The USOC has ruled that skeleton coach Tim Nardiello, who was recently reinstated by an arbitrator after accusations of sexual harassment from several female sliders, will not be going to Turin after all.
The United States Olympic Committee refused yesterday to allow Tim Nardiello to coach the skeleton team at the Turin Olympics. The decision came after a four-week investigation into sexual harassment accusations against him by several female athletes. The U.S.O.C. said it found Nardiello had violated the coaches’ code of ethics and was guilty of “inappropriate interactions.”
The decision was made by the U.S.O.C.’s senior management, led by the chief executive, Jim Scherr. It came one day after an arbitrator in Albany found that Nardiello had not violated the United States Bobsled and Skeleton Federation’s sexual harassment policy. That night, the federation reinstated Nardiello to his job.
Looks like the federation dropped the ball in its arbitration proceedings:
The federation did not conduct an investigation of Nardiello before its arbitration hearing. U.S.O.C. lawyers, however, interviewed 12 skeleton athletes, Nardiello and several other people who said they had witnessed harassing behavior.
“Based on the information gathered during our investigation, it is our belief there has been a pattern of conduct on the part of Mr. Nardiello that simply does not meet the standard of what is acceptable for a coach with the United States Olympic team,” Scherr said in a statement.
Broaching a broader topic, Scherr also took aim at the federation for what he said was poor handling of the accusations, which stretch back to 2002, calling it “unacceptable.” He criticized the federation for initially deciding to ask for Nardiello’s resignation, but only after the Olympics.
The U.S.O.C.’s action yesterday put into sharp focus its relationship with its 38 individual sports federations, known as national governing bodies or N.G.B.’s. Generally, they run the gamut from exemplary to barely functional. The skeleton and bobsled federation’s mounting problems have not escaped the ire of the U.S.O.C.
Glad to see that the USOC, at least, is looking out for the athletes instead of focusing solely on winning. It does appear that the skeleton and bobsled federation has been something of a problem child within the USOC (which has come a long way since the 1994 corruption scandal).
Hat tip Broadsheet.