USA Weightlifting uses an independent Ethics Committee model, who act as the investigatory body. The Committee is made up for four independent and disinterested individuals and one Elite Athlete Representative.
In the event the Ethics Committee finds that there is likely a breach of the Code of Ethics, the Ethics Committee will refer the matter to the Judicial Committee for a hearing.
Decisions of the Ethics Committee are appealable to the Judicial Committee, and a member also has the right to call for arbitration under the American Arbitration Association
For full details of the process please see the USA Weightlifting Code of Ethics and Code of Conduct.
For matters regarding Sexual Abuse, please contact the US Center for SafeSport at www.safesport.org
For matters regarding Anti-Doping, please contact the US Anti-Doping Agency at www.usada.org
The following catalogs decisions of the Ethics Committee since the new process was introduced to the USA Weightlifting bylaws in June 2017, with the purpose of establishing precedent.
Those individuals who are currently sanctioned by USA Weightlifting, the US Center for SafeSport, US Anti-Doping Agency, IWF, IWF Masters or any other related body can be found HERE.
|
Case # |
Outline |
Outcome |
Status |
Status Date |
|
1 |
Allegation of Emotional & Physical Abuse |
Referred to Judicial Committee |
Closed - Judicial Committee |
10/07/2017 |
|
2 |
Complaint and Counter Complaint regarding LWC Issues |
Referred to Judicial Committee |
Closed - Judicial Committee |
03/27/2017 |
|
3 |
Referred case from USA Powerlifting regarding sexual harassment |
Closed – Jurisdiction, case referred to the US Center for SafeSport who accepted Jurisdiction in this case. |
Closed - Dismissed |
05/16/2018 |
|
4 |
Allegation of promotion of inappropriate weight cutting techniques by an athlete. |
Closed – Dismissed. The Ethics Committee instructed USA Weightlifting to remind the individual of the logo use policy. |
Closed – Dismissed |
05/01/2018 |
|
5 |
Appeal against administrative decision regarding program sites |
Closed – Dismissed |
Closed – Dismissed |
05/07/2018 |
| Allegation of improper social media post | Closed | Closed –Warning | 04/28/2020 | |
|
6 |
Allegation of disrespectful body language towards a member of the LWC by an LWC President |
Closed – Dismissed |
Closed – Dismissed |
03/19/2018 |
|
7 |
Allegation of inappropriate behavior towards an athlete by a coach |
Closed – Dismissed. The Ethics Committee instructed USA Weightlifting to remind the coach regarding the behavior towards the athlete, however since the issue was a private matter it did not violate the Code of Ethics |
Closed – Dismissed |
06/20/2018 |
|
8 |
Allegation of mis-use of funding designed for Elite Athlete use being retained by a former gym |
Closed – Dismissed, Unfounded |
Closed – Dismissed |
06/21/2018 |
|
9 |
Allegation of falsification of meet results – Athlete |
Closed – Athlete was found that there was falsified results but the investigation found that this was exclusively the responsibility of the coach. Athlete results removed from the qualification event and National event by agreement |
Closed – Dismissed |
10/01/2018 |
|
10 |
Allegation of falsification of meet results – Athlete |
Closed – Referred to Judicial Committee |
Closed – Judicial Committee |
10/01/2018 |
|
11 |
Allegation of hateful speech using social media in regards to the actions of President Trump |
Closed – Dismissed |
Closed – Dismissed |
06/21/2018 |
|
12 |
Allegation of competition safety violation. |
Closed – Dismissed |
Closed – Dismissed |
6/13/2018 |
|
13 |
Allegation of stealing business via the use of a 3rd-party programming app |
Closed – Referred to 3rdparty provider for their terms and conditions. The Ethics Committee did not receive communication from the 3rdparty provider. |
Closed – Dismissed |
04/02/2018 |
|
14 |
Allegation of being forced to strip down during a weigh in, per the rules of the day (2014) |
Closed – National Office instructed to remind the Technical Official of the appropriate rules and behavior. |
Closed – Dismissed |
02/03/2018 |
|
15 |
Allegation of issues relating to participation in a club, and a club removing the athletes. |
Closed – Withdrawn by Complainant. |
Closed – Withdrawn |
|
|
16 |
Allegations of emotional and physical abuse requiring immediate intervention. |
Immediate referral to Judicial Committee |
Referral to Judicial Committee |
09/14/2018 |
|
17 |
Allegations of inappropriate professional behavior by an individual on social media. |
Referral to Judicial Committee |
Judicial Committee |
06/03/2019 |
|
18 |
Allegation of meet safety issues in a USA Weightlifting sanctioned competition. |
Closed – Dismissed. The Ethics Committee instructed USA Weightlifting to remind the meet director to consult the best practices document for future competitions. |
Closed – Dismissed |
06/03/2019 |
|
19 |
Allegation of inappropriate behavior during a USA Weightlifting Coaching Course. |
Closed – Dismissed. The issue was referred to USA Weightlifting to deal with the instructor under the contractor agreement since the issue occurred in this context. The individual has been removed as an Instructor.
The case was initially referred to the US Center for SafeSport because of the use of a word which would be associated with sexual misconduct. |
Closed – Dismissed |
06/03/2019 |
|
20 |
Allegation of sanctioned individual violating the terms of their sanction. |
Closed – Jurisdiction. The issue was referred to the US Center for SafeSport who implemented the sanction. The US Center for SafeSport asserted their exclusive authority over the matter. |
Closed – Jurisdiction |
06/03/2019 |
|
21 |
Allegation of factually incorrect statements about statements against another individual |
Closed – Dismissed. A member of the Ethics Committee did speak to the individual to ensure the facts were corrected. |
Closed – Dismissed |
06/03/2019 |
|
22 |
Allegation of a death threat made against a staff member. |
Referred to the Judicial Committee |
Closed - Withdrawn |
06/03/2019 |
|
23 |
Allegation of inappropriate social media posts against athletes in a public forum |
Referred to the Judicial Committee |
Judicial Committee |
|
|
24 |
Allegation of inappropriate use of language during an international team event. |
Closed – Dismissed. The Ethics Committee found that the behavior was inappropriate, the matter was dealt with at the event to the satisfaction of the offended party, who was not the complaining party. The Ethics Committee instructed USA Weightlifting to remind the team concerned regarding thoughtful behavior and respect towards each other in future events. |
Closed - Dismissed |
06/03/2019 |
|
25 |
Allegation of inappropriate use of language during an international team event. |
Closed – Dismissed. The Ethics Committee found that the behavior was inappropriate, the matter was dealt with at the event to the satisfaction of the offended party, who was not the complaining party. The Ethics Committee instructed USA Weightlifting to remind the team concerned regarding thoughtful behavior and respect towards each other in future events. |
Closed - Dismissed |
06/03/2019 |
Decisions of the Judicial Committee (note this excludes interim suspension decisions)
Sanctions Issued
| Member | Outline | Outcome | Status | Decision Date |
| Ursula Garza Papandrea | Allegation of improper social media post |
Ethics Code Violation | Sanction: Public Warning |
April 27, 2020 |
|
Case # |
Outline |
Outcome |
Status |
Status Date |
|
3 |
Allegation against coach of falsification of meet results |
Sanction implemented |
Sanction implemented |
|
|
4 |
Allegation of a death threat made against a staff member. |
Referred to the Judicial Committee |
Closed - Withdrawn |
06/03/2019 |