Read on Twitter
(TW: Abuse, Sexual Assault) This thread will be covering the sexual abuse reckoning that's occurring within the French figure skating community & everything going on with the FFSG. Please feel free to share, RT & bookmark it! #SkatingSurvivors https://twitter.com/LiftLoopLunge/status/1305608655698645001
There is a lot to go over so I’ll try my best to hit all of the major highlights. I’ll only briefly go over some of the earlier events and focus more specifically on what's been happening since June.
It all started on January 29, L’Equipe and L’Obs published investigations about sexual abuse in sports, specifically figure skating & swimming. You can read more in the thread below: https://twitter.com/LiftLoopLunge/status/1222502427456352256?s=20
The revelations included allegations that then-president of the FFSG, Didier Gailhaguet, failed to properly investigate numerous claims that were brought to his attention & actively protected several abusive coaches, including Gilles Beyer. https://www.newsy-today.com/end-of-reign-atmosphere-for-didier-gailhaguet-the-little-napoleon-of-french-skating/
On February 5, Sports Minister Roxana Maricenau asked Gailhaguet to resign from his position - threatening to defund & decertify the FFSG if he failed to do so in a 14-day period. After initially refusing to resign he announced his resignation on the 8th. https://twitter.com/francebleu/status/1226107037634965504?s=20
Nathalie Pechalat was elected as the new FFSG president on March 14th. Folks who’ve been following me for a while will know that I’ve been very vocal about my thoughts on Pechalat’s campaign & strategies. This will be *very* important later. https://sport.francetvinfo.fr/patinage/federation-francaise-des-sports-de-glace-nathalie-pechalat-elue-presidente-dans-la
For those looking for a bit more background info, this thread summarizes many of the events that occurred between late January and early February. I'm now going to shift focus to what's happened from this summer to present-day. https://twitter.com/plumvalentine/status/1222441466259263488?s=20
On July 22nd, the Disciplinary Commission of the FFSG announced that they would not be implementing any sanctions against Morgan Cipres or Gilles Beyer. https://twitter.com/LiftLoopLunge/status/1285949763616223239?s=20
Beyer, who has been accused of rape and sexual harassment by multiple women & is currently being investigated by the police, wasn't sanctioned due to the fact that his license expired on June 30 i.e. they cannot suspend or ban someone who isn't a member of the federation.
In re: to Cipres, the Disciplinary Commission claims that the only evidence that was submitted to them were press clippings related to the case, as well as a letter from a US lawyer asking him to contact an insurer. In other words, there was no sanction due to lack of evidence
Now I'm going to use quotes, articles and official documents to explain why the findings of Beyer's and Cipres' cases are utter bullshit.
Multiple regulations within the FFSG were operating illegally & inconsistent with the Code du Sport. For example, some of the members of the disciplinary commission were members of the Federal Council - which is explicitly forbidden.
Most notably, according to the Code du Sport, the FFSG should not only have the ability to ban someone like Beyer even if his license expired - they were LEGALLY REQUIRED to be able to do so.
