USA Badminton leader's 5
DENVER (AP) — An arbitrator upheld the five-year suspension of USA Badminton’s CEO for interfering in the reporting of misconduct in a long-running case about a coach accused of sexually abusing a teenager nearly a decade before the episode was reported.
The Associated Press obtained a letter sent by the U.S. Center for SafeSport last week notifying the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee and USA Badminton of the decision regarding Linda French.
The letter quoted the arbitrator’s decision, saying “French is at the highest level of responsibility, and must be held to the highest standards.”
“Using one’s position to discourage reporting, or to retaliate against an individual for reporting, as have been found here, shakes the foundation of the Code,” the decision read.
French did not immediately return an email sent by the AP seeking comment.