Two Team USA snowboarders heaped praise on scandal-hit coach Peter Foley after they both took gold at Beijing on Saturday. Lindsey Jacob...
Two Team USA snowboarders heaped praise on scandal-hit coach Peter Foley after they both took gold at Beijing on Saturday.
Lindsey Jacobellis and Nick Baumgartner, who won the mixed-team event at the 2022 Winter Games, likened Foley to a father figure and said they couldn't speak highly enough of him after he was accused of taking nude photos of female athletes.
Baumgartner, 40, called Foley 'like a father' to him after his and Jacobellis' victory Saturday.
'I can't speak any higher of that man,' the first-time gold medal-winner said.
'My 20 years on the team, I can speak very highly of his character, and he's always been supporting me through everything that I've gone through,' Jacobellis, 36, added.
Lindsey Jacobellis (L) and Nick Baumgartner (R) of the USA pose with their gold medals during the medal ceremony of the Mixed Team Snowboard Cross. They subseqently defended their scandal-hit coach Peter Foley
Callan Chythlook-Sifsof, 32, who competed in the 2010 Winter Olympics, accused Team USA coach Peter Foley and Olympian Hagen Kearney of sexual misconduct and racism
Chythlook-Sifsof accused Foley, pictured, of taking naked pictures of female athletes for decades and making inappropriate comments in front of athletes
In a series of Instagram posts this week, some which have since been removed, Callan Chythlook-Sifsof, 32 who competed in the 2010 Winter Olympics, said she could not watch this year's games because of coach Peter Foley and Olympian Hagen Kearney.
Chythlook-Sifsof accused Foley of taking naked pictures of female athletes for decades and Kearney of using the n-word frequently and making rape jokes about female teammates.
'This is the truth,' Chythlook-Sifsof wrote on Instagram.
'I will not carry this stuff around anymore, there was bizarre behavior across the board. The people I've named have overtly behaved toxically but the truth is the culture on the team protected this behavior.
'Other athletes have in engaged in racist, misogynist behavior, actively participated in the strange dynamics that Peter Foley created and caused female athletes/staff to be victims of sexual violence.'
Foley has repeatedly denied the allegations, telling Newsweek: 'I'm surprised by the allegations. I vehemently deny the allegations. I'm doing my best to concentrate on supporting the athletes at the Olympics.'
Kearney told USA Today, 'I made a mistake years ago with my words and appropriate action was taken. I learned from my mistake and I'm a better person now for it.'
Jacobellis and Baumgartner made no public comment on accusations against Kearney.
She accused Olympian Hagen Kearney, pictured, of using the n-word frequently and making rape jokes about female teammates. Foley has denies the allegations and Kearney said he learned from his past mistakes
Chythlook-Sifsof said she could not watch this year's games because of coach Foley and Kearney's participation on Team USA. She accused Foley of taking naked photos of athletes
Kearney finished 17th in men's snowboardcross on Thursday.
A US Ski and Snowboarding spokesperson told Outsports that the organization opened an investigation into the allegations on Thursday.
'US Ski & Snowboard has been made aware of the recent allegations via a social media post,' said spokesperson Annie Fast. 'The behaviors detailed have no place in our sport or on our teams. We take accusations like this seriously and it is being investigated.'
Chythlook-Sifsof, pictured competing at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, said Foley and Kearney's actions reflected a toxic environment in the US Ski and Snowboard team
In now deleted posts, she shared stories of Foley and Kearney's alleged misconduct
In one of the posts that were deleted after being flagged on Instagram, Chythlook-Sifsof wrote: 'One of my first impressions of Head Coach Peter Foley at 17 was him whispering between my and a female teammate's ear that he wanted to 'put his tongue inside her p***y,' pointing to a very young Argentinian girl.'
In another deleted post, she wrote: 'Since day 1 of making the team, Hagen Kearney had routinely and continuously used the n-word (as a norm) but intentionally to get under my skin.
'After battling with Hagen about his use of the word all of 2014 (in front of US Team athlete/staff) it came to a head at the last Olympic qualifier in Canada. In the van ride back to the hotel, he remarked that 'Kanye West gives black people a bad name.' I told him to keep his mouth shut for the remainder of the van ride which he chuckled at before remaining silent.
'Hagen... cupped his hands to his mouth and yelled the n-word on repeat around 20 times as we walked. In the lobby I stopped to face him, he approached me smiling. I said, 'Hagen if you say that one more time...' He got 6 inches from my face, fake punched at me and said, 'What? What are you gonna do about it?'
She added that in the same trip, US snowboarder Trevor Jacob allegedly told the Team USA coaches a story about him having oral sex, to which they burst out laughing, much to Chythlook-Sifsof's horror.
'Just another day on the US Snowboard Team,' she wrote.
U.S. Center for SafeSport, who is responsible for investigating reports of sexual misconduct in the Olympic movement, did not immediately respond to DailyMail.com's request for comment.
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