U.S. Figure Skating Coach Banned for Life
Warning: Story contains descriptions of self-harm and abuse
Olympic pairs figure skating coach Dalilah Sappenfield has been banned from the sport of figure skating for life by the U.S. Center for SafeSport. Her violations include physical and emotional misconduct, retaliation, abuse of process, and failure to report a potential SafeSport violation.
Coach Dalilah Sappenfield (right) during the 2018 U.S. Figure Skating Championships/ Getty Images
The U.S. Center for SafeSport had been investigating for two and a half years, culminating in a lifetime ban issued on Wednesday.
In 2021, Sappenfield was temporarily banned from contacting 12 named figure skaters without adult supervision while an investigation was ongoing. The primary abuse allegations came from U.S. national pairs champion Tarah Kayne in a report released by USA Today.
It led to her cutting her left wrist with a razor blade in 2019 at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
“She was constantly talking about sex, about who I was dating, about my sex life. It was completely inappropriate, but that’s what Dalilah does. She uses gossip from other skaters in the rink against you. She knew I was struggling with my mental health, but instead of helping me, she chose to make fun of me. She even went to other skaters and told them about it, calling me names and asking why the guys why anyone would want to date me.”
Sappenfield has been part of the American pairs skating team for nearly 20 years and coached three-time U.S. champions Alexa and Chris Knierim at the 2018 Winter Olympics. She won the Professional Skaters Association/U.S. Figure Skating Coach of the Year award in 2008.
Alongside the ban issue, the CEO of SafeSport, Ju’Riese Colon, made a statement.
“Culture change is happening. Actions that were once tolerated or ignored are no longer accepted, and accountability is taking root. That’s progress, but creating long-term culture change requires steadfast commitment by everyone in the sports community to fostering safe environments for athletes to fulfill their potential.”
In 2020, she violated USFS SafeSport rules by allowing a 16-year-old female Russian pairs skater to live at her house. According to the rules, it is prohibited for a coach to house a minor athlete. Additionally, two male skaters older than 18 lived at her house during this time.
She was also a close friend and coach of John Coughlin, a former skating champion who died by suicide in 2019, the day after he received three reports of sexual assault, two of which involved minors. Following his death, she publicly and emphatically defended him on social media.
Despite the ongoing investigation, she was allowed to attend the 2024 U.S. figure skating championships in Columbus in January. Sappenfield has made no comments about the ban so far.