A Florida court has delivered a scathing critique against the U.S. Center for SafeSport, accusing the organization of committing judicial fraud and purposely concealing exculpatory evidence in a case tied to a young water polo athlete. The incident stems from a complaint made by the player, Kelsey McMullen, which astonishingly led to her arrest on her high school premises on grounds of assault.
This week, Seminole County Judge John Woodard expunged all criminal records related to McMullen, who, at the age of 18, saw her case take a surprising turn when evidence was handed to law enforcement by a SafeSport investigator. This evidence involved a witness in a case in which McMullen had accused another girl of bullying. Subsequently, McMullen’s arrest initiated an investigation that spanned 14 months before charges were eventually dropped.
Judge Woodard pointed out that the prosecutors were only partially informed by SafeSport during their investigation, which commenced in 2022. Further complicating matters, when new cases were filed against McMullen’s accusers and the center for reporting fictitious allegations, the organization reportedly failed to cooperate with law enforcement. The ruling, although not imposing any penalties on SafeSport, marks a rare judicial denunciation of the agency established in 2017 with the mission to tackle sexual abuse within Olympic sports.
SafeSport reacted to the court ruling by labeling it as a “stunt” aimed at undermining its role in holding individuals to account over sexual misconduct. The center declared its intent to consider a legal response, arguing that the order lacked jurisdictional, factual, or legal foundation. They further noted in a statement that the center was neither part of the criminal case proceedings nor given any opportunity to counter the inaccurate information purportedly presented by the lawyer in court.
The court’s ruling accused SafeSport of committing fraud against numerous parties, including the State of Florida, the Sheriff’s Office, and the State Attorney’s Office, besides McMullen. The court also alleged that SafeSport “intentionally withheld exculpatory evidence,” and acted “in bad faith, intentionally, and with malice.”
Russell Prince, attorney to McMullen, remarked that the court’s judgment was not unexpected to those familiar with the Center’s operations. He highlighted what he describes as a habitual pattern of behavior by SafeSport, saying, “This time, they were finally held accountable according to commonly accepted standards of fairness and due process. Beyond that, the Order is particularly harsh, pointed in the findings, and self-explanatory.”
