Figure skater Tarah Kayne details abuse allegations against sanctioned Olympic coach

[ladyjane]

This article speaks for itself. Warning: this can be horrifying to read. Tarah is a hero in my view.

https://eu.usatoday.com/story/sport...tions-against-dalilah-sappenfield/6040794001/ .

 

[skycastles]

Reading about this it seems so horrifying. I hope that these allegations are taken seriously.

Hoping that Tarah is able to heal and that she gets the support that she needs <3

 

[mrrice]

I remember seeing Dalilah with John and Caydee. Maybe it was the environment that made John feel like he could get away with the way he behaved. It seems like the spotlight is getting brighter and focused on coaches these days. Athletes will no longer keep their mouths closed when it comes to this kind of behavior.

 

[apgold]

I feel horrible for Tarah, I hope she is able to move on from this with the right treatment. What a toxic, disgusting environment to train in.

Dalilah should not be allowed to coach again, ever.

 

[Lamente Ariane]

Horrific. My heart goes out to Tarah, I hope she’s getting the support she needs now and I’m glad Danny is standing by her.

 

[moonvine]

What an absolute nightmare. Poor Tarah.

 

[cheerknithanson]

I want to give Tarah a hug. That’s just horrifying.

 

[Seven Sisters]

I want to give Tarah a hug. That’s just horrifying.

We might want to give Danny a hug, too, for standing up for his partner.

 

[Apple1078]

Very tough read. I have no words. This is horrific.

 

[MiraiFan]

No words. Having to leave the sport you love because your coach is a monster... How has she gotten away with this stuff for so long?

 

[Princessroja]

Wow. Poor Tarah. I don't have any words.

 

[el henry]

So extraordinarily sad. My heart breaks for Tarah.

 

[Spiralgraph]

I'm horrified and appalled at what Tarah endured because of her ex coach. I hope she can recover and get justice and peace of mind.

 

[BlissfulSynergy]

Too sad, and so awful to hear this. My heart bleeds for Tarah, and for everyone who suffered in silence under this kind of unspeakable abuse Vulnerable young people need to be nurtured, protected and championed. There's no excuse for this type of situation, and so many others to have occurred, and possibly still be occurring in this sport. There needs to be a deep cleaning of rinks, a vetting of personnel, and a complete review of how rinks operate. Guidelines need to be developed, along with awareness training and communication workshops surrounding these issues. SafeSport is not the answer for prevention. SafeSport can barely handle what they're already expected to handle. All rink management officials and U.S. figure skating need to come to the fore and do something, and I don't mean employ someone to make mealy-mouthed, defensive p.r. statements.

I can't help but say, honestly, that U.S. figure skating needs to come out and shoulder responsibility for what every skater has suffered and endured under the abuses at the Colorado rink and every other rink. It is the sport's responsibility to take the lead in responding to rumors, allegations, and convictions in connection with such egregious incidents and behaviors. It can't be that no one was aware of this type of verbal abuse and of pitting skaters in the rink against one another. Plus, I have to say too that John Coughlin was a teenager when he was first coached by the adult Sappenfield. It has to be obvious that something was wrong for a long time under her training, and that Sappenfield was not only engaging in gross behavior, but also enabling it. Why was there all the tip-toeing around this for so long, when it was this horrific? There's no excuse for U.S. figure skating not knowing something was this wrong.

I had thought Tarah & Danny left Sappenfield because they were advised to due to the recent claims of abuse that reportedly happened to other skaters at the rink. To hear that this type of abusive behavior was going on, after T&D had a perfectly wonderful coach in Jim Peterson! U.S. figure skating played a huge role in Tarah & Danny moving to Colorado to be trained by Sappenfield. I know Tarah was in Colorado for rehab, but she and Danny were encouraged by someone in U.S. fed to remain there and work with Sappenfield. I heard at the time that US fed had even been encouraging Peterson to move to Colorado to work with Sappenfield, in the same way they pushed Tammy Gambill to work with Tom Z in Colorado.

I don't have any real expectation that much of anything is going to change though, considering how U.S. figure skating has responded to date to every incidence of abuse. They had an important opportunity in the 1990s to directly address the sexual abuse rumors surrounding the, at that time, well regarded coach, Richard Callaghan. Around the same time, there were arrests and convictions which took place against less high profile coaches. If U.S. fed had mustered the courage to take the lead in addressing the serious allegations against Callaghan, and made a concerted effort to prevent any further situations from escalating and proliferating, Callaghan would not have been able to continue his abuses, which ended up harming future victims. That's the reason U.S. fed settled out of court against one of Callaghan's later victims.

Sadly, U.S. fed proceeded to ignore the rumors and the lower profile convictions of coaches that surfaced during the 1990s. They dug their heads firmly in the sand. Now, they are apparently expecting SafeSport to fix everything. I am appalled at U.S. fed's ongoing lack of leadership in this crucial environment of deep concern. I'm especially alarmed by their unwillingness to shoulder any responsibility whatsoever. They have had plenty of opportunities to respond more appropriately to SafeSport's public statements about endemic abuse in the sport of figure skating, in the wake of John Coughlin's suicide after SafeSport's investigation and suspension of Coughlin.

 

[kmw227]

How awful. Tarah's story is so important and I'm so glad she decided to speak out. I hope she has a good support system around her and she's able to find peace. I'm also really glad Danny is standing by her.

Dalilah should never be allowed to coach again. Let's hope SafeSport does the right thing.

 

[surimi]

Thumbs up to Tarah for speaking up, and Daniel for supporting her. A person like Sappenfield shouldn't be allowed to coach anyone, let alone minors, and I hope that will be the verdict of Safe Sport, too.

 

[Weathergal]

There is so much wrong with this. Bravo to Tarah for speaking up and to Danny for supporting her.

 

[Jeanie19]

Sappenfield is a disgusting human being. She should not be allowed to coach anyone ever again.

 

[karne]

The only thing my brain has been able to do since reading this horrendous article is start chanting.

BURN IT TO THE GROUND.

USFS had to have known. Burn it to the ground. Scorched earth. Root out every single abuser. And then rid the sport of everyone that was complicit and start over again.

 

[mikeko666]

US Senate should have a hearing on abuses in figure skating just like they did with women's gymnastics.