U.S. Snowboard coach Peter Foley suspended after investigation into sexual misconduct

Peter Foley, U.S. Snowboard's head coach for 28 years, has been suspended from all Olympic and Paralympic activity following a nearly 18-month investigation by the U.S. Center for SafeSport into allegations of sexual misconduct.

Former Olympic snowboarder and U.S. Ski & Snowboard board member Lisa Kosglow, who resigned after she was accused of interfering in the investigation, has also been suspended for "abuse of process" and "failure to report," according to SafeSport, the watchdog organization authorized by Congress to police issues related to sexual abuse in U.S. amateur sports, posted both sanctions on its Centralized Disciplinary Database on Tuesday.

Multiple sources told ESPN Foley's suspension is for 10 years, with five years of subsequent probation, while Kosglow is suspended for three years, with a two-year probation. Both suspensions are pending any appeal Foley or Kosglow make in the next 10 days.

Neither Foley's attorney nor Kosglow responded to calls from ESPN on Tuesday. In March 2022, Foley's attorney, Howard Jacobs, told ESPN, "Any allegations of sexual misconduct being made against [Foley] are false."

During their suspensions, neither Foley nor Kosglow may participate at any level in any Olympic or Paralympic activity.

"Every young athlete deserves the dignity of training in a safe environment in pursuit of excellence in their sport," said Sigrid McCawley, an attorney representing three former snowboarders who sued Foley in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles in February. "SafeSport's decision to suspend Peter Foley ... effectively puts him out of business and prevents him from doing more harm and damage.

"This is a long-awaited, incredible moment for the brave Olympic snowboarders we represent. But this decision also represents progress and empowerment for all young athletes and their families because it sends a clear signal that those who abuse young athletes will be held to account."

Also Tuesday, multiple sources told ESPN that U.S. Ski & Snowboard's General Counsel Alison Pitt had been under investigation for allegedly interfering in the case, but SafeSport found no violation of its policies and issued no sanctions against her.

U.S. Ski & Snowboard said in a statement provided to ESPN Tuesday that it "strongly believes that there is no place in sport for abuse and misconduct, and we support [SafeSport's] mission to end abuse on behalf of athletes everywhere.

"We are also aware of the decision to suspend former board of directors' member Lisa Kosglow due to her outreach to claimants," the statement said. "In doing so, Kosglow was not acting on behalf of U.S. Ski & Snowboard and resigned soon after we became aware of this outreach."

U.S. Ski & Snowboard fired Foley on March 20, 2022, two days after SafeSport temporarily suspended him from coaching and weeks after ESPN began asking the federation questions about Foley's continued employment following allegations of sexual assault and harassment by former Olympic athletes.

Foley, who had been the head coach of the U.S. snowboard team since its inception in 1994, led the national squad to seven Olympics, including the most recent Beijing Games last year. His athletes, men and women, won a combined 35 Olympic medals.

But during the Beijing Games in February 2022, former Olympic snowboarder Callan Chythlook-Sifsof made a series of Instagram posts accusing Foley of inappropriate behavior with his athletes.

Several weeks later, in a series of investigative reports, ESPN detailed some of the allegations against Foley, including that he sexually assaulted former U.S. Ski & Snowboard employee Lindsey Nikola in 2008 and three-time Olympian Rosey Fletcher when she was 19 during an Olympic development camp at Lake Tahoe. Erin O'Malley, who joined the U.S. team in 1995, also filed a report against Foley alleging inappropriate behavior. These were among the allegations reported to SafeSport.

It's not clear how many allegations were made against Foley in all. On Tuesday, two-time Olympian and current U.S. team member Meghan Tierney told ESPN she accused Foley in a complaint to the federation and later to SafeSport.

"When I filed my report with SafeSport, my complaint was not sexual in nature like the other victims, it was mental abuse and harassment," Tierney said. "I'm glad to see that Safesport has made the ... decision to suspend him. My hope is that Peter Foley will never be able to coach any female or, for that matter, anyone ever again. I think it's really important that Peter Foley be held accountable for what he has done."

Former national snowboarding champion Elke Barnes backed up Fletcher's account last year, telling ESPN that she was contacted by SafeSport investigators and asked to describe her experience at the same Tahoe camp that Fletcher attended.

At the time, Barnes said she told the SafeSport investigator about a night when Foley and a number of athletes -- including Barnes, Fletcher and a handful of male athletes -- stayed in a single room at the Circus Circus hotel in Reno. The group divided up the room's two beds and couch, with three to four people sleeping in each bed. Barnes said she remembers waking up to hear Fletcher tell Foley to stop touching her "multiple times throughout the night, clear as day."

In a July 2022 interview with ESPN, Fletcher said Barnes' testimony was "validation" and "vindication."

The Center declined to address Tuesday's suspensions directly to "protect the integrity of its investigative process." However, SafeSport spokesman Dan Hill said the fact that investigators considered decades-old allegations is "one of many reasons why SafeSport is so important -- no statute of limitations."

"When other institutions failed to take action, the Center has been able to step in, even decades later, ensure accountability and protect athletes," Hill told ESPN. "Our team and processes are continuously improving, including how long investigations take, without compromising its diligent and trauma-informed approach. It's inevitable that older allegations that predate the Center take longer. The SafeSport code cannot be applied retroactively, which means investigators must find laws, policies and rules that existed at the time. It's tedious but it's part of what sets the Center apart."

In February, Fletcher, Chythlook-Sifsof and O'Malley sued Foley, the national federation, its former CEO and the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee for sex trafficking, harassment, and enabling and covering up repeated acts of sexual assault and misconduct. Nikola filed a separate suit alleging that Foley forced her to take nude photos and sexually assaulted her while she was employed as a member of the USSS communications team. Those cases are pending.