Nike — which stood behind Salazar when he was accused of doping and even funded his expensive legal fees for that case — soon dropped its support. Nike employees marched at the company’s headquarters to protest its support of Salazar, and the Oregon Project was shuttered. Last year, Nike renamed a building on its campus that had been named for Salazar.
Nike did not respond to questions about whether allegations of inappropriate behavior by Salazar were ever reported to the company or if the company ever investigated his behavior. In a statement, Nike said that Salazar was no longer a contracted coach and that SafeSport’s ruling made it “appropriate” to take his name off the building.
As Nike’s relationship with Salazar was being re-examined, SafeSport was investigating claims made against him.
SafeSport has been responsible for investigating abuse within amateur and Olympic sports after it was created by the U.S.O.P.C. in 2016 and codified by Congress the next year, in the wake of the abuse of hundreds of gymnasts by Lawrence G. Nassar and the failure by U.S.A. Gymnastics to properly investigate the accusations.
The Salazar case is arguably the most high-profile matter SafeSport has pursued. The affirmation of its ruling could help establish its credibility and signal its willingness to take on powerful figures, much in the way the profile of the United States Anti-Doping Agency rose after its investigation of the cyclist Lance Armstrong a decade ago. But SafeSport publishes few details about its decisions or the evidence it gathers, which in Salazar’s case has led to some observers believing he had been barred for life because of verbal comments.
SafeSport has been heavily criticized for its mission and process. Victims of abuse and their advocates have said that SafeSport investigates cases far too slowly and leaves them in the dark, and that it is not truly independent and attempts to shift blame away from national governing bodies and the U.S.O.P.C. Some of those who have been accused of abuse have complained that SafeSport investigations lack due process and that it can be cost prohibitive to mount a robust defense.
SafeSport declined to comment specifically on its case against Salazar. But in response to questions about the organization, Ju’Riese Colón, its chief executive, wrote in an email that “due process is woven into every aspect of our response & resolution system.” Colón added that there was room for improvement in investigating matters fast, but added that there is “no good way to rush the traumatic and highly complex matters.”