Lindsey Jacobellis won another gold medal on Friday in the mixed snowboard cross event with partner Nick Baumgartner. Their coach, meanwhile, is under investigation after a former Olympics athlete accused him of sexual misconduct and inappropriate behavior.
Former Team USA snowboarder Callan Chythlook-Sifsof, a member of the 2010 U.S. Olympic team, detailed the allegations against coach Peter Foley in a series of Instagram posts. In them, she said that Foley has “taken naked photos of female athletes for over a decade” and made a sexually explicit comment to her about another woman in 2014.
“Other athletes have in engaged in racist, misogynist behavior, actively participated in the strange dynamics that Peter Foley created and caused female athletes/staff to be victims of sexual violence,” Chythlook-Sifsof wrote.
Also named in Chythlook-Sifsof’s post was Hagen Kearney, a snowboarder who she says repeatedly used the n-word and made rape jokes about female members on the team.
“I cannot watch another Olympic Games without saying this publicly,” Chythlook-Sifsof continued, tagging Kearney, Foley and the U.S. Ski & Snowboard Team.
The posts were removed three times for violating Instagram’s “guidelines on nudity or sexual activity” and “bullying or harassment.” Chythlook-Sifsof reposted the messages to her Instagram story, and the original posts have since been reinstated.
“U.S. Ski & Snowboard has been made aware of the recent allegations,” U.S. Ski & Snowboard said in a statement to Yahoo Sports. “We take these allegations very seriously and the allegations are being investigated.”
The organization added: “The concerns regarding Hagen [Kearney] were dealt with at the time and appropriate action was taken.”
Friday’s mixed snowboard cross event was the first since the allegations surfaced. Foley, who has served as head coach of the U.S. snowboard team since its founding in 1994, denied them in an interview after the competition.
“I’m super surprised by the allegations and I vehemently deny the allegations,” he said.
Following the win, Jacobellis expressed her support for Foley in a statement.
“It’s definitely been super upsetting to have that when we’re trying to focus and it definitely breaks up our team energy a little bit,” she said. “But in my 20 years on the team, I can speak very highly of his character. He’s always been supporting me through everything I’ve gone through, and he helped me find an amazing mental health coach to help me prepare for this moment here today.”