Olympic figure skater, coaches being investigated for allegations | Page 2 | Golden Skate

Olympic figure skater, coaches being investigated for allegations

Alegria

On the Ice
Joined
Mar 15, 2014
Country
Ukraine
I just can't understand. Another coach asked two girls to ask Morgan to send those photos and he did?
 

Astolat

On the Ice
Joined
Feb 14, 2018
Country
Poland
Me neither. What was the role of Vinny Dispenza here? Why would he do anything like that?
 

Harriet

Record Breaker
Joined
Oct 23, 2017
Country
Australia
Is there any dispute about the fact that he sent the photo to a 13 year old?

I understand, from some computer scientists I used to work with, that it is possible to forge electronic information and make it look like an incriminating image has come from a different sender than the one who actually sent it. But forensic analysis of code can identify that sort of forgery these days, and anyway - why on earth would someone even bother?

It's far more likely than not that the allegations are correct and that Cipres sent the photos.
 

aname

On the Ice
Joined
Jan 4, 2018
The fact that Ashley Wagner opening up about John Coughlin is what led to this being reported is the exact reason why it's important to not minimize other's stories.
Ashley just tweeted this: https://twitter.com/AshWagner2010/status/1204406364396834821
When I came forward with my sexual assault, I had a lot of people asking me “why now?”. Why is my story important enough to be public? Reading the @USATODAY story, and seeing that my experience helped another athlete, another KID come forward, that is why I told my story.
 

Lota

Record Breaker
Joined
Nov 3, 2012
I just can't understand. Another coach asked two girls to ask Morgan to send those photos and he did?

Yeah, that sentence was confusing for me as well.

Either way, if he did send the photos (and it certainly seems that way), the blame still lies with him. Regardless of how the situation came about, he decided that it was appropriate to send the pictures to freaking 13 year olds. It's disgusting if he did it of his own volition, but even if he was asked to, he still had the only sane and proper choice which was to refuse! Makes my blood boil, gaaaaaaaahhhh! And then the whole silencing issue is just :hpull: I truly feel sorry for those girls but am very proud that they had the courage to tell the adults in their lives about the situation. They do not know how much good they're doing for the sport. Hopefully this also gives the strength to others to come forward about their own experiences (I hope there aren't many or ANY such people, but if there are, they need to know that this sort of stuff is NOT okay, is NOT their fault and that they're not alone in their fight).
 

nussnacker

one and only
Record Breaker
Joined
Mar 16, 2019
This is insane, so freaking gross.
Poor little girl, being intimidated by other adults who tried to cover up Cipres, instead of acting in the interests of a child.
Cipres and all the adults involved in covering it up and intimidating a girl should all receive punishment.
 

andromache

Record Breaker
Joined
Mar 23, 2014
I have been a fan of James/Cipres for a long time. I was rooting for them to win Worlds last year (in retrospect, I'm sure glad they didn't even medal). I thought John and Silvia were good coaches. But it turns out that everyone involved here is awful. John and Silvia should never be allowed to coach again. Period.

I'm so sad for this young girl.

(Looks like I need to change my user photo....)
 
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nussnacker

one and only
Record Breaker
Joined
Mar 16, 2019
Why Mr. Dispenza didn't ask for photos himself?:scratch2:

To be honest to me it looks like Dispenza knew that Cipres is a pedofile, so he tried to out him this way?
This makes the whole situation even more weird.
The coach, that asks his underage students to ask photos of intimate parts from other skaters, should be dismissed as well, and receive a punishment. How in the world anyone could think it can be appropriate?
 

believed

On the Ice
Joined
Apr 20, 2018
According to the article, this is the rough timeline:

- December 3, 2017: Morgan Cipres sends the pictures
(Unclear on the entire story, but Vinny Dispenza allegedly has been encouraging the teenage girl + another teenage girl to ask Cipres to send them pictures.)
- the evening of December 3, 2017(?): John Zimmerman and Silvia Fontana, along with Dispenza, find out about the photos ("Zimmerman and Fontana, who are married to each other, were made aware of the photos in a meeting with Dispenza at their home that evening, the girl and her parents said.")
- Zimmerman, Fontana, and Dispenza intimidate the girl and her family into staying silent ("The girl and her parents allege Zimmerman and Fontana intimidated the girl for several weeks, telling her that she was at fault for receiving the pictures because she was a “pretty girl and men have their needs,” that no one would believe her and that she would be shamed on social media, particularly in France, where Cipres is popular. Dispenza also allegedly issued a threat. “If I said something, he said I would never skate again,” the girl said.")
- December 3-December 30, 2017: the girl continues to meet with her tutor; at some point, she tells him about what has been happening
- December 30, 2017: her tutor sends an email to Dara Bushman, her psychologist, informing her about something that has occurred and asking her to talk to the girl
- Sometime after this: Bushman alerts parents and authorities. The police arrive to investigate, but the girl does not want to tell them what happened.
- Unknown date: Parents pull the girl out of the Tampa rink, return home. The girl has been in therapy.
- August 10, 2019: A family friend reports allegation to SafeSport after reading Ashley Wagner's interview with USA Today.
- Unknown date: SafeSport opens investigation. The investigation is ongoing.
 

Ziotic

Medalist
Joined
Dec 23, 2016
To be honest to me it looks like Dispenza knew that Cipres is a pedofile, so he tried to out him this way?
This makes the whole situation even more weird.
The coach, that asks his underage students to ask photos of intimate parts from other skaters, should dismissed as well, and receive a punishment. How in the world anyone could think it can be appropriate?

I kind of read it that way as well, like entrapment. Maybe the girls reported to him first and he was looking to confirm their accounts??

Either way it’s icky.
 

hanyuufan5

✨**:。*
Medalist
Joined
May 19, 2018
Wait, what?

On Dec. 3, 2017, Cipres allegedly direct messaged two photos of his penis on Instagram to the girl, who skated at the same rink as Cipres in Wesley Chapel, Fla. USA TODAY Sports has reviewed those messages, which were sent from what appears to be Cipres’ verified account.

The girl and her parents said a fourth adult also was involved in the alleged incident. Vinny Dispenza, another coach at the AdventHealth Center Ice rink, allegedly told the girl and another underage girl, whose family could not be reached for comment, to message Cipres asking him to send the photos to the girls in exchange for the promise of a pizza from Dispenza.

Have they proven that Cipres actually sent them and not someone trying to set him up?

In exchange for pizza? The risk/reward ratio for that (behalf of both Dispenza and the alleged victims) makes me a bit suspicious.

Something doesn't add up here.

I wish, for everyone's sake, they'd stop publicising these stories while there's still so much "allegedly" and "appears to be" floating around.

I'm not for one second saying that Cipres and his coaches are surely innocent, but I'd imagine that if someone could concoct something like this to frame him, they could also hack an Instagram account. Someday, one of these accusations is going to be fake. This one might or might not be, but one day, one will be or already has been.
 

Edwin

СделаноВХрустальном!
Record Breaker
Joined
Jan 5, 2019
I am so grateful that the girl's parents and the mandated reporters around her took her seriously, did their jobs and acted to protect her. And that SafeSport is pursuing an investigation as it should.

And I feel so angry and so sick that she has needed protection at all. Let alone from people I had judged to be decent human beings.

What is ISU policy on this, they'll probably wait for some SafeSport ruling? USFS already has its credibility tainted in previous cases?

And French fed? Protecting the 'reputation' of its member before anything else? Unless more accusations are made, because his kind of "men", "have their needs" and take who they want any time day or night?

One can be certain this kind of sexual intimidation and aggression is fairly common, and must be the next level of raising awareness in girls (and boys!) that governing bodies, parents and sensible commercial rink owners should take. In both adults and minors in their charge. The minors should know that playing these kind of games (which a lot of teenagers do in discovering their proto-sexuallity) is dangerous.
 

noskates

Record Breaker
Joined
Jun 11, 2012
Christine Brennan is and has always been into sensationalism and "allegedly and purportedly" are her standard phrases. So everybody, including many here, have already tried the people involved and found them guilty. Where there's smoke there's fire so none of this should be taken lightly but let's let the right people do the investigation and the damnation. I do feel sorry for the teenager involved because her world has just blown up. However, pictures are one thing - out and out rape and sexual abuse is a whole different situation. None of it should be condoned but putting someone's feet to the fire before a thorough investigation has been completed can lead to...............oh yeah, suicide!!!
 

Sugar Coated

Final Flight
Joined
Apr 20, 2018
Wait, what?



Have they proven that Cipres actually sent them and not someone trying to set him up?

In exchange for pizza? The risk/reward ratio for that (behalf of both Dispenza and the alleged victims) makes me a bit suspicious.

Something doesn't add up here.

I wish, for everyone's sake, they'd stop publicising these stories while there's still so much "allegedly" and "appears to be" floating around.

I'm not for one second saying that Cipres and his coaches are surely innocent, but I'd imagine that if someone could concoct something like this to frame him, they could also hack an Instagram account. Someday, one of these accusations is going to be fake. This one might or might not be, but one day, one will be or already has been.
To me it looked like that they were trying to get the girls to send texts asking for his explicit pics so they would have evidence of plausible deniability. So then it’s like, “he was just responding to the girls....these girls are the ones who kept texting and asking to see pictures of him, we have texts to prove that the girls were asking for it.”
 

Harriet

Record Breaker
Joined
Oct 23, 2017
Country
Australia
To be honest to me it looks like Dispenza knew that Cipres is a pedofile, so he tried to out him this way?

The greater probability is that Dispenza is also an abuser, I'm afraid. This kind of 'game' can be a grooming strategy.
 

Noxchild

Medalist
Joined
Feb 14, 2018
Country
Canada
How nice that the victim blamers are already out, as if a 13-year-old (!!!) would make up these charges against a famous skater and coaches and a host of adults believe her credulously. Because that happens so often to victims of sex crimes? BTW is all the correspondence in the article "alleged" too?

Anyway I'm just disgusted. Ban all these people from the sport and arrest them. My heart goes out to the accused and her family, and I hope they get their justice.
 
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