Author: Bret Gordon
Thanks to the trolls that continue to plague us, the US Center for SafeSport contacted both myself and Hatfield sensei with a formal investigation into the matter surrounding Patrick Justice after several people made anonymous complaints. SafeSport is the leading organization in the fight against sexual abuse and misconduct in youth sports, and is established by federal law with the jurisdiction to investigate claims of those matters. For those who are unaware, the summary of the situation is that:
In 2004, Patrick Justice was convicted of sexual battery. However, this conviction was kept hidden from both myself and Hatfield sensei, allowing Patrick to be installed as President of the American Jidokwan Association in 2011. In 2017, we became aware of Patrick's prior conviction and demanded he resign his position immediately, and I replaced him as President on October 3, 2017. Two years later, I registered the American Jidokwan Association with USA Taekwondo which required that we become SafeSport certified, which was completed on November 19, 2019.
However, our detractors are so determined to cause us harm that they reported us to SafeSport for failing to report Patrick's conviction and prior affiliation. Why they felt we had an obligation to report an incident that occurred two years prior to us joining Safesport (where the actual conviction was 15 years prior) in the first place is beyond me, and the investigator from SafeSport echoed my sentiments.
In 2004, Patrick Justice was convicted of sexual battery. However, this conviction was kept hidden from both myself and Hatfield sensei, allowing Patrick to be installed as President of the American Jidokwan Association in 2011. In 2017, we became aware of Patrick's prior conviction and demanded he resign his position immediately, and I replaced him as President on October 3, 2017. Two years later, I registered the American Jidokwan Association with USA Taekwondo which required that we become SafeSport certified, which was completed on November 19, 2019.
However, our detractors are so determined to cause us harm that they reported us to SafeSport for failing to report Patrick's conviction and prior affiliation. Why they felt we had an obligation to report an incident that occurred two years prior to us joining Safesport (where the actual conviction was 15 years prior) in the first place is beyond me, and the investigator from SafeSport echoed my sentiments.
