Olympic figure skater, coaches being investigated for allegations

[drivingmissdaisy]

It's especially disappointing if it's true that Silvia acted to discourage the minor from reporting the incident. She's a beautiful woman and there's no doubt she's faced harassment at some point in her life, so she should know exactly why this is a huge problem.

 

[Metis]

It's especially disappointing if it's true that Silvia acted to discourage the minor from reporting the incident. She's a beautiful woman and there's no doubt she's faced harassment at some point in her life, so she should know exactly why this is a huge problem.

Physical attractiveness has nothing to do with the risk of being abused. Nothing.

She should know this is a huge problem because she’s a sentient adult who can understand that sexual abuse of a minor child is horrific, not because of her physical features.

 

[drivingmissdaisy]

Physical attractiveness has nothing to do with the risk of being abused. Nothing.

I stated that poorly. You're absolutely right.

 

[theteez]

I understand. But I think some important part of the story is missed.
Girl and her parents admitted that she was bribed to ask for photos. So why Zimmerman and Fontana intimidated the girl with that "she was at fault for receiving the pictures because she was a “pretty girl and men have their needs”. They just could say that she asked for that photos herself. And why "guilty" Morgan and Dispenza immediately ran to Zimmerman and Fontana and admitted their wrong doings?
I don't want to say, that girl is lying. I just want to say, that there must be more to the story.

Your english understanding is not really good. The 13 yr old girl was not bribed to ask for photos! With her parents they went to Zimmerman and Fontana's house to show them the pics that Cipres sent her and instead of reporting it to SafeSport or police the coaches told her not to say anything, to keep it to herself because Cipres is training hard for the Olympics which was very soon already. They also told her nobody is going to believe her anyway. Read the news articles - CNN, USA Today - they have very clear reporting of the situation.

 

[Alegria]

Your english understanding is not really good. The 13 yr old girl was not bribed to ask for photos! With her parents they went to Zimmerman and Fontana's house to show them the pics that Cipres sent her and instead of reporting it to SafeSport or police the coaches told her not to say anything, to keep it to herself because Cipres is training hard for the Olympics which was very soon already. They also told her nobody is going to believe her anyway. Read the news articles - CNN, USA Today - they have very clear reporting of the situation.

Who went with whom? Girl alone? With parents?

 

[apgold]

How many more pages until this is locked by the mods?

I'm sad for all involved. There needs to be a zero tolerance policy for this kind of behavior.

 

[believed]

Your english understanding is not really good. The 13 yr old girl was not bribed to ask for photos! With her parents they went to Zimmerman and Fontana's house to show them the pics that Cipres sent her and instead of reporting it to SafeSport or police the coaches told her not to say anything, to keep it to herself because Cipres is training hard for the Olympics which was very soon already. They also told her nobody is going to believe her anyway. Read the news articles - CNN, USA Today - they have very clear reporting of the situation.

The article did not state that her parents went to the coaches' house to show them anything. Please don't spread any rumors until confirmed.

 

[Oreo]

I think, too, that Zimmerman and Fontana were considering their financial loss if they lost Cipres and James as students. Having medal winners like them attracts other students, raises your profile in the coaching world, as well as your rates.

 

[Skater Boy]

If this is true how horrible especially for the 13 year old. Admittedly some of it is hard to understand. We accept that 13 year olds are vulnerable. We accept Morgan et al are innocentuntil proven guilty. there is the truth and there is what can be proven based upon available and admissible evidence. It might be hard to prove Morgan is responsible unless he make some admissible admissions. Proving the photos are his (of him); that he meant to send it to this 13 year old, that he sent it, that he knew he was sending it to an underage person all these things make it challenging.

 

[DonnaR]

I was pretty stunned to hear this news earlier today. I believe John and Silvia are parents and I just can't understand any parent telling a 13-year old not to report this...

 

[Farnaz]

Why do adults enjoy hurting kids? Why does the bigger one like to hurt the small one? Honestly, what's so satisfying in hurting someone that is weaker than you? Why can't I understand humans?

 

[icybear]

I heard they were supposed to come back for Euros and Worlds. I hope ISU will have the decency to ban him from skating if he does come back while the investigations are pending. It would be disgusting to have a sexual predator representing the sport. Such a shame for Vanessa though.

 

[oly2018]

Sports like fs are breeding grounds for abuse. Sexual and otherwise. You have adults and children working and hanging out together as if they are peers. They aren't.

This really does call into question how safe sport will handle sports, like skating, where international athletes train with American ones. Morgan is not under safesport's jurisdiction, but he allegedly sexually harassed an American minor, in an American rink.

If this is the decision Siliva and John made to protect themselves financially, they are dumb and should never work with minors again. They have made this way worse for themselves. Instead of losing out on one top team, they likely will lose their entire livelihood in the US.

 

[beachmouse]

If this is true how horrible especially for the 13 year old. Admittedly some of it is hard to understand. We accept that 13 year olds are vulnerable. We accept Morgan et al are innocentuntil proven guilty. there is the truth and there is what can be proven based upon available and admissible evidence. It might be hard to prove Morgan is responsible unless he make some admissible admissions. Proving the photos are his (of him); that he meant to send it to this 13 year old, that he sent it, that he knew he was sending it to an underage person all these things make it challenging.

Even in sports like skating that don't have firm age banding at the youth level, it's probably not that hard to figure out the age of others that you see at the rink every day

 

[P44]

I heard they were supposed to come back for Euros and Worlds. I hope ISU will have the decency to ban him from skating if he does come back while the investigations are pending. It would be disgusting to have a sexual predator representing the sport. Such a shame for Vanessa though.

I do not think it's legal from to ban him while he was not officially convicted. But in the current conditions I can not imagine that Morgan would like to take part in a competition so it will not be a problem I guess.
(Furthermore they never planned to come back for Worlds this season)

 

[moonvine]

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.

There have been (in other sports) several people cleared who were accused. My main other sport that I follow closely outside of figure skating is gymnastics, and there have been quite a few people who were accused and then cleared.

Alex Naddour is one of them. He was placed on the suspended list in June 2018 and stated he did not know the reason: https://www.azcentral.com/story/spo...s-queen-creek-gymnast-alex-naddour/720114002/

Naddour's father and coach Mike Naddour said, "No one has contacted us to tell us what the allegations are. We don't know anything.

"We're trying to get a hold of SafeSport and get to the bottom of it. Alex has no idea what this is about."

He was cleared in November 2018: https://www.azcentral.com/story/spo...dour-cleared-u-s-center-safesport/1283769002/

That was the 2nd clearing of a gymnastics participant or coach in 2018: Dan Witenstein, owner of Arizona Sunrays was also cleared.

Now...this is a big mess..because I am all about protecting the victims... and clearly there is a big problem with USA gymnastics and has been for quite some time. But these two people, although cleared, are always going to have a cloud over their heads. I would say to keep it private until Safesport completes their investigations, but then you're still allowing potential victims to be in contact, so that won't work. Punishment for false reporting would deter people from reporting even if their report was not false, because they might be afraid it might be viewed as false. I have no idea how to fix this. The whole thing makes me very sad.

 

[moonvine]

The presumption of innocence is a matter for court. It doesn't mean that people can't evaluate the evidence outside of a legal context and decide who they believe.

Trial by media and public opinion is a very big problem. Far outside the realm of Safesport. I wish it could be solved, but people have their prejudices (the defendant "looks like" a drug dealer, so he must be guilty - or he doesn't "look like" a drug dealer so he must be not guilty.

 

[moonvine]

I am sure the French fed has been alerted by now.

Whether or not they will care to investigate is the real question.

So...I guess Safesport doesn't extend to France and the French don't have to do anything, do I have that correct?

 

[moonvine]

Brennan was literally shown the images Cipres sent. Unless you're saying she's a liar (and everybody else at USA Today who would have had to vet this story also lied), there's no real ambiguity there.

Gross. I'm so old I remember the Internet when most people were civil and such a thing would be very uncommon. Now I get unsolicited pics all the time and I'm 53. I cannot imagine how freaked out I would have been to get one at 13. Yuck.

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Is he sending these pictures to Minor Children? Lord knows, I've had some racy pictures sent to me but, I'm in my 50's and just brush them aside. This is a serious situation and needs to be handled with strict justice. Cleary, people haven't learned from John's Coughlin's mistake.

The accusation is that they were sent to 13 year old.

 

[DSQ]

So...I guess Safesport doesn't extend to France and the French don't have to do anything, do I have that correct?

Yes. Safe sport is only in America.