The U.S. Center for SafeSport, an organization "designed to make sure that athletes are safe, supported and strengthened through sports," launched last month. The Center provides "response and resolution for claims of sexual misconduct ... for the National Governing Bodies within the U.S. Olympic Committee."
espnW had the opportunity to chat with the Center's CEO, Shellie Pfohl, who was formerly the executive director of the President's Council on Fitness, Sports and Nutrition -- appointed by President Barack Obama in 2010 -- about how the organization plans to bring about serious change in sports safety.
espnW: What is U.S. Center for SafeSport designed to do?
Shellie Pfohl: The U.S. Center for SafeSport is designed to make sure that athletes are safe, supported and strengthened through sports. To that end, we address bullying, harassment, hazing, as well as physical, emotional and sexual misconduct in sport.
We have two offices -- the first, and the one that most people are familiar with, is our response and resolution office. It addresses sexual misconduct and abuse in sports, specifically within the Olympic and Paralympic movements.
We provide the response and resolution for claims of sexual misconduct, and we investigate cases for the National Governing Bodies within the U.S. Olympic Committee. The other office is our education and awareness [bureau]. We tackle the outreach, education and training, not only for athletes and coaches but also for parents and youth sport administrators. That work extends far beyond the Olympic family. We want to be a resource for all youth sport organizations, parents, coaches and athletes at all levels.
espnW: What powers has the USOC given SafeSport?
SP: By the USOC's authority, under the Ted Stevens Act, they have given us jurisdiction over the 47 NGBs as it relates to sexual misconduct and abuse.
So it is now mandated that those 47 NGBs report to us any claims of sexual misconduct. Those reports can come through the NGBs, but they can also come directly from athletes, [survivors], coaches or other third parties. We even accept anonymous reports. There are a diverse number of ways that cases can be referred to us, but we take all claims seriously.
If it is determined that someone acted in an unacceptable manner, we are authorized to and will issue sanctions up to and including being banned. Any sanctions must be upheld across the NGBs.
Hopefully this will prevent sanctioned individuals from moving from state to state and club to club to avoid sanctions. We will also have a searchable database so that anyone in the public can search the name of their child's coach or other officials to determine if they've been banned or sanctioned.
espnW: Are you under any obligation to report claims to law enforcement authorities?
SP: We, the U.S. Center for SafeSport, made ourselves a mandatory reporter. If someone calls us and they are not mandatory reporters, then we would report. We would also help them understand how they may also report to law enforcement officials.
espnW: You mentioned training. Is the training that you offer mandatory for those associated with NGBs?
SP: Yes, it is mandated through the NGBs.
Each NGB has different governance and membership structures -- but coaches, medical staff, officials and the like are now required to take the SafeSport training to participate in NGB sanctioned events.
To date, over 300,000 individuals have taken the training.
The USOC has also mandated that the NGBs adopt the Center's code. Many have already begun to amend their bylaws to make the code a part of their governing structure.
The funding the NGBs receive from the USOC is dependent on their adoption of the code.
espnW: Before the Center's opening in March, there had already been many athletes who had made claims of sexual misconduct and abuse. Does the Center have any plans to help those people retroactively?
Obviously law enforcement is a bit different, but from our standpoint we want individuals to have a place to go to receive the support they need. Secondly, regarding resources, we are assembling and creating partnerships with organizations that specialize in sexual abuse support. It is through those partnerships that we plan to provide a great deal of support for [survivors] of sexual abuse in sports.
espnW: How much influence does the USOC have over SafeSport?
SP: While the USOC helped charter SafeSport, assembled the work groups and put extensive resources behind the organization -- it has always been made very clear that for the Center to be effective, we had to be independent.
So our board of directors is entirely independent. All of our investigators and arbitrators are independent. We don't have any reporting structure to the USOC. We aren't beholden to them. They certainly provide funding, as they should, through the NGBs for us to conduct the response and resolution. But we are completely independent. As our funding diversifies, it will be clear that we aren't so explicitly supported just by the USOC and NGBs.
espnW: People have been calling for this protection for athletes for some time. What has taken so long?
SP: I think the delay speaks to the complexity of the issues at hand. My background is in sports, public health and fitness, not in abuse, so I know firsthand how complex and very sensitive the [subject] of sexual abuse in sports is. Another issue has been funding. The monies just haven't always been available for these heavy issues. While it seems a foregone conclusion that people would automatically want to support us, the nature of the issues makes it difficult to get corporations or foundations to stand up and say we want to be a part of the solution. Now that light that is shining on this issue right, we hope that it opens up more dialogue and that more people will come forward to support our efforts.
espnW: Where would you like to see the Center in five years?
SP: The data around sports and abuse is not easy to come by. We aim to change that. We want to establish metrics that will help us evaluate our process and our outcomes. When we're successful, that will mean that we are providing a fair process, responding to and resolving the cases, and preventing new cases from occurring. Prevention is the hardest thing to measure, but nonetheless, we'll be out educating people about things like grooming, red flags and best practices so that in five years we will certainly be able to see positive movement in prevention and fair processes.
For more information, visit the U.S. Center for SafeSport website.
Cecelia Townes is a graduate of UCLA School of Law and the Real HU in Washington, D.C. She used to ball so hard on the tennis court. Now she serves it up on her blog, GladiatHers.com, and with student-athletes with Beyond the Game LLC. Follow Cecelia on Twitter and Instagram @SportyEsquire