Safe Sport Authorization Act

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Protecting Young Victims from Sexual Abuse and Safe Sport Authorization Act of 2017
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Long titleA bill to prevent the sexual abuse of minors and amateur athletes by requiring the prompt reporting of sexual abuse to law enforcement authorities, and for other purposes.
Enacted bythe 115th United States Congress
Citations
Public law Pub. L.   115–126 (text) (PDF)
Statutes at Large 132  Stat.   318
Codification
Titles amended 18 U.S.C.: Crimes and Criminal Procedure;34 U.S.C.: Crime Control and Law Enforcement;Title 36 of the United States Code
U.S.C. sections created 36 U.S.C. ch. 220541
Legislative history

The Protecting Young Victims from Sexual Abuse and Safe Sport Authorization Act of 2017, also known as the Safe Sport Authorization Act, is an American law that establishes protection for young athletes. Among its provisions, it established the United States Center for SafeSport as an independent entity to investigate reports of abuse and to protect athletes from abuse in the United States Olympic movement.

Contents

History

The Safe Sport Authorization Act requires Olympic governing bodies and amateur sports organizations to report sex abuse allegations immediately to local or federal law enforcement, or a child welfare agency designated by the US Justice Department. It further gives the United States Center for SafeSport the responsibility of ensuring that aspiring U.S. Olympic athletes can report allegations of abuse to it as an independent and non-conflicted entity for investigation and resolution, and to make sure that all national governing bodies follow the strictest standards for child abuse prevention and detection. [1] [2]

The bill amended the Ted Stevens Olympic and Amateur Sports Act, under the Commerce Committee's jurisdiction, to expand the purposes of United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee to promote a safe environment in sports that is free from abuse. [3]

The Protecting Young Victims from Sexual Abuse and Safe Sport Authorization Act of 2017 combined separate bills introduced in the 115th Congress by Senators Dianne Feinstein (D–CA) and John Thune (R–SD) in response to the USA Gymnastics sex abuse scandal, allegations made against personnel involved with USA Swimming and USA Taekwondo, and following Senate hearings by the Senate Judiciary Committee and the Senate Commerce Committee on issues of athlete safety. [4] [5] Senator Feinstein introduced S. 534, the Protecting Young Victims from Sexual Abuse Act on March 6, 2017. [6] Senator Thune introduced S. 1426, the United States Center for Safe Sport Authorization Act, on June 29, 2017. [7] Following negotiations, the two bills were merged and ultimately signed into law by President Donald Trump on February 14, 2018.

SafeSport

As a direct result, the United States Center for SafeSport was established in 2017 under the auspices of the Protecting Young Victims from Sexual Abuse and Safe Sport Authorization of 2017. SafeSport seeks to address the problem of sexual abuse of minors and Olympic athletes in sport. [8] [9] [10] Its primary focus, for which it has exclusive jurisdiction, is to review allegations of sexual misconduct, and to impose sanctions up to the lifetime ban of a person from all Olympic sports. [11] The function of SafeSport also covers providing a public central database of sanctioned individuals across all sports. [12] In 2019–20, the Center imposed temporary measures in 6% of cases – those where the charges were most serious and demanded to be addressed most urgently. In 71% of cases in which final sanctions were imposed, they consisted of some level of suspension or ineligibility. As of October 2021, the Center had sanctioned 1,100 people, with the highest sanctions being permanent ineligibility. The Center cannot indict or jail individuals accused of sexual misconduct, as it is neither a law enforcement agency nor a legal body of the U.S. judiciary, instead being a sports investigative body; however, it can forward its investigations to state and federal courts, which in turn can impose criminal penalties on the defendants. [13]

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References

  1. ↑ Sports Law and Regulation; Cases, Materials, and Problems
  2. ↑ Social Issues in Sport
  3. ↑ "Thune and Nelson Statements on Passage of Safe Sport Authorization". Senate Commerce Committee Press Release. January 20, 2018.
  4. ↑ Sport Law; A Managerial Approach
  5. ↑ "Senate Passes Bill Requiring U.S. Amateur Athletic Organizations, Members to Report Sexual Abuse". Senate Commerce Committee Press Release. November 14, 2017.
  6. ↑ "Senators Introduce Bill Requiring U.S. Amateur Athletic Organizations, Members to Report Sexual Abuse". Office of Senator Dianne Feinstein Press Release. March 6, 2017.
  7. ↑ "Thune and Nelson Introduce Bill to Protect Aspiring Olympic Athletes". Senate Commerce Committee Press Release. June 23, 2017.
  8. ↑ Matthew J. Mitten, Timothy Davis, Rodney K. Smith, Kenneth L. Shropshire (2019). Sports Law and Regulation; Cases, Materials, and Problems, Wolters Kluwer.
  9. ↑ Brenda G. Pitts, James J. Zhang (2020). Sport Business in the United States; Contemporary Perspectives, Taylor & Francis.
  10. ↑ "The U.S. Center for SafeSport Opens". Team USA. Denver, Colorado: United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee. March 24, 2017. Archived from the original on 1 March 2018. Retrieved 27 March 2020. "There is a critical need to address abuse in sports and we want to do everything we can to provide athletes with a positive, safe and secure environment," said U.S. Olympic Committee (USOC) CEO Scott Blackmun. "Violence, abuse and misconduct in sport not only threatens athletes, but also undermines the fundamental values that sport is based on." "The launch of the U.S. Center for SafeSport is an essential step in protecting athletes from abuse," said Han Xiao, Chairman of the USOC's Athletes' Advisory Council. "We look forward to working together to create a safe environment for our youth and athletes."
  11. ↑ Nadia Brown (2020). Me Too Political Science
  12. ↑ Branch, John (2018-09-25). "Sports Officials Are Making Lists of People Barred for Sexual Misconduct. Big Lists" . The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331. Archived from the original on 1 March 2019. Retrieved 2019-08-04.
  13. ↑ Dan Murphy and Pete Madden (February 23, 2022). "U.S. Center for SafeSport, Olympic Movement's misconduct watchdog, struggles to shed 'paper tiger' reputation". ESPN.
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