The U.S. Center for SafeSport — alternatively known as The Center — has released its annual report for 2023.

It reveals that The Center fielded 7,533 reports of abuse and misconduct this past year, a rise of 32% from 2022 and a 2,500% rise in reporting since 2017, the first year the U.S. Center for SafeSport was in operation.

The Center fielded 5,687 reports in 2022; 3,708 in 2021; 2,310 in 2020; 2,773 in 2019; 1,848 in 2018; and 281 in 2017.

Special Collector's Issue: "1984: The Year BYU was Second to None"
Get an inclusive look inside BYU Football's 1984 National Championship season.

The Center considers the rise in reporting “a sign that people better understand red-flag behavior and are speaking up when they know or even suspect that abuse or misconduct is occurring,” according to a press release.

“As a result of our work, a culture shift in sport is taking root,” Ju’Riese Colón, CEO of U.S. Center for SafeSport, said in a statement. “Athletes are rejecting the notion that sexual harassment is inevitable, coaches aren’t turning a blind eye to inappropriate behavior, and parents aren’t tolerating abusive practices. Together, we are establishing a culture where people are compelled to throw open the curtains on abuse rather than sweep it under the rug.”

Related
What Skye Blakely said about the injury that will prevent her from going to the Olympics

In 2023, the reports total included, among other things:

  • 1,584 reports of alleged sexual misconduct
  • 604 reports of criminal disposition
  • 2,722 reports of emotional/physical misconduct
  • 626 reports of other inappropriate conduct
  • 26 reports of aiding and abetting
  • 280 reports of misconduct related to reporting
  • 480 reports of violations of Minor Athlete Abuse Prevention Policies policy
  • 124 reports of retaliation
  • 146 repots of abuse of process

In 2023, 205 individuals were added to the Centralized Disciplinary Database, which is “a resource designed to keep the public informed when individuals connected with the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Movements are either subject to certain temporary restrictions pending investigation by The Center or are subject to certain sanctions after an investigation found them in violation of the SafeSport Code.”

In total, there are 2,040 individuals who are restricted or banned from sport as now listed in the database.

The Center also audited every national governing body — think USA Gymnastics or USA Track and Field — to ensure compliance with safety policies, conducting 49 event audits and three administrative audits, in addition to 30 pre-audit site visits.

What is the U.S. Center for SafeSport?

Now in its seventh year of operation as the country’s safe sport organization, The Center is “the nation’s only independent organization dedicated to ending sexual, physical, and emotional abuse in U.S. Olympic and Paralympic sport.”

View Comments

It came into being “in response to high profile cases of sexual abuse of minor athletes within Olympic and Paralympic sport in the mid-2010s,” according to its press release about the 2023 report.

With the mission of putting athlete wellbeing at the center of U.S. sport culture, The Center has since been setting safety policies and addressing complaints of abuse and misconduct.

The enter has a threefold mission, according to its press release.

  • To “establish safety policies, including the SafeSport Code and the Minor Athlete Abuse Prevention Policies (MAAPP).”
  • To “Investigate and resolve allegations of abuse and misconduct and levies sanctions, including temporary and permanent bans from sport.”
  • To “deliver comprehensive abuse prevention education within and outside of the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Movement.”

The comprehensive annual report for 2023 for the U.S. Center for SafeSport can be found on The Center’s website.

Join the Conversation
Looking for comments?
Find comments in their new home! Click the buttons at the top or within the article to view them — or use the button below for quick access.