John Coughlin, the two-time U.S. pairs figure skating champion who took his life Friday, was facing three reports of sexual misconduct against him, two of them involving minors, according to a person with knowledge of the situation who was not authorized to talk publicly about the matter.
The reports were filed with the U.S. Center for SafeSport. The first report, which did not come from a minor, led to SafeSport’s decision on Dec. 17 to restrict Coughlin’s eligibility to participate in his sport pending final resolution of the matter. News of that disciplinary action was reported by USA TODAY on Jan. 7.
The other two reports, both of which involved minors at the time of the alleged sexual misconduct, came to SafeSport within the past few weeks and resulted in its decision to elevate Coughlin’s disciplinary record to an interim suspension Thursday night.
U.S. Figure Skating is required to enforce SafeSport disciplinary decisions so it immediately suspended the 33-year-old Coughlin as well, which meant he was prohibited from participating “in any capacity, in any activity or competition” authorized or organized by USFS or the U.S. Olympic Committee.
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