Grassley Pushes SafeSport to Take Action to Address Major Failings

WASHINGTON – Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) is following up on his oversight of the U.S. Center for SafeSport’s vetting and hiring practices. The organization previously hired an investigator, Jason Krasley, who was later charged with theft, harassment and sex crimes. 

“Congress established SafeSport to protect young athletes from abuse and act as a good steward of taxpayer dollars. The arrest of a former investigator and my subsequent oversight has called into question the quality of SafeSport’s hiring process, the Board’s ability to supervise SafeSport officers and directors, and SafeSport’s management of funds,” Grassley said. “American athletes and taxpayers deserve better.”  

In letters to SafeSport’s CEO, Ju’Riese Colón, and Board of Directors, Grassley notes: 

• SafeSport was aware of a previous internal investigation into Krasley prior to hiring him and kept him on payroll for two months after learning of the criminal allegations against him. 
• SafeSport intentionally withheld pertinent evidence from law enforcement. 
  • Florida court found SafeSport “perpetrated a fraud” against a Florida State Court and “filtered” and withheld evidence from law enforcement regarding a sexual abuse claim. 
• SafeSport potentially mismanaged taxpayer funding. 
  • SafeSport in 2023 spent $2.4 million on legal contractors, including over $1.2 million on a single Denver-based tort law firm. It’s unclear what type of work these firms handled on behalf of SafeSport. 
  • SafeSport in 2023 spent $390,000 on travel, paid 11 executives between $111,000 and $350,000 each, and spent nearly $408,000 on the CEO’s salary – $100,000 more than the highest end of average nonprofit CEO salaries. 

Read Grassley’s letter to the SafeSport CEO HERE and his letter to the SafeSport Board of Directors HERE. 

Background:

Grassley's bipartisan legislation established SafeSport in 2017 to investigate cases of athlete sex abuse and harassment in Olympic governing bodies. 

Grassley was the first in history to convene a congressional hearing on athlete protections 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.

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