U.S. rower stripped of honor from two-time Olympic medalist and nine-time Olympic coach after investigation found credible allegations of sexually abusing a teenage boy more than 50 years ago did.
The federation released a 154-page report on Tuesday about Ted Nash, who died in 2021. The report said Jennifer Fox's claims that Nash groomed and sexually abused her in 1973 were credible. They met that year at a horseback riding camp where Nash was teaching when Nash was 40 and Fox was 13.
Foxx chronicled her experience in the 2018 film “The Tale,” which she told investigators was a fictionalized version of the alleged abuse. Nash, who was still alive at the time, is not mentioned by name in the movie. The New York Times published Fox's story in 2023. Her experience in revealing Nash's identity sparked her investigation.
“This whole process is really, really hard and the result is like removing a tumor from your body that has been festering for a lifetime,” Fox told the newspaper on Tuesday.
The law firm that made the report was not asked to find legal evidence of abuse. Still, the newspaper said it had interviewed nearly 50 witnesses who corroborated many of the allegations, adding: “There is no evidence that unequivocally refutes Ms. Fox's claims or suggests a motive for Ms. Fox to fabricate her account of the abuse. I couldn't find it.”
Among the report's findings is that a third party submitted details of the incident to the U.S. Center for SafeSport, which took jurisdiction over the matter, but because Nash was already dead, it was not administratively possible. This includes closing the case.
Fox consulted with US Rowing, which said in a news release that it “determined that the seriousness of Mr. Fox's allegations outweighed Mr. Nash's inability to respond to these allegations.”
U.S. Rowing has rescinded all honors it had given Nash, including the 2005 Man of the Year award and the 2013 National Rowing Medal of Honor.
The International Olympic Committee announced on Tuesday that Russians and Belarusians will not participate in the athlete parade at the opening ceremony of the 2024 Paris Olympics in July.
