Longtime US figure skating coach suspended amid abuse allegations

A prominent U.S. figure skating coach has been suspended after an organization formed to prevent abuse of athletes became aware of decades-old sexual misconduct allegations against him.

Reuters reported Friday that Olympic coach Richard Callaghan will not be allowed to participate in any figure skating activities sanctioned through U.S. Figure Skating or the U.S. Olympic Committee while the allegations are being investigated.

The investigation is being carried out by the U.S. Center for SafeSport, a group formed last year to examine reports of athlete abuse and mistreatment, according to Reuters.

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The decades-old allegations against Callaghan were recently reported to SafeSport by Craig Maurizi, 56, who first came forward with the allegations in 1999, according to USA Today.

Maurizi told The New York Times in 1999 that Callaghan had engaged in sexually inappropriate behavior with him when Maurizi was 15. He also accused the coach of leveraging his authority to carry on a full sexual relationship with Maurizi when he was 18.

Callaghan denied those allegations.

“I did it because it seemed like I had an opportunity to right a wrong,” Maurizi told USA Today on Friday. “Richard Callaghan should not have been coaching for many, many years and this was a chance to end his access to young skaters.”

Callaghan’s suspension and the investigation into the misconduct allegations comes as the U.S. Olympic community faces scrutiny over its handling of abuse allegations after Larry Nassar, a former USA Gymnastics doctor, pleaded guilty to molesting several female athletes under the guise of medical treatment.

More than 260 women said they were abused by Nassar. He was sentenced in January to serve up to 175 years in prison.