LOS ANGELES – The California Supreme Court ruled Thursday that USA Taekwondo had a legal duty to protect athletes from sexual and other types of abuse.
The ruling came in a Los Angeles lawsuit by three aspiring Olympic female taekwondo athletes who were sexually abused as minors by their coach for years.
The three won a $60 million judgment against convicted coach Marc Gitelman in 2017 but the trial court threw out claims against USA Taekwondo and the U.S.
Olympic and Paralympic Committee. They appealed those dismissals, alleging the USOPC and USA Taekwondo failed to protect the girls.