The Sports Examiner by Rich Perelman

Questions on the performance of the U.S. Center for SafeSport was one of the major outcomes of the work of the Commission on the State of U.S. Olympics & Paralympics, which filed its report on 1 March of this year, followed by a 20 March hearing before the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation and a 21 March hearing at the House Energy & Commerce Committee’s Oversight & Investigations Subcommittee.

Center chief executive Ju’Riese Colon appeared at both hearings, and told the House hearing, “Based on the trajectory of cases, I would say that our budget needs to be around $30 million.”

The Center gets, by Congressional edict, $20 million a year from the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee, a rare instance of a Federal mandate for one non-profit to pay another non-profit a specific sum on a specific schedule.

But it needs more. And the long-promised bill from U.S. Representative Deborah Ross (D-North Carolina) finally showed up on Friday (6th), as H.R. 10326, “Safer Sports for Athletes Act of 2024,” referred to the House Judiciary Committee. With so little time less in this Congress, it will likely have to be re-introduced in January, which Ross said she would do.

First and foremost, the bill adds money, replacing the current language – appropriating $2.5 million from 2018 to 2022 – to “There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section $10,000,000 or such sums as may be necessary each of the fiscal years 2025 through 2030.’’

Then there are a series of changes to the way complaints to the Center are handled:

? “Assign a case manager to each case to manage and provide regular communication with claimants and respondents.”

? “Notify each complainant that they are permitted to have a victim advocate of their choosing accompany them to any proceedings scheduled as part of the investigation into the claim.”

? “[I]f a complainant does not have a victim advocate, the Center shall provide such victim advocate at no cost to the complainant or refer the complainant to an organization that can provide a cost-free victim advocate at the request of the complainant.”

? “Assign an investigator to the case within 7 business days of accepting jurisdiction and receiving membership records from the relevant national governing body. National governing bodies shall provide the Center with membership records within 5 business days of a request by the Center pursuant to an investigation. The Center may extend the period of time that a national governing body has to provide membership records in circumstances when the Center believes that the national governing body is working in good faith to identify the respondent named in the complaint. The Center shall provide the national governing body with all information included in the complaint that will assist the national governing body in identifying the respondent.”

? “Conclude its investigation no later than the date that is 180 days after a complaint is made to the Center, except that, if the Center determines necessary, the investigation may be extended for a period of 30 days as many times as may be necessary. The Center shall provide notice to each complainant and each respondent to the investigation and the relevant national governing body or corporation prior to each extension of the investigation.”

? “Such notice shall provide a basis for why the extension is necessary and include sufficient information for the national governing body or corporation to implement a safety plan to protect participants from further abuse.”

The bill also speaks to reporting of cases in section 6, but does not require SafeSport to publicly disclose the results of all cases, or even to ensure that the complaintant receives information on the outcome. That is sure to be revisited if the bill actually starts moving forward, as this was a major gripe from those making a complaints. The text does provide for the National Governing Bodies to get more information so they can protect participants during the inquiry, but the bill allows SafeSport to refrain from telling the NGB the name of the person accused.

H.R. 10326 also specifies the burden of proof as “a preponderance of the evidence as the standard in determining whether a violation of the SafeSport Code occurred” and provides for an appeal hearing in front of three outside experts, whose decision is not only final, but not appealable in a State or Federal court!

Further, the Center is obligated to:

“Establish a grievance reporting system for all persons impacted by the Center to report bad faith use of the Center’s processes, issues during intake, investigation and hearings, conflicts of interest, and other concerns about the Center. The Center will report on the grievances filed and resolved annually.”

There was also a very interesting section on ensuring that Congressional oversight of the Center is maintained:

“Not less frequently than once per Congress, the CEO of the Center shall appear before the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate and the Committee on Energy and Commerce and the Committee on the Judiciary of the House of Representatives on the Center’s activities and provide reports as requested by those Committees in advance of such appearances.

“Every three years the Comptroller General of the United States shall do a performance and accountability report of the Center and share those findings with Congress, the Center and the public. The report shall review how the Center is meeting its mission, including talking to athlete survivors, advocates, and national governing bodies in order to institutionalize formal feedback from survivor groups and NGBs.”

Maybe this could actually work? Colon told The Associated Press there are still problems:

“It’s really unclear, and I don’t think that some parts of the bill jibe with other parts of the bill. We’re going to need some more conversation to suss out some of this stuff. Right now, it just doesn’t really add up for us.”

There is a lot in this bill which addresses the multitude of complaints levels at the Center, especially on the progress of investigations and some help on providing information on what is actually happening. But those who testified at the House and Senate hearings about the Center’s shortcomings will likely find the provisions insufficient.

It will be fascinating to see how the bill is changed in the hearings process, if in fact it moves forward at all.

Link to full article: https://www.thesportsexaminer.com/u-s-center-for-safesport-added-funding-of-10-million-and-faster-decisions-proposed-in-reform-bill-introduced-in-u-s-house/