Alberto Salazar BANNED For Life for "Sexual Misconduct"

casual obsever wrote:

I don't know the answer for this, but egregious is the exact wording taking from Safesport. Otherwise it wouldn't have been a lifetime ban.

Noting that a) there was due process and b) the ban was upheld after appeal, should reassure you.

But yes, the lack of transparency is annoying.

This was also my takeaway. Sounds like there were serious details omitted.

Sal fan wrote:

It's pretty clear that race/ethnicity played a role here. Would he have been punished like this if he was white? Would he even have been accused?

I know you’re trolling but it has to be said: Al Sal is white, descended from Cubans. One can be both Latino and white.

What is a plausible reason for keeping secret the nature of the alleged sexual misconduct itself? Is it perhaps that it is impossible to ensure victim privacy in this case?

From the Cain allegation report at least, it seemed like what was being called sexual misbehavior was commenting on athletes’ bodies in the context of maintaining weight for performance reasons. But SafeSport must have a definition of that term and a final word on what constituted that misconduct now that it’s judgment is final.

SDSU Aztec wrote:

goodest riddance wrote:

Like every other thread on this topic, the lemmings will come out to praise their scumbag cheat of an abusive coach.

He's been constantly ripped for everything else on LR but when it comes to accusations from his female runners, he's suddenly a victim.  In general, LR hates all women besides Sara Hall.

What are you talking about?

I think most people believe in due process. I've heard A LOT of rumors and allegations about Salazar over the years but don't know why in the hell he'd be banned for life for sexual misconduct. I heard her made a pass at Kara Goucher on a flight once, but I don't think trying to kiss an athlete while drunk and/or on sleeping pills, would be worthy of a lifetime ban. Certainly worthy of discipline, but a lifetime ban for one of the most successful coaches in US history? No.

It's pretty amazing in the year 2021 that no one really knows what he's accused of. Normally you'd see a rumor of it somewhere - probably these forums. I mean Salazar has been accused of a LOT on these boards over the years but almost nothing really grave that is sexual in nature. I just got off the phone with one of the reporters from one of these major publications that has reported on it - think NY Times, WSJ, RW, etc. - and they too have no idea why he was banned.

What could it be? Was it an actual affair with an athlete? If it's a long term relationship that might be easier to prove than some one-time thing. But do we know if that would that be enough for a lifetime ban?

Does SafeSport have a list of crime and punishments? Like is it spelled out what actions results in what punishments. Like are certain things worthy of a 6 month ban, 2 year ban, lifetime ban, etc.? I need to go to their website and find out.

rojo wrote:

Does SafeSport have a list of crime and punishments? Like is it spelled out what actions results in what punishments. Like are certain things worthy of a 6 month ban, 2 year ban, lifetime ban, etc.? I need to go to their website and find out.

Rojo, can you tell me the names of the heads of SafeSport? Like who exactly is in charge at SafeSport with what we see is unlimited secret court powers? That should give a clue as to what could be happening here. I couldn't even tell you who the executive and top employees at SafeSport are and yet they have more power than President Biden deciding who is guilty of sexual crimes with zero oversight and transparency.

Rojo,

You must be really thrilled, you and your brother have had us out for Salazar on your website for decades. Can you state that you never posted any smears against Salazar under a fake name on your message boards and your entire career here?

You must be so happy that the wicked witch of the shoe company that would not sponsor you is dead.

What most of this board do not realise is that publication of the details of his offences would be damaging to those who were the subject of them. It would be a breach of their privacy and add to the harm caused by his actions. For him to be banned for life speaks of the seriousness of the charges against him. How many other coaches are similarly banned short of criminal misconduct?

[QuoteNY Times:]

Soon after Salazar was suspended in 2019, a number of female runners he coached came forward to accuse him of emotional abuse and fat shaming. Mary Cain accused him of shaming her for her weight in front of other team members, and Amy Yoder Begley, an Olympian, said Salazar verbally abused her and told her he was kicking her out of the Nike Oregon Project because she had “the biggest butt on the start line,” among other accusations of misbehavior. Cain has also sued Salazar, who has denied abusing any athletes, in an Oregon court.[/quote]

LMAO al sal the goat

runne. wrote:

What is a plausible reason for keeping secret the nature of the alleged sexual misconduct itself? Is it perhaps that it is impossible to ensure victim privacy in this case?

because incel loser fanboys like the ones in this thread will make the woman's life hell

I hope Alberto continues to coach foreign women and dominates on US runners. It never ceases to amaze me how thin skinned these so-called adults are. If you don't like your coach because he's a difficult a$$hole, change coaches. None of them were complaining about Salazar when they were making Olympic teams, winning medals, and setting junior level records. Yeah, it sucks at work when your boss adopts a "what have you done for me lately" attitude, but that's pretty much par for the course anywhere I worked. When you can't stand it anymore, you take your talents elsewhere.

It's incredible that amongst the NOP group, some of the people who had the most unexpected improvement accuse him of breaking doping rules, but of course they never engaged in any of the doping and would be offended if they came under suspicion.

Can't stand the hypocrisy.

At least he is in the gray area. There are plenty of coaches whose athletes compete against his athletes that are just flat out illegal

what an absolute joke safesport is. how can anybody find this to be an acceptable form of due process..

I've never liked Salazar. Great coach, but rather obnoxiously operates in the grey area. And stories like the Chris Whetstine saga and testing T on his son were infuriating.

BUT

I don't think expressing disgust with the situation and the lack of transparency through which it has been handled by bodies such as Safesport automatically makes one a misogynist woman hater, as many commenters are saying.

You can be critical of all parties.

-I do think certain individuals are attempting to benefit --even financially-- from his downfall.

-I do think Mary Cain should have been treated better.

-I don't think weight talk equates to sexual abuse.

-I do think his link to performance enhancing drugs is much stronger than has been revealed.

-I do think this is a reaction to a variety of things: the people he's pissed off, the Nassar disaster, doping, etc. Some would call it karma.

-I do think the media has played a massive role in this.

Nodoubts wrote:

The decision is final.

Story in Wall Street Journal.

https://www.wsj.com/articles/alberto-salazar-running-coach-banned-11640204152

I’m not getting a conviction of “sexual misconduct”. Was that one of the charges?

Maybe I’m mixing up Cain’s lawsuit with SafeSport, but I thought he was charged with things like psychological abuse and negligence, for things like telling girls they need to lose fat in areas where some girls have extra fat, and weighing girls in their underwear in front of other athletes, and shouting abuse at them.

I see two possibilities:

1) Maybe there are details that have not been made public, to protect victims — which invites wild speculation from those looking for any reason

2) “Sexual Misconduct” is the kind of thing that only appears in newspaper headlines, and letsrun forum thread subjects, because that will grab more attention

I assume he was talking and / or joking about her "butt" and "boobs". Maybe touching too much for too long.

To note, sexual misconduct also includes "inattentiveness to nonverbal cues of discomfort".

So you know, the regular stuff, that every second female athlete experiences with boomer coaches.

OozmaKappa wrote:

Bad Wigins wrote:

you don't have to be a fan of Salazar to realize the implications of equating comments about an athlete's weight to sexual harassment.

So calling a fat girl fat is now considered sexual harrassment? Is that what this is about?

What fat girl did he call fat?

I have absolutely no evidence either way, but I'm inclined to believe he was worse than we know. He was employed by the most powerful organisation in athletics. Outright cheating or abuse becomes a "gray area" when it's Oregon Project or Bowerman and Nike unleash their PR machine.

The term "sexual misconduct" has no legal definition whatsoever.

It's a meaningless, catch-all term that by connotation puts Salazar in the company of monsters like Larry Nasser and Jerry Sandusky.

https://ottawacitizen.com/news/local-news/what-is-sexual-misconduct-exactly-depends-on-who-you-ask

This is horribly unjust, and I truly hope Salazar forces the faceless people behind SafeSport into a real court.

Even the SafeSport website reeks of opacity. It provides NO information about the organization itself or the people behind it. It doesn't even offer an About Us.

Damn shady for an organization whose $23 million budget is underwritten by the taxpayer.

Wikipedia at least names the CEO. Here's her LinkedIn profile:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/ju-riese-colon-9759a34/

Not much background in the law or even sports, it seems.

Oddly, "SafeSport" seems to have two different domain names and two different websites:

https://uscenterforsafesport.org/

https://safesport.org/

What seems to be the old website (

https://uscenterforsafesport.org/

) does at least provide some information about the organization and its staff.