US Olympic & Paralympic officials put coach on leave after AP reports sexual abuse allegations
The US Olympic Games & The Paralympic Committee placed an employee on administrative leave on Thursday This is reported by the Associated Press that one of the coaches was accused of sexually assaulting a young biathlete, causing her so much distress that she attempted suicide.
Rocky Harris, USOPC’s head of sports and athlete services, sent an email to members of the U.S. biathlon team to address the “concerning allegations of abuse” raised by several biathletes in the AP report.
“We would like to commend these athletes for their enormous courage and strength in coming forward,” the email said. “We have immediately placed a USOPC staff member on administrative leave pending an internal investigation.”
Harris did not identify the employee by name, but Gary Colliander was the only USOPC coach mentioned in the AP report. Jon Mason, a USOPC spokesman, told the AP that no additional information would be released while the investigation is ongoing.
“While we are currently gathering all necessary information surrounding these complaints, we want to emphasize that abuse and misconduct have no place in our community,” said the email, also sent to the AP.
Grace Boutot told the AP that after Colliander started coaching her when she was 15, he gave her a lot of attention, including long hugs and inappropriate touching. The behavior escalated after she turned 18 to include “kissing, sexual fondling and oral sex,” according to a treatment summary from therapist Jacqueline Pauli-Ritz shared with the AP.
The AP generally does not identify victims of sexual abuse, except in cases where they publicly identify themselves or openly share their stories.
Boutot said she begged Colliander to stop, but he ignored her. She said he warned her not to tell anyone, saying his life would be ruined and her biathlon career would end.
In September 2010, Pauli-Ritz contacted Colliander and told him that Boutot was suffering from severe depression and post-traumatic stress disorder and that he should stop coaching her, according to the treatment summary.
“He only did this after the suicide attempt,” Pauli-Ritz wrote, referring to Boutot’s antidepressant overdose on Oct. 7, 2010, during a training camp in Soldier Hollow, Utah. She was found by a teammate and hospitalized.
The next day, Colliander resigned from the Maine Winter Sports Center. He was hired by the U.S. Paralympic Team in December 2016, where he serves as associate director of high performance for the U.S. Paralympic Games Nordic Skiing.
Colliander did not immediately respond to email and phone messages seeking comment.
Boutot, 33, said she is glad the U.S. Olympic committee is taking action but is “incredibly disappointed” that U.S. biathlon has failed to do the same.
“The true origins of the misogynistic culture lie in American biathlon,” she said. “The silence is breathtaking, to be honest.”
Jack Gierhart, CEO of American Biathlon, sent an email to the AP and American Biathlon members late Thursday saying the allegations in the AP report were troubling. “We are very concerned about the experiences of the athletes mentioned. To all of you, I want to reaffirm our commitment to athlete safety,” the statement said.
Boutot was one of six Olympians and other biathletes who came forward after the AP reported earlier this year Olympian Joanne Reid was sexually abused and harassed for yearsaccording to findings from the US Center for SafeSport, established to investigate allegations of sexual abuse in Olympic sports in the wake of the Larry Nassar US Gymnastics scandal.
She described a culture of abuse dating back to the 1990sand said that as the men involved climbed the ranks of the sport, they faced retaliation that forced them to end their racing careers prematurely.
___
EDITOR’S NOTE — This story contains a discussion of suicide. If you or someone you know needs help, you can reach the US National Suicide and Crisis Hotline by calling or texting 988. There is also an online chat on it 988lifeline.org