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U.S. Figure Skating has reached a $1.45 million settlement with a former skater who had accused the group of failing to guard him from sexual abuse by Richard Callaghan, a once-prominent coach of Olympians.
The former skater, Adam Schmidt, had filed a lawsuit in San Diego in 2019 that mentioned that Mr. Callaghan had repeatedly abused him from 1999 to 2001, starting when Mr. Schmidt was 14 years previous.
Mr. Schmidt grew to become the fourth male skater to have publicly accused Mr. Callaghan of improper habits from the early Nineties to the early 2000s.
The lawsuit accused U.S. Figure Skating, the game’s nationwide governing physique, of getting recognized that Mr. Callaghan had engaged in inappropriate habits with different minors and never reporting him to the authorities, as required by legislation.
According to the settlement, U.S. Figure Skating and its insurer agreed to pay Mr. Schmidt $1.45 million “without admitting fault, liability, wrongdoing or misconduct of any kind.”
U.S. Figure Skating mentioned in a press release that it didn’t touch upon litigation.
“U.S. Figure Skating fully supports all victims of sexual abuse and misconduct and encourages anyone who has been abused or suspects abuse or misconduct to immediately report it to local law enforcement, the U.S. Center for SafeSport or U.S. Figure Skating,” the assertion mentioned.
Mr. Schmidt informed ABC News that the settlement “speaks for itself.”
“People don’t settle things for millions of dollars for nothing,” he mentioned.
Mr. Schmidt’s lawyer, John Manly, mentioned it was vital that U.S. Figure Skating didn’t apologize as a part of the settlement. He mentioned that was indicative of “institutional arrogance combined with a view of skaters as a disposable commodity.”
“That’s a toxic brew for an organization that’s supposed to protect children under its care,” Mr. Manly mentioned on Thursday. Mr. Schmidt, he mentioned, was “very concerned about children in the sport today — that they aren’t safe — and he wants a cultural change in the organization.”
The settlement was finalized late final 12 months, Mr. Manly mentioned, after Mr. Schmidt reached a $1.75 million settlement with Onyx Ice Arena in Rochester, Mich., the place Mr. Schmidt mentioned Mr. Callaghan had abused him.
Mr. Callaghan, who has lengthy denied any wrongdoing, couldn’t be reached for touch upon Thursday night, and attorneys who’ve represented him didn’t instantly reply to messages.
Mr. Callaghan was finest recognized for teaching Tara Lipinski to a gold medal on the 1998 Winter Olympics and for teaching Todd Eldredge to a world championship, six United States titles and three Olympic appearances.
In 1999, Craig Maurizi, a distinguished coach and former scholar of Mr. Callaghan’s, informed The New York Times that Mr. Callaghan had begun abusing him when he was 15. Two different skaters additionally accused Mr. Callaghan of inappropriate habits within the Times article.
In August 2019, Mr. Callaghan was completely barred from determine skating by the U.S. Center for SafeSport, a nonprofit group created to trace and examine the abuse of athletes.
The ban got here after Mr. Maurizi filed a lawsuit in Federal District Court in Buffalo that accused Mr. Callaghan of abuse and accused U.S. Figure Skating of not doing sufficient to cease it. Mr. Maurizi’s lawsuit is pending, in response to his lawyer, Ilene Jaroslaw.
Ms. Jaroslaw mentioned that whereas the settlement with Mr. Schmidt didn’t straight have an effect on Mr. Maurizi’s case, “it reflects that U.S. Figure Skating understands that they abdicated their responsibility to protect young skaters.”
Jeré Longman contributed reporting.
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