- Skater Tarah Kayne came out with accusations three years ago, in 2021
- Dalilah Sappenfield was banned during the investigation
- Kayne was one of many skaters who complained about Sappenfield to SafeSport
Dalilah Sappenfield, an American figure skating coach at the Olympic Games, has been banned for life by the U.S. Center for SafeSport for a series of alleged misconduct.
It comes nearly three years after figure skater Tarah Kayne said she cut her wrist in July 2019, in her dorm room at the US Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, after Sappenfield threatened to break off her title-winning partnership with Danny O’Shea. because of the kind of person I was’.
Kanye said she used super glue to hold her skin back together in an attempt to stop the heavy bleeding because she was too scared to go to the hospital and risk Sappenfield finding out.
She told USA Today in 2021, “In my head I thought I was going to die, but I was afraid to go to the hospital because I didn’t want Dalilah to know about this.
‘She (Sappenfield) was constantly talking about sex, about who I was dating, about my sex life. It was completely inappropriate, but that’s what Dalilah does.
Dalilah Sappenfield (right), an American figure skating coach at the Olympic Games, has been banned for life
Tarah Kayne said she slit her wrist after Sappenfield threatened to break up her title-winning partnership and said her coach ‘constantly talked about my sex life’
‘She uses gossip from other skaters at the rink against you. She knew I was struggling with my mental health, but instead of helping me, she chose to make fun of me.
“She even went up to other skaters and told them about it, cursed me out and asked the guys why anyone would want to date me.”
After going public with her story, Kayne – one of many skaters to have filed complaints about Sappenfield with SafeSport – thanked people for the widespread support she had received on social media.
In October 2021, she wrote on X, “I want to thank everyone who reached out to me! This wasn’t something I wanted to do. I actually hated having to relive it, but I love skating and it kills me that abuse is ruining the sport for so many.
‘I also want to make it clear that this is not new, it has been happening for DECADES.
‘It could and should have been stopped years ago. My story should never have happened.’
Sappenfield does not yet want to respond to the ruling, but does have the right to appeal. SafeSport announced the ‘permanent illegibility’ in its database on Wednesday.
Sappenfield was temporarily banned while an investigation into her conduct was underway.
Sappenfield has not yet responded to her ban, but she has the right to appeal it
USA Today also says SafeSport investigated a separate incident involving a 16-year-old female Russian skater who stayed at Sappenfield’s home in 2020. Two other skaters, 18-year-old males, were also living in Sappenfield’s home in Colorado Springs at the time.
The SafeSport rules state that a coach may not accommodate an underage athlete.
SafeSport CEO Ju’Riese Colon said in a statement to USA Today about the ruling: “There is a culture change underway. Actions that were once tolerated or ignored are no longer accepted and accountability is beginning to take root.”
Sappenfield has worked as a coach since 1993 and received the Professional Skaters Association/US Figure Skating Coach of the Year award in 2008.
She coached three-time national champions Alexa and Chris Knierim to a qualifying spot for the 2018 Winter Olympics in South Korea.