Lawsuit Alleges Patterns of Assault in USA Taekwondo

(ATR) An Olympic gold medalist and his coach are accused of sexually assaulting a number of female taekwondo athletes according to a lawsuit filed in a United States federal court.

The lawsuit was filed last week in Colorado naming both Steven Lopez and his brother and coach Jean Lopez as defendants, according to a report from the Houston Chronicle.

Both the United States Olympic Committee and USA Taekwondo are named in the class-action suit as acting as "travel agent and commercial funder" of the Lopez brothers. The suit alleges that both bodies were complicit in the "domestic and international sexual exploitation of young female athletes" during training and competition. The Lopez brothers have denied all past allegations of sexual assault.

Mandy Meloon and Heidi Gilbert, former national team athletes, and Gabriella Joslin of Houston, a former collegiate athlete, filed the suit with Amber Means from Washington. Five John Does were named as additional defendants according to reports.

Gilbert had filed a suit against Jean Lopez last month in Colorado alleging the coach sexually abused her at a meet in Germany.

"As this is an in-process legal matter it would be inappropriate for us to comment further at this time," USA Taekwondo said in a statement to the New York Times about the suits.

USA Taekwondo is one of three national federations embroiled in scandal about abuses of athletes. USA Swimming and USA Gymnastics have also had athletes come forward to detail abuses by coaches and team doctors in recent years. The largest of the scandals resulted in the conviction of USA Gymnastics team doctor Larry Nassar, who was found guilty of abusing hundreds of young gymnasts in his career.

The suit alleges the Lopez brothers violated the Trafficking Victims Protection Act and the Sports Abuse Act of 2017, which was passed by Congress after the Nassar fallout. The four victims in the suit detail patterns of sexual assault by the Lopez brothers, while alleging USA Taekwondo officials delayed or threatened some of the plaintiffs when reporting the behavior.

"These are crimes," Meloon was quoted as saying by the Chronicle. "They are actual crimes, and people need to be held accountable."

Last year the USOC helped create the U.S. Center for SafeSport for athletes to report instances of abuse and harassment. Both Lopez brothers feature in discriminatory records on the center’s website. Jean Lopez is listed as being "permanently ineligible" from coaching for sexual misconduct violations, while Steven Lopez is listed as restricted on an interim measure for sexual misconduct.

USOC chief external affairs officer Patrick Sandusky said to the New York Times the organization "is deeply focused on supporting, protecting and empowering the athletes we serve," when asked about the lawsuit.

"The launch of the U.S. Center for SafeSport, along with a number of additional significant actions we are taking, will ensure that our athletes are better protected from these heinous acts."

Interim USOC chief executive Susanne Lyons has been summoned to testify before the U.S. House of Representatives on May 23. The House Subcommittee Oversight and Investigations will also hear testimony from Tim Hinchey, President and CEO of USA Swimming; Steve McNally, USA Taekwondo Executive Director; Jamie Davis, USA Volleyball CEO and U.S. Center for SafeSport CEO Shellie Pfohl.

Written by Aaron Bauer

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