important information

We have contracted with The Army of Survivors, a team of athlete-focused, trauma-informed confidential advocates, to support people impacted by this situation and connect them to local resources and information. You can email: [email protected], or call or text (989) 494-1558 between 9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. EST, to get more information. All calls and correspondence will be answered by a confidential advocate. Please know there are some limitations on confidentiality, such as mandatory reporting of child abuse or harm to self or others. The Army of Survivors will further explain the limitations to you if you decide to connect with them. The Army of Survivors is a separate organization and is not reporting personally identifying information to the Center.  

More generally, the Center also has a variety of support resources for individuals in the Response & Resolution process that may be helpful.   

We don’t currently have reason to believe that there was any wrongdoing by this individual while he was employed at the Center, but we have contracted with a third-party firm, Aleta Law, to audit all cases that he investigated and resolved. This process will likely take several months and cases will be reviewed on a rolling basis. If the audit reveals an issue with your case, you will be notified directly. The audit assesses:   

• Any failure to follow the Center’s Standard Operating Procedures in a way that may have substantially impacted the outcome of a case;  

• Concerns related to an investigation outcome;  

• Other considerations regarding professionalism and sound judgment including: signs of bias, conflicts of interest, power imbalance, or coercion; and   

• Any lack of trauma-informed communications with parties and witnesses, with particular attention to minor athletes.  

If you have any concerns about interactions you had with this former investigator during your Center investigation related to the above audit criteria or if you think that you have information that would be important to the case audit, please contact Aleta Law to share your experience at [email protected]. Information shared with Aleta is not considered confidential and could be shared with the Center, which could trigger mandatory reporting to law enforcement in some instances.   

It is unlikely that cases will need to be reopened. However, if reopening your case presents risks to your safety or your involvement in sport, please notify the Center (email [email protected]), or one of the advocates at The Army of Survivors (email [email protected], or call or text (989) 494-1558 between 9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. EST) so we have as much information as possible during the auditing process. 

The Center’s hiring process requires a thorough background check of all prospective employees by a national background check provider, which includes multiple levels of screening related to criminal and sex offender registry history, and this check is repeated annually for all active employees. In addition, the Center conducts social media checks, multiple interviews, reference reviews, and looks into whether anyone has been a respondent in our process. Despite thorough vetting, this individual made it through the Center’s process. We take this matter seriously and are reviewing our hiring protocols to determine what, if any, additional vetting could have prevented this individual from being eligible for hire.