I 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 10326 

To amend title 36, United States Code, to reform certain proceedings before 

the United States Center for SafeSport. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

DECEMBER 6, 2024 

Ms. ROSS (for herself, Mr. JOYCE of Ohio, Ms. CASTOR of Florida, and Mr. 

BACON) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary 

A BILL 

To amend title 36, United States Code, to reform certain 

proceedings before the United States Center for SafeSport. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Safer Sports for Ath5 letes Act of 2024’’. 

6 SEC. 2. OTHER AMATEUR SPORTS ORGANIZATIONS. 

7 Section 220530(a)(3) of title 36, United States Code, 

8 is amended— 


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1 (1) by striking ‘‘consistent training’’ and insert2 ing ‘‘training developed under section 220541(a)’’; 

3 and 

4 (2) by inserting after ‘‘regular contact with’’ 

5 the following: ‘‘or authority over’’. 

6 SEC. 3. GRANT TO PROTECT YOUNG ATHLETES FROM 

7 ABUSE. 

8 Section 220531 of title 36, United States Code, is 

9 amended— 

10 (1) in subsection (b), to read as follows: 

11 ‘‘(b) APPLICATIONS.—To be eligible to receive a 

12 grant under this section, a nonprofit nongovernmental en13 tity shall submit a competitive application to the Attorney 

14 General at such time, in such manner, and containing 

15 such information as the Attorney General may require, in16 cluding information that demonstrates that the entity 

17 has— 

18 ‘‘(1) nationally recognized expertise in pre19 venting and responding to emotional, physical, and 

20 sexual abuse in the athletic programs of the United 

21 States Olympic and Paralympic Committee and each 

22 national governing body; 

23 ‘‘(2) expertise in prevention of abuse, public 

24 health approaches, and trauma-informed approaches, 


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1 and a demonstrated history of supporting athlete2 survivors of violence and abuse in sport; and 

3 ‘‘(3) the capacity to oversee regular and ran4 dom audits to ensure that the policies and proce5 dures used by the United States Olympic and 

6 Paralympic Committee and each national governing 

7 body to prevent and identify the abuse of an ama8 teur athlete are followed correctly.’’; 

9 (2) in subsection (c)(1), by inserting after ‘‘in 

10 youth athletic programs’’ the following: ‘‘with the 

11 input and collaboration of athlete survivors and or12 ganizations with expertise with child athlete sur13 vivors of sexual violence at all levels of sports’’; and 

14 (3) in subsection (d)(1), to read as follows: 

15 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—There is authorized to be 

16 appropriated to carry out this section $10,000,000 

17 or such sums as may be necessary each of the fiscal 

18 years 2025 through 2030.’’. 

19 SEC. 4. ADDITIONAL MATTERS RELATING TO RESOLUTION 

20 OF COMPLAINTS OF ABUSE. 

21 Section 220541(a)(1) of title 36, United States Code, 

22 is amended— 

23 (1) in subparagraph (E), to read as follows: 

24 ‘‘(E) ensure that the mechanisms under 

25 subparagraph (D)— 


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1 ‘‘(i) provide fair notice and an oppor2 tunity to be heard and protect the privacy 

3 and safety of complainants; and 

4 ‘‘(ii) are published, including protocols 

5 for investigations and decision-making;’’; 

6 (2) in subparagraph (G), by inserting ‘‘or were’’ 

7 before ‘‘barred by the Center’’; and 

8 (3) in subparagraph (H), to read as follows: 

9 ‘‘(H) ensure that any action taken by the 

10 Center against an individual under the jurisdic11 tion of the Center, including an investigation, 

12 the imposition of sanctions, and any other dis13 ciplinary action, is carried out in a manner that 

14 provides the following procedural process to the 

15 individual— 

16 ‘‘(i) the provision of written notice of 

17 the allegations against the individual; 

18 ‘‘(ii) a right to be represented by 

19 counsel or other advisor; 

20 ‘‘(iii) an opportunity to be heard dur21 ing the investigation; 

22 ‘‘(iv) in a case in which a violation is 

23 found, a reasoned written decision by the 

24 Center; and 


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1 ‘‘(v) the ability to challenge, in a 

2 hearing or through an appeals process, in3 terim measures or sanctions imposed by 

4 the Center that result in suspension or 

5 bars on participation eligibility.’’. 

6 SEC. 5. LIMITATION ON REQUIREMENTS ON VICTIMS. 

7 Section 220541(a)(2) of title 36, United States Code, 

8 is amended to read as follows: 

9 ‘‘(2) RULES OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in 

10 this subsection shall be construed— 

11 ‘‘(A) to preclude the Center from imposing 

12 interim measures or sanctions on an individual 

13 before an opportunity for a hearing; 

14 ‘‘(B) to give rise to a claim under State 

15 law or to create a private right of action; 

16 ‘‘(C) to render the Center a state actor; or 

17 ‘‘(D) to preclude the Center from pursuing 

18 investigations and sanctions without testimony 

19 from victims of sexual misconduct at its discre20 tion.’’. 

21 SEC. 6. RESPONSE AND RESOLUTION PROCESS. 

22 Section 220541(c) of title 36, United States Code, 

23 is amended to read as follows: 

24 ‘‘(c) RESPONSE AND RESOLUTION.— 


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1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—For each complaint the 

2 Center receives through its office for response and 

3 resolution and accepts jurisdiction over, the Center 

4 shall conduct an investigation and make a decision 

5 regarding whether a violation of the SafeSport Code 

6 occurred and whether to impose sanctions. In car7 rying out the response and resolution process, the 

8 Center shall do the following: 

9 ‘‘(A) Assign a case manager to each case 

10 to manage and provide regular communication 

11 with claimants and respondents. 

12 ‘‘(B) Notify each complainant that they 

13 are permitted to have a victim advocate of their 

14 choosing accompany them to any proceedings 

15 scheduled as part of the investigation into the 

16 claim. Such victim advocate shall be confiden17 tial and may not share any information with 

18 the Center without the complainant’s voluntary, 

19 reasonably time-limited permission based on the 

20 estimated investigation timeframe, and written 

21 approval; if a complainant does not have a vic22 tim advocate, the Center shall provide such vic23 tim advocate at no cost to the complainant or 

24 refer the complainant to an organization that 

25 can provide a cost-free victim advocate at the 


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1 request of the complainant. Such victim advo2 cate shall be a person trained to confidentially 

3 support victims of abuse and have expertise in 

4 supporting athlete-survivors. 

5 ‘‘(C) Assign an investigator to the case 

6 within 7 business days of accepting jurisdiction 

7 and receiving membership records from the rel8 evant national governing body. National gov9 erning bodies shall provide the Center with 

10 membership records within 5 business days of a 

11 request by the Center pursuant to an investiga12 tion. The Center may extend the period of time 

13 that a national governing body has to provide 

14 membership records in circumstances when the 

15 Center believes that the national governing 

16 body is working in good faith to identify the re17 spondent named in the complaint. The Center 

18 shall provide the national governing body with 

19 all information included in the complaint that 

20 will assist the national governing body in identi21 fying the respondent. 

22 ‘‘(D) Conclude its investigation no later 

23 than the date that is 180 days after a com24 plaint is made to the Center, except that, if the 

25 Center determines necessary, the investigation 


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1 may be extended for a period of 30 days as 

2 many times as may be necessary. The Center 

3 shall provide notice to each complainant and 

4 each respondent to the investigation and the 

5 relevant national governing body or corporation 

6 prior to each extension of the investigation. 

7 Such notice shall provide a basis for why the 

8 extension is necessary and include sufficient in9 formation for the national governing body or 

10 corporation to implement a safety plan to pro11 tect participants from further abuse. 

12 ‘‘(E) Adopt proof by a preponderance of 

13 the evidence as the standard in determining 

14 whether a violation of the SafeSport Code oc15 curred. 

16 ‘‘(F) Establish a grievance reporting sys17 tem for all persons impacted by the Center to 

18 report bad faith use of the Center’s processes, 

19 issues during intake, investigation and hearings, 

20 conflicts of interest, and other concerns about 

21 the Center. The Center will report on the griev22 ances filed and resolved annually. 

23 ‘‘(2) OTHER REQUIREMENTS.—The Center 

24 shall adopt a response and resolution process that is 

25 consistent with the following: 


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1 ‘‘(A) If upon completion of the Center’s in2 vestigation the Center is able to conclude that 

3 a violation of the SafeSport Code has been com4 mitted by the respondent, but that the appro5 priate sanction does not include any period of 

6 suspension or ineligibility, then the Center may 

7 issue such sanctions in its discretion. These 

8 findings and sanctions are not subject to ap9 peal. 

10 ‘‘(B) If upon completion of the its inves11 tigation, the Center finds that a violation of the 

12 SafeSport Code has been committed by the re13 spondent and that the appropriate sanction in14 cludes any period of suspension or ineligi15 bility— 

16 ‘‘(i) it shall inform the claimant and 

17 the respondent the sanction(s) it will im18 pose upon to the respondent; and 

19 ‘‘(ii) if the respondent demands an 

20 appeal of the sanctions, the Center shall 

21 proceed to a hearing with the respondent 

22 under paragraph (3), the outcome of which 

23 shall be considered final and not subject to 

24 review in State or Federal court. 


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1 ‘‘(C) If the Center’s investigation does not 

2 in the Center’s discretion result in sufficient 

3 evidence to determine by a preponderance of 

4 evidence that the respondent violated the rules 

5 created by the Center, the Center may dismiss 

6 and close the case, but such case shall remain 

7 subject to being re-opened in the event addi8 tional evidence is presented to the Center. 

9 ‘‘(3) HEARING PROCEDURES.—The Center shall 

10 establish a panel of 3 experts to resolve allegations 

11 of abuse within its jurisdiction to determine the op12 portunity of any amateur athlete, coach, trainer, 

13 manager, administrator, or official, who is the sub14 ject of such an allegation, to participate in amateur 

15 athletic competition. Each person appointed to the 

16 panel under this subsection shall have expertise and 

17 training in trauma-informed care and/or an under18 standing of sport dynamics. Individuals who serve on 

19 the expert panel will not have a conflict of interest 

20 or bias for or against complainants or respondents 

21 generally or an individual complainant or respondent 

22 or associated sports organization. Individuals who 

23 serve on the expert panel will not be privy to inter24 nal Center information about the cases outside of 

25 evidence presented in the hearing process. Excluding 


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1 temporary measures, the Center shall provide fair 

2 notice and opportunity for a hearing to any amateur 

3 athlete, coach, trainer, manager, administrator or of4 ficial before declaring the individual ineligible to par5 ticipate. Hearings will not provide for discovery, and 

6 no information or materials that were not provided 

7 to the Center during its investigation can be consid8 ered in the hearing. In the event a complainant or 

9 witness are unable to testify in a hearing, the proce10 dures must permit hearsay testimony, including— 

11 ‘‘(A) testimony by affidavit from a com12 plainant or witness, and 

13 ‘‘(B) testimony by a Center investigator in 

14 lieu of a complainant or witness where the in15 vestigator may testify as to the information, 

16 statements or other evidence the investigator 

17 received from the complainant or witness. 

18 ‘‘(4) TEMPORARY MEASURES.—In order to pro19 mote a safe environment in sports that is free from 

20 abuse of any amateur athlete, including emotional, 

21 physical, and sexual abuse, the Center, the corpora22 tion, and national governing bodies have the right to 

23 impose interim measures or sanctions on an indi24 vidual before an opportunity for a hearing consistent 

25 with the Center’s policies and procedures, as long as 


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1 an amateur athlete, coach, trainer, manager, admin2 istrator or official that is temporarily suspended is 

3 given the right to file for a hearing to participate in 

4 the Olympic Games, the Paralympic Games, the 

5 Pan-American Games, the Parapan American 

6 Games, world championship competition, or other 

7 protected competition as defined in the bylaws of the 

8 corporation. Any person temporarily suspended by 

9 the Center may file for a hearing regarding the right 

10 to participate in amateur athletic competition prior 

11 to the Center issuing a decision on the merits. The 

12 corporation and national governing bodies will in13 form the Center of any temporary measures or em14 ployment decisions relating to any ongoing investiga15 tion by the Center within 72 hours of imposition.’’. 

16 SEC. 7. TRAINING MATERIALS. 

17 Section 220451(e) of title 36, United States Code, 

18 is amended to read as follows: 

19 ‘‘(e) TRAINING MATERIALS.—The office for edu20 cation and outreach referred to in subsection (a)(1)(C) 

21 shall— 

22 ‘‘(1) develop training materials for specific au23 diences, including coaches, trainers, doctors, young 

24 children, adolescents, adults, and individuals with 

25 disabilities; 


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1 ‘‘(2) develop training materials suitable for all 

2 levels of participation, including organizations with 

3 adult athletes and organizations with minor athletes; 

4 ‘‘(3) ensure that all training for adults who 

5 interact with youth athletes is interactive and pro6 motes trauma-informed approaches that take into 

7 account age, gender, anddevelopmentally, culturally, 

8 and linguistically appropriate care; 

9 ‘‘(4) consult with experts in sexual abuse pre10 vention and public health experts, as well as athlete 

11 survivors, when developing such training materials; 

12 ‘‘(5) adopt a trauma-informed approach in de13 veloping such training materials; 

14 ‘‘(6) incorporate lived experiences of survivors 

15 of abuse in developing such training materials; 

16 ‘‘(7) include in such training materials technical 

17 assistance on trauma-informed, athlete-centered, and 

18 athlete survivor-centered policies; 

19 ‘‘(8) not less frequently than every 3 years, up20 date such training materials; and 

21 ‘‘(9) ensure that— 

22 ‘‘(A) each member of the staff of the Cen23 ter receives at least 4 hours of training annu24 ally, and staff of the Center working in re25 sponse and resolution receives at least 20 hours 


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1 of training, provided via live video or in-person, 

2 on trauma-informed care and trauma-informed 

3 approach, including— 

4 ‘‘(i) information about the 

5 neurobiology of trauma and the impacts of 

6 trauma; 

7 ‘‘(ii) how to work with persons im8 pacted by trauma; 

9 ‘‘(iii) investigation techniques and 

10 considerations; 

11 ‘‘(iv) consideration of age, gender, de12 velopmentally, culturally, and linguistically 

13 appropriate care; and 

14 ‘‘(v) information about support for 

15 persons impacted by trauma; and 

16 ‘‘(B) each member of the staff completes 

17 such training within 30 days after being 

18 hired.’’. 

19 SEC. 8. RELATING TO INDEPENDENCE. 

20 Section 220541(f)(4) of title 36, United States Code, 

21 is amended— 

22 (1) in subparagraph (C)(ii), to read as follows: 

23 ‘‘(ii) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.— 

24 Nothing in this subparagraph shall be con25 strued to prohibit the Center from proVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:21 Dec 31, 2024 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00014 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H10326.IH H10326

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1 viding work product described in clause (i) 

2 to— 

3 ‘‘(I) a law enforcement agency 

4 for the purpose of assisting in crimi5 nal investigation; 

6 ‘‘(II) any other investigative 

7 agency, including a child protection 

8 agency or the United States Anti9 Doping Agency; 

10 ‘‘(III) an international safe11 guarding agency or international fed12 eration; 

13 ‘‘(IV) the United States Olympic 

14 & Paralympic Committee; or 

15 ‘‘(V) a national governing body. 

16 Nothing in this section shall be construed 

17 to prohibit a national governing body from 

18 providing information relating to an inves19 tigation to the Equal Employment Oppor20 tunity Commission or other relevant bodies 

21 in instances in which an individual was ter22 minated for a violation in order to defend 

23 a claim of wrongful termination. Such in24 formation shall be subject to the same proVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:21 Dec 31, 2024 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00015 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H10326.IH H10326

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1 tections as with the Center, including pro2 tection from discovery.’’; and 

3 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

4 ‘‘(D) TRANSPARENCY.—Should the Center 

5 exercise jurisdiction over a case, the Center 

6 shall provide applicable national governing bod7 ies or the corporation with a detailed descrip8 tion of the allegations and detailed information 

9 about the respondent to allow the applicable na10 tional governing body or corporation the oppor11 tunity to impose appropriate interim safety 

12 measures to protect participants during the in13 vestigation. The information provided to the 

14 corporation or relevant national governing bod15 ies shall include details about when and where 

16 the alleged misconduct occurred and details 

17 about the allegations beyond the category of 

18 misconduct. At minimum, the Center shall pro19 vide information received in the complaint made 

20 to the Center, with identifying information 

21 about the claimant removed. The Center shall 

22 not share information about the identity of the 

23 claimant unless the claimant has given the cen24 ter permission to do so. This provision shall not 

25 apply if sharing the information and materials 


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1 named above would create a conflict of interest 

2 or put participants at risk of abuse, harass3 ment, or retaliation.’’. 

4 SEC. 9. FUNDING MATTERS. 

5 Section 220541(g)(4) of title 36, United States Code, 

6 is amended— 

7 (1) in subparagraph (A), by inserting ‘‘in ac8 cordance with section 220503(15)’’ before the period 

9 at the end; 

10 (2) by redesignating subparagraphs (B)(ii) and 

11 B(iii) as subparagraphs B(iii) and B(iv); 

12 (3) in subparagraph (B), by inserting after 

13 clause (i) the following: 

14 ‘‘(ii) ABUSE PREVENTION.—Not less 

15 than 20 percent of he total amount of 

16 funding the Center receives in a fiscal year 

17 shall be used for training, oversight prac18 tices, policies, and procedures to prevent 

19 the abuse, including emotional, physical, 

20 and sexual abuse, of amateur athletes par21 ticipating in amateur athletic activities de22 scribed in subsection (a)(1)(C).’’; and 

23 (4) in subparagraph (B)(iii)(I) (as redesig24 nated), by striking ‘‘25 percent’’ and inserting ‘‘10 

25 percent’’. 


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1 SEC. 10. COMPLIANCE AUDITS. 

2 Section 220541(h)(3) of title 36, United States Code, 

3 is amended to read as follows: 

4 ‘‘(3) ANNUAL REPORT.— 

5 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Not less frequently 

6 than annually, the Center shall submit to Con7 gress a report on the findings of the audit 

8 under paragraph (1) for the preceding year and 

9 the status of any corrective measures imposed 

10 as a result of the audit. The report shall include 

11 updates on the function of and feedback from 

12 the Athlete Survivor Advisory Group, how sur13 vivors and persons with lived experience are en14 gaged in development of materials and preven15 tion outreach, how the Center is responding to 

16 complaints or investigation issues, how the Cen17 ter is engaging with outside experts in preven18 tion and response to sexual violence, and it 

19 shall detail efforts to improve transparency of 

20 process and communication. 

21 ‘‘(B) PUBLIC AVAILABILITY.— 

22 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Each report under 

23 subparagraph (A) shall be made available 

24 to the public. 

25 ‘‘(ii) PERSONALLY IDENTIFIABLE IN26 FORMATION.—A report made available to 


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1 the public shall not include the personally 

2 identifiable information of any individual.’’. 

3 SEC. 11. ADDITIONAL PROVISIONS. 

4 Section 220451 of title 36, United States Code, is 

5 amended by adding at the end the following: 

6 ‘‘(k) OVERSIGHT.—Not less frequently than once per 

7 Congress, the CEO of the Center shall appear before the 

8 Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of 

9 the Senate and the Committee on Energy and Commerce 

10 and the Committee on the Judiciary of the House of Rep11 resentatives on the Center’s activities and provide reports 

12 as requested by those Committees in advance of such ap13 pearances. 

14 ‘‘(l) GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY OFFICE RE15 PORT.—Every three years the Comptroller General of the 

16 United States shall do a performance and accountability 

17 report of the Center and share those findings with Con18 gress, the Center and the public. The report shall review 

19 how the Center is meeting its mission, including talking 

20 to athlete survivors, advocates, and national governing 

21 bodies in order to institutionalize formal feedback from 

22 survivor groups and NGBs. 

23 ‘‘(m) BOARD OF DIRECTORS.—Not less than twenty 

24 percent of the membership of the board of directors of the 

25 Center shall be recommended by amateur athlete survivors 


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1 who are actively engaged in amateur athletic competition 

2 or who have represented the United States in international 

3 athletic competition. Directors recommended by the ath4 letes must still meet the independence requirements of the 

5 Center.’’. 

Æ 


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