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The American Center for SafeSport issued a lifetime ban for US Olympic Pairs Figure Skating coach Dalilah Sappenfield on Wednesday, citing physical and emotional misconduct.
SafeSport, a national nonprofit founded in 2017, announced this week the ban from its central disciplinary database. In addition to abuse, the entry cites retaliation, violation of proactive policies, abuse of process, and failure to report.
A skater jumps during the Figure Skating Gala Exhibition at the Beijing 2022 Olympic Winter Games at the Capital Indoor Stadium on February 20, 2022, in Beijing, China. (David Ramos/Getty Images)
“There is a cultural shift occurring,” SafeSport CEO Ju'Riese Colón told USA Today in a statement.
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“Actions that were once tolerated or ignored are no longer accepted and accountability is taking hold,” he continued.
“That's progress, but creating long-term cultural change requires a strong commitment from everyone in the sports community to foster safe environments for athletes to reach their potential. Those who cling to toxic tactics will be left behind and in the wrong side of history.”
The ban comes more than two years after SafeSport launched an investigation into Sappenfield.
According to a USA Today report published in 2021, Sappenfield was temporarily banned from having contact with a dozen skaters and training unsupervised following allegations of verbal abuse by 2016 US National Pairs Champion Tarah. Kayne.
Coach Dalilah Sappenfield at the Hilton Honors Skate America at Citizens Business Bank Arena on October 23, 2011 in Ontario, California. (Stephen Dunn/Getty Images)
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Kayne, who was among those Sappenfield was not to have contact with, detailed the abuse allegations to the outlet. She said that led to her cutting herself with a razor blade in 2019 while she was at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs.
“She was constantly talking about sex, about who I was dating, about my sex life,” Kayne told the outlet at the time. “It was completely inappropriate, but that's what Dalilah does. She uses the gossip of other skaters on the rink against you.
“She knew I was struggling with my mental health, but instead of helping me, she decided to make fun of me. She even went to other skaters and told them about it, calling me names and asking guys why anyone would want to date me. “
Tarah Kayne and Danny O'Shea perform in the championship pairs short program during the US Figure Skating Championships at the Greensboro Coliseum Complex. (Bob Donnan/USA Today Sports)
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According to USA Today, another incident involving a 16-year-old Russian figure skater, who was staying at Sappenfield's home in 2020, was also reported to SafeSport.
US Figure Skating announced on its website that it “adopts the sanction imposed by the Center deeming Dalilah Sappenfield ineligible effective May 29, 2024.”
Sappenfield did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital.
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