Nassar Scandal With A Half-Measure And Handshakes All Around". Deadspin. G/O Media. Archived from the original on 2 August 2019. Retrieved 2019-08-04.
  5. Axon, Rachel; Armour, Nancy (28 December 2018). "SafeSport CEO Shellie Pfohl will step down at year's end". USA Today. Archived from the original on 29 December 2018. Retrieved 2019-08-04. Pfohl’s departure comes two weeks after a USA TODAY investigation [link in original] found there is little to no enforcement of sanctions for sexual misconduct. USA TODAY found six coaches who had continued to coach despite being permanently banned. Of the 40 governing bodies who responded to a USA TODAY survey, only 17 said they can punish clubs or members that ignore the bans. ... SafeSport currently has a searchable database, but it only includes people who have been sanctioned since the center opened in March 2017. Of the 50 governing bodies, only 23 maintain any sort of public banned list. Three governing bodies – hockey, soccer and climbing – keep theirs private. The USOC ordered governing bodies in May[, 2018] to share information on individuals they had banned with SafeSport for a universal list. Pfohl had said she hoped such a list would be ready by early 2019. ... “No,” Pfohl said when asked if the center had adequate resources to investigate the volume of complaints.
  6. "Report a SafeSport Concern | U.S. Center for SafeSport". SafeSport. Retrieved 2020-03-27.
  7. "Search the Disciplinary Database | U.S. Center for SafeSport". SafeSport. Retrieved 2020-03-27.


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