Content warnings: The content of this article discusses sensitive subjects such as sexual assault of a minor, rape, harrassment, grooming, suicide and eating dissorders.

When choosing a sport for their child, parents often consider factors such as financial commitments, practice schedules and the child’s interests. One thing that should never have to be considered is the rate of sexual assault within the sport, but recent investigations have proved this statement to be untrue. Figure skating has become a pillar of winter athletics, being the first ever winter sport to compete at the Olympics in 1908.

Many lawsuits have been filed in recent months against figure skating coaches, with several of these lawsuits involving allegations of rape and sexual assault against minors. Often, defendants are accused of having knowledge of assault, harassment and failing to act.

A federal lawsuit has recently been filed in the state of South Carolina on behalf of two figure skaters who have claimed years of sexual abuse from their coach, a former Olympic skater. He was recently identified as Mark Cockerell. Cockerell met the first of the two skaters in 2020 and immediately began a grooming pattern that ultimately led to her rape on Jan. 28, 2023, after he convinced her to meet him at a hotel.

The second skater had been coached by Cockerell from the young age of 14. He frequently made comments about her body, both praising and shaming her. According to an article by NBC News, the civil action that was filed claimed that his dietary instructions and comments led to the development of body dysmorphia and an eating disorder that the skater is still battling today. 

The lawsuit explains that in addition to the verbal comments from Cockerell the two skaters suffered from inappropriate touching in many different ways throughout practices. This led to a mental breakdown of one of the skaters, causing her to quit the sport completely. The lawsuit also expressed that these skaters “have suffered immeasurable loss,” resulting in the need for “psychiatric/psychological care for the rest of their lives.”

The lawsuit alleges that neither the skating rink nor the governing body appropriately investigated the sexual misconduct violations filed against Cockerell prior to 2018 when he met these two skaters. It can be assumed that if a proper investigation had been conducted in a timely manner he would have either been fired or arrested before ever coming into contact with these two skaters. In a statement published by CBS, sexual assault attorney Randall Hood expressed, “Predators like this coach don’t get caught because the people in charge ignore the repeated complaint against them. If they refuse to protect our young athletes, the courts will do it for them.”

After this lawsuit was filed, other victims of Cockerell have come forward to share their experiences. Two new lawsuits have been filed by these victims. Additionally, according to WSI 10, “two mothers have joined the group suing the U.S. Figure Skating Association, rink, and Olympian.” As of February 2023, Cockerell is no longer providing lessons at the rink in Irmo, South Carolina.

This recent set of lawsuits is just one of the many instances of sexual abuse reported in the figure skating industry. The U.S. Center for SafeSport has produced multiple investigations surrounding abuse that have led to the loss of lives. John Coughlin, a professional skater and multiple-time national champion, received a suspension from the SafeSport organization due to three allegations of sexual assault including two minors. The day after he received this suspension, Coughlin took his own life.

Following this death, there was a lot of confusion within the figure skating community. The SafeSport organization refused to continue with this investigation under the pretense that they could no longer interview Coughlin. However, skaters continued to come forward and share their stories of abuse at his hands over a period of ten years.

Some paid tribute to the skater in ways such as wearing his signature red hat or ribbons with shattered glass to represent suicide awareness. However, these actions received mixed public responses. Due to the never completed investigation, many questions were never answered. Many were left wondering if grieving for this friend or mentor was acceptable when his past was so unknown.

The social dynamics of the sport are different than those seen in outside society. A major factor in pair skating is age gaps. Many female skaters start their career at a very young age, while their male partners are traditionally older. The age cap for men in pairs in the junior category is three years older than the cap for singular female juniors, at 21 and 18 respectively. Many of the most famous figure skating pairs are in romantic relationships, including Olympic champions Ekaterina Gordeeva and Sergei Grinkov. As they were competing, the media focused almost as much on their romantic relationship as their skating, in turn setting a dangerous precedent for young girls. 

The media normalizes these inappropriate relationships and focuses on them more than the sexual assault allegations. An article from The Guardian states, “While it’s one thing to create policies that protect athletes, it’s quite another to educate people about these policies — and then implement them.”The SafeSport organization has received many sexual misconduct and assault reports from skaters. The organization does not have the budget or the staffing capacity to properly investigate these allegations, and the media has not been covering them.