Sex abuse case in snowboarding exposes flaws in reporting

By EDDIE PELLS
AP National Writer

DENVER (AP) — When former members of the U.S. snowboarding team sought help reporting sexual-abuse allegations against a longtime coach, they were met with conflicting information that left them unsure of where to turn. A social media post during the Olympics by a former U.S. team member led to allegations that coach Peter Foley had molested them, coerced them into taking naked pictures, crawled into bed with them and nurtured an atmosphere in which women were treated as sex objects. The episode has raised questions as to whether the reporting system for sex-abuse cases in Olympic sports, redesigned in the wake of former gymnastics doctor Larry Nassar’s abuse of hundreds of athletes, is working the way it should some five years since the overhaul.