Jeffrey Chen Suspended By Safesport

[figureskatingandrainbows]

Jeffrey Chen has been temporarily suspended by SafeSport effective from today's date, the 18th of February 2025. The reason given on the SafeSport website was for "Reasons of Misconduct". No further official information has been released in regards to the reason why. Chen last competed at the US Nationals in Senior Ice Dance, where he placed 10th with partner Annabelle Morozov. The Skating Lesson reports that Morozov and Chen have now split, with the former allegedly now in tryouts with Benjamin Starr. This suspension follows that of US ice dancer Ivan Desyatov, who was suspended for sexual assault last year. Chen (and Desyatov) are listed on the USFS Grievances section along with being listed in the US Center for SafeSport Centralized Disciplinary Database, both of which house more information on their cases and suspensions.

 

[figureskatingandrainbows]

The Skating Lesson is reporting that not only is Annabelle Morozov trying out with Benjamin Starr, but Isabella Flores is as well. Flores previously competed with Ivan Desyatov, and the two of them were married before the SafeSport ban was announced. Starr last competed with Jeffrey Chen's former partner, Yahli Pederson. Pederson, a former solo ice dancer, apparently tried out with Misha Nosovitskiy.

 

[ucrgirl]

I wonder if Annabelle trying out with Starr is related to the temporary suspension or if it is just her "regularly scheduled" new partnership. (How many partners has she had in the last 5 years?)
Likely no way to know the reason but I'm curious.

 

[Skater Boy]

Sad. I know people are innocent until proven guilty. But it sad and disappointing to see top level athletes getting into such trouble. People need to control themselves especially when it comes to intimate relationships and even moreso with young people around.

 

[meem]

Sad. I know people are innocent until proven guilty. But it sad and disappointing to see top level athletes getting into such trouble. People need to control themselves especially when it comes to intimate relationships and even moreso with young people around.

IMO, US figure skating needs to establish some type of serious program for skaters to attend, even for Juniors... especially in the team disciplines.

 

[moonvine]

Oh my

 

[moonvine]

IMO, US figure skating needs to establish some type of serious program for skaters to attend, even for Juniors... especially in the team disciplines.

What kind of program?

 

[theblade]

The nature of the suspension is not exactly known.

However, many colleges are proactive these days on issues of personal consent in intimate relationships and general relationships on campus. Despite these programs and student agreements, bad experiences with bad outcomes still happen. Some attendees don't feel the rules apply to them.

But yes, USFS programs about positive inter-personal contact/situations are a good idea. Problem is, some skaters live a life where they are fawned upon whereas others experience the opposite (getting s**t upon). Individual skaters have radically different outcomes, even at the same facility with the same coaches.

There are no easy answers.

 

[Ziotic]

I mean, there has been rumours of his impending suspension since nationals. It’s not really surprising.

 

[CoyoteChris]

Sad. But yes, innocent until proven guilty. I feel sorry for Karen and hope no one approaches her with inappropriate questions. (My brother and I are estranged partly due to the way HE treats women....if anyone wants to approach me about HIM I would throw him under the bus in a second) I hate men that abuse women, but we dont know what went on here..... I agree with @theblade and educational programs...we got them in the State Patrol for sure and I didnt see any sexual harrassment there but at the place I worked in Illinois.... oy vey...

 

[Lamente Ariane]

It doesn’t seem like it’s certain Jeffrey was suspended for sexual misconduct—one rumor suggested verbal abuse of an ex-partner, which is also a serious allegation. Regardless, this is part of a concerning pattern of behavior and I hope all his former partners have support systems and that no further harassment occurs. I also hope that there continues to be accountability for abusive and unethical behavior in the sport.

 

[DancingCactus]

At this point USFS has to seriously clean house because I'm not even surprised anymore.

 

[BlissfulSynergy]

US ice dancer Ivan Desyatov, who was suspended for sexual assault

Please be accurate. Desyatov was "temporarily suspended pending investigation for misconduct." According to reports, no investigation of the allegation has yet taken place.

 

[throw_triple_flip]

Pederson, a former solo ice dancer, apparently tried out with Misha Nosovitskiy.

Makes sense. She was born in Israel.

 

[throw_triple_flip]

It doesn’t seem like it’s certain Jeffrey was suspended for sexual misconduct

Internet rumour seems to be jumping towards that conclusion, I'm not sure where that's coming from as the SafeSport website isn't specifying that as reason for the suspension.

I think people see SafeSport suspension and just assume it's related to sexual violence. But that's not the only behaviour they deal with.

 

[Karoltyna]

Internet rumour seems to be jumping towards that conclusion, I'm not sure where that's coming from as the SafeSport website isn't specifying that as reason for the suspension.

I think people see SafeSport suspension and just assume it's related to sexual violence. But that's not the only behaviour they deal with.

Some even think that SafeSport deals only with child abuse...

 

[Bluediamonds09]

The Skating Lesson is reporting that not only is Annabelle Morozov trying out with Benjamin Starr, but Isabella Flores is as well. Flores previously competed with Ivan Desyatov, and the two of them were married before the SafeSport ban was announced. Starr last competed with Jeffrey Chen's former partner, Yahli Pederson. Pederson, a former solo ice dancer, apparently tried out with Misha Nosovitskiy.

So this Benjamin starr is pretty popular to have 2 women vying to be his partner? I wonder if the outcome will be decided soon?

 

[CoyoteChris]

At this point USFS has to seriously clean house because I'm not even surprised anymore.

I agree with you but misconduct, sexual or bullying is ISU wide. Us old timers have a whole bushel basket of cases. You cant have a skater in say Florida with an arrest warrent out for say sending porn to minors and then have him fly to Europe and get off scot free. You cant have a Japanese coach beating his students with their own blade protectors. You cant have doping doctors and cheating judges re-instated. But yes, if you have a relatively minor case of one skater verbally abusing another in the same federation, that should be handled at the federation level.

 

[BlissfulSynergy]

So this Benjamin starr is pretty popular to have 2 women vying to be his partner? I wonder if the outcome will be decided soon?

There's a dearth of male ice dancers available who are U.S. citizens. In figure skating, there's always been a slew of female aspirants vs slim pickings of available male prospects. Anton Spiridonov recently spoke about having his pick of female ice dancers to try out with, before he partnered with Vanessa Pham. Meanwhile, Lorraine McNamara is still searching for a new partner. She reportedly hasn't given up yet.

 

[CoyoteChris]

There's a dearth of male ice dancers available who are U.S. citizens. In figure skating, there's always been a slew of female aspirants vs slim pickings of available male prospects. Anton Spiridonov recently spoke about having his pick of female ice dancers to try out with, before he partnered with Vanessa Pham. Meanwhile, Lorraine McNamara is still searching for a new partner. She reportedly hasn't given up yet.

It is hard...I just read up on Jennifer Wester and what she had to go through.