Sports

4 years after Olympic scandal, athletes sue U.S. Ski & Snowboard, former coach over alleged sexual abuse

KPCW | By The Salt Lake Tribune

Published February 9, 2026 at 3:43 PM MST

United States athlete Rosey Fletcher clears a gate during the women's snowboard parallel giant slalom race at the Turin 2006 Winter Olympic Games in Bardonecchia, Italy, on Feb. 23, 2006. Olympic bronze medalist Rosey Fletcher filed a lawsuit accusing former snowboard coach Peter Foley of sexually assaulting, harassing and intimidating members of his team for years, while the organizations overseeing the team did nothing to stop it. Fletcher is a plaintiff in one of two lawsuits filed in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles on Thursday, Feb. 2, 2023.

The lawsuit, filed in federal court, alleges national federation tried to dissuade reports to SafeSport.

Nearly four years to the day after sexual misconduct allegations against now-former Team USA snowboard coach Peter Foley came to light during the Beijing 2022 Olympics, three of his accusers filed suit against him and U.S Ski & Snowboard on Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Utah.

Olympians Rosey Fletcher and Callan Chythlook-Sifsof and fellow Team USA snowboarder Erin O’Malley say that Foley abused them across the span of decades, starting in 1994. Furthermore, they allege that U.S. Ski & Snowboard executives knew about the abuse and turned a blind eye to it, at times interfering with or discouraging their reporting of the interactions to the U.S. Center for SafeSport.

In 2023, after an 18-month investigation, SafeSport cleared U.S. Ski & Snowboard CEO Sophie Goldschmidt and federation general counsel Alison Pitt of violating any of its codes. The same investigation led to the suspension of Foley and a federation board member.

The trio of snowboarders currently has a similar case pending on appeal in federal court. The defendants in that case — which was filed in 2023 — include Foley, U.S. Ski & Snowboard and the United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee.

Kenya Davis is the lead lawyer for the athletes in both cases. She said the statute of limitations was about to expire on the complaint of interference by U.S. Ski & Snowboard personnel. The Utah lawsuit was filed to ensure the athletes could pursue redress from the national federation and Foley if anything goes sideways with their current case.

The initial case was dismissed in 2023 for lack of jurisdiction but is being appealed. In both lawsuits, the athletes are seeking unspecified compensation.

The Utah lawsuit accuses the defendants of ”a deliberate and reckless campaign ... to discredit, silence, intimidate, and emotionally harm survivors and reporters of sexual abuse in U.S. Snowboarding, including through public denials, disparagement, interference with reporting to the U.S. Center for SafeSport.”

Read Julie Jag's full story at sltrib.com.

This article is published through the Utah News Collaborative, a partnership of news organizations in Utah that aims to inform readers across the state.