USOPC athlete ombudsman allegedly advised USA Badminton on player’s complaint

The U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee’s athlete advisory council is examining whether USOPC athlete ombudsman Kacie Wallace violated the Ted Stevens Olympic and Amateur Act when she allegedly gave advice to USA Badminton regarding an athlete complaint regarding qualification for the 2019 Pan American Games, according to documents obtained by the Orange County Register

Dr. Mathew Fogarty, a three-time Pan Am Games medalist, on Thursday asked the athlete advisory council to fire Wallace for advising then-USA Badminton CEO Jeff Dyrek in handling a Section 9 participation complaint against USA Badminton.

He has also asked the USOPC to dismiss Sara Pflipsen, the USOPC senior counsel for dispute resolution and athlete affairs.

“I file this complaint and request your recourse for Ms. Wallace’s violations of her federally mandated responsibilities under … the Ted Stevens Olympic and Amateur Sports Act,” Fogarty, 63, wrote to USOPC CEO Sarah Hirshland and Han Xiao, chairman of the Athletes’ Advisory Council.

“Ms. Wallace, supported by Ms. Sara Pflipsen, USOPC Senior Counsel, Dispute Resolution, and Athlete Affairs, advocated on behalf of and provided legal assistance to the NGB against an athlete (myself) during a Section 9 complaint.”

In 2018, Fogarty filed his complaint regarding the qualification standards for the 2019 Pan Am Games under Section 9 of the USOPC’s bylaws, which protects the rights of athletes, coaches, trainers and officials to participate in the Olympic and Paralympic games, Pan Am Games, World Championships and other international competitions.

Fogarty competed in the mixed doubles division at the World Championships in August. Fogarty and Isabel Zhong are the third-highest-rated Americans and fourth-highest North Americans in the Badminton World Federation’s most recent global rankings. He won a Pan Am bronze medal in men’s doubles as recently as 2014.

Wallace, a former Duke swimmer, has been the athlete ombudsman since 2015, a position the USOPC said is supposed to give elite U.S. athletes “independent and confidential” advice.”

Wallace advised Dyrek in a series of emails on how to respond to Fogarty, according to emails obtained by the Register. More than half of one email sent to Fogarty from Dyrek appeared to be written by Wallace.

In an email dated Nov. 21, 2018, Dyrek, regarding Fogarty’s complaint about Wallace, wrote: “Check the other email before you send. I think Matt may be trying to be sneaky.”

Wallace, Flipsen, Hirshland, McCleary and Fogarty did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Julie Clukey, USOPC director for athlete outreach and engagement, wrote on behalf of AAC leadership in an email to the council’s representatives and alternates Friday.

“Last night, you may have received a communication from Mathew Fogarty asking us to initiate the dismissal of the Ombudsman, Kacie Wallace, based on some email communications between the Ombudsman’s Office and USA Badminton,” Clukey said. “Specifically, Mr. Fogarty alleges that the Ombudsman’s Office should not be providing legal advice to NGBs in Section 9 complaints. Mr. Fogarty also asks for the dismissal of Sara Pflipsen from the USOPC’s legal department,” the email continued.

“Our leadership team met briefly today to discuss Mr. Fogarty’s allegations and requests. We want to assure you that we are looking into this matter and are working with the Ombudsman’s Office and the USOPC to gather more details. We also want to give the Ombudsman’s Office an opportunity to respond to the AAC and to Sarah Hirshland before taking any additional action.

“While we are processing Mr. Fogarty’s complaint, we ask that AAC members do not divulge the details of Mr. Fogarty’s complaint, or discuss this matter in public forums, including the media. We thank you all for your discretion.”

On the USOPC’s website, the athlete ombudsman position is outlined under the headline “ATHLETE OMBUDSMAN. CONFIDENTIAL-INDEPENDENT ADVICE-DISPUTE RESOLUTION.”

“We’re here for you,” it says on the page.

“The Office of the Athlete Ombudsman’s primary role is to provide cost-free, independent and confidential advice to elite athletes on all sport-related rules, policies and processes, and to assist in the resolution of athlete concerns and disputes.

“The team at the office of the athlete ombudsman carries out this role with particular attention to the independence and confidentiality of our advice and our availability to assist all athletes without judgement or bias.”

Edward Williams, a New York attorney and former Olympic biathlon competitor who was one of the architects of the 1978 Stevens Act, wrote in an email to Chris McCleary, USOPC general counsel, on Friday: “We know, and it is a matter of record, that Kacie Wallace, the ‘Athlete Ombudsman,’ did in fact give legal advice to the NGB for Badminton as an aid to them to defeat an athlete’s Section 9 Complaint. That was and is outrageous. She must be terminated for cause.”

The Ted Stevens Olympic and Amateur Sports Act of 1978, named after the U.S. senator that sponsored it, gave the USOPC monopoly status for governing and promoting American Olympic sports and established NGBs for each sport.

The allegations against Wallace come after months of increasing complaints from former Olympians, current athletes and Congress that the USOPC is out of touch with athletes’ issues and concerns. That criticism further escalated this month over USOPC’s initial refusal to publicly pressure the International Olympic Committee to postpone the the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo.