SafeSport Hands Alberto Salazar Lifetime Ban for Sexual Misconduct. What Does That Mean?

By Robert Johnson and Jonathan Gault
December 23, 2021

By now, you have likely read the news that Alberto Salazar, who coached athletes like Mo Farah, Matthew Centrowitz, and Galen Rupp to Olympic glory as part of the Nike Oregon Project, has been ruled permanently ineligible by the U.S. Center for SafeSport for “sexual misconduct.”

But what, exactly, does that mean, and what “sexual misconduct” was Salazar banned for? And, come to think about it, what exactly is the U.S. Center for SafeSport?

Even though a final decision has been made, a number of questions remain about Salazar’s case. Let’s sort through what we do and don’t know.

What is the U.S. Center for SafeSport?

SafeSport is an organization founded in 2017 to deal with sexual, physical, and emotional abuse in Olympic sports. In this role, SafeSport hears allegations of abuse and misconduct and has the power to impose sanctions on coaches and athletes. The USOPC and USATF have agreed to accept and enforce SafeSport’s rulings.

What is Salazar banned for?

In January 2020, Salazar was ruled temporarily ineligible by SafeSport. No specific reason was provided – SafeSport does not release allegations or rulings, in part to protect victims – but it came in the wake of Mary Cain and Amy Yoder Begley’s accusations of weight-shaming and emotional abuse.

Even though SafeSport was established long after Cain and Yoder Begley left the Nike Oregon Project, SafeSport claims to have jurisdiction over the matter as its code reveals no statute of limitations:

The Center assesses a Participant’s fitness to participate in sport. As past conduct informs current fitness, no criminal, civil, or rules-based statutes of limitations or time bars of any kind prevent the Center from investigating, assessing, considering and adjudicating any relevant conduct regardless of when it occurred.

In July 2021, Salazar’s temporary ineligibility was updated to permanent ineligibility, with “sexual misconduct” and “emotional misconduct” listed as the reasons, but the ban was still listed as “subject to appeal.” On Wednesday, SafeSport updated its database, and the ban is no longer listed as being subject to appeal, suggesting Salazar’s appeal failed. Additionally, “emotional misconduct” was removed as one of the reasons for his ban; “sexual misconduct” remains. Sarah Lorge Butler reported for Runner’s World that she spoke to an athlete involved in the appeal who confirmed Salazar has been banned for life. 

Inquiries to SafeSport asking for confirmation that Salazar lost his appeal were not met with a reply.

So what “sexual misconduct” is Salazar accused of?

The most confusing thing – for fans and media members alike – is that Salazar hasn’t been publicly accused of anything sexual in nature that one would think would result in a lifetime ban. None of the publicly-reported allegations by Cain or Yoder Begley were sexual in nature. The behaviors they accused Salazar of publicly – including public weigh-ins, weight and body shaming, and in Cain’s case, a callous disregard for her self-harming behavior – were not explicitly sexual.

Yes, Matt Hart’s 2020 book Win At All Costs included an anecdote about a drunken Salazar attempting to kiss his then-athlete Kara Goucher on the flight to the 2011 World Championships in Daegu, South Korea. Under the SafeSport Code, that would count as nonconsensual sexual contact, a code violation. But one wouldn’t think an unrequited kiss attempt would result in a lifetime ban.

That leaves two likely possibilities. Either Salazar was banned for offenses that have not been reported publicly, or Salazar was banned for behavior that falls under SafeSport’s “sexual misconduct” category but is not actually sexual in nature. 

A close reading of the SafeSport code reveals that one may be able to be banned for sexual misconduct even if one did nothing at all that is sexual in nature.

How does that work? Below is an excerpt from the SafeSport Code (IX.C.1.A on page 9) that explains how sexual harrassment can be a violation of the sexual misconduct category – even if the behavior is not sexual in nature – if certain conditons are met:

Sexual harassment includes harassment related to gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression, which may include acts of aggression, intimidation, or hostility, whether verbal or nonverbal, graphic, physical, or otherwise, even if the acts do not involve conduct of a sexual nature, when the conditions outlined in (a) or (b), below, are present.

The conditions in (b) require the creation of a “hostile environment” – which both Cain and Yoder Begley seemingly alleged occurred under Salazar. According to the SafeSport’s 2021 code, a hostile environment “exists when the conduct is sufficiently severe, persistent, or pervasive such that it interferes with, limits, or deprives any individual of the opportunity to participate in any program or activity. Conduct must be deemed severe, persistent, or pervasive from both a subjective and an objective perspective….”

But was Salazar’s mistreatment of Cain and Yoder-Begley related to their gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression?

Unless there were allegations that haven’t been reported, it appears an arbitrator ruled in the affirmative. To be clear, SafeSport did not uphold Salazar’s suspension – according to the SafeSport Code, appeals are decided by a sole arbitrator.

And unlike doping violations, in which penalties are clearly delineated in the WADA Code based on the offense committed, SafeSport has the freedom to determine the sanction depending on its determination of the severity of the violation of the SafeSport Code. Those sanctions can range from a written warning to permanent ineligibility – the strongest sanction, and the one that was applied to Salazar.

The bottom line: we don’t know, specifically, what Salazar was banned for. And unless one of the victims comes forward, we probably never will.

What does “permanent ineligibility” mean? Can he really never coach again?

The SafeSport Code describes permanent ineligibility as:

Permanent ineligibility to participate, in any capacity, in any program, activity, Event, or competition sponsored by, organized by, or under the auspices of the USOPC, any NGB, or any LAO or at a facility under the jurisdiction of the same.

That means Salazar cannot coach at some of the biggest events in the sport, such as USATF championships or the Olympic Trials. It does not, seemingly, preclude Salazar from coaching athletes outside of those environments.

However, we imagine any individuals that decide to work with Salazar in the future might get PR pushback from their sponsor.

Regardless, Salazar is currently serving a four-year ban handed down by USADA for three anti-doping rule violations – and that ban does prevent Salazar from working with all athletes until the end of September 2023.

Talk about the Salazar case on the world-famous LetsRun.com messageboard: MB: Alberto Salazar BANNED For Life for “Sexual Misconduct”.