WASHINGTON – Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) is demanding answers from the U.S. Center for SafeSport on its vetting and hiring practices following reports SafeSport brought on an investigator later charged with theft and sexual misconduct.
Grassley helped steer bipartisan legislation through Congress in 2017 that established SafeSport to investigate cases of athlete sex-abuse and harassment in Olympic governing bodies. SafeSport investigators work closely with athletes to uncover and compile sensitive information regarding these cases.
“Claimants share deeply personal information with SafeSport investigators. For some, the memories they share with SafeSport are among their worst. Claimants and respondents alike deserve impartial, fair investigators who have not been accused of sexual misconduct of their own,” Grassley wrote.
“Accusations of rape and other sex crimes against any SafeSport investigator are especially concerning given SafeSport’s mandate to protect athletes from similar abuse. Charges of that nature seriously call into question the quality of SafeSport’s vetting processes of its own officials,” Grassley continued.
Read Grassley’s full letter HERE.
Background:
SafeSport around 2021 hired Jason Krasley, a former Pennsylvania police officer, while he was under active investigation for theft and tampering with evidence. After his arraignment for these charges in November 2024, SafeSport fired Krasley. On January 10, 2025, Krasley was arrested on additional charges of involuntary sexual servitude with the threat of serious physical harm, sexual assault and rape. It’s also alleged Krasley subjected an individual to harassing physical contact while still on SafeSport’s payroll in June 2024.
Grassley was the first in history to convene a congressional hearing on athlete protections while serving as Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee in 2017. He also spearheaded oversight of the U.S. Olympic Committee, the FBI’s failed response to the Larry Nassar abuse scandal and the failures of SafeSport and USA Gymnastics to effectively safeguard athletes.
Several Grassley-led measures to strengthen accountability for abusers have been signed into law. Last Congress, his bipartisan legislation to bolster the federal sex tourism statutes that had been too weak to convict Nassar became law as part of the 2024 National Defense Authorization Act.
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