In a brief statement on Saturday, USA Cycling confirmed that it dismissed track cycling coach Andy Sparks from the program in response to an abuse complaint filed through its SafeSport program.

According to the statement, Sparks was accused of emotional abuse and bullying behavior. Sparks was not accused of physical or sexual abuse.

“USA Cycling will not accept misconduct of any kind and as per our SafeSport policies a full independent investigation process was initiated as soon as the issue was raised to USA Cycling,” the statement read. “Based on our learnings from the investigation and subsequent discussions with Andy Sparks, USA Cycling has determined it is no longer in the best interest of USA Cycling for him to continue in our program.”

A report on Cyclingnews.com by Laura Weislo indicated that the complaint originated with three members of the 2016 Rio Olympics cycling team. Sparks was head coach for the entire US track cycling program, but USA Cycling does not field a full national team for international competition, focusing instead on women’s endurance events. At the Olympics, the track team consisted of two men racing individual events and a five-member women’s team-pursuit squad. That team, which Sparks worked most closely with, won the 2016 World Championships and won the silver medal in Rio.

Sparks did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Bicycling. Speaking to Cyclingnews, Sparks denied the charges, saying that he has high standards and that any person charged with maintaining those risked being unpopular but added, “I take the code of conduct and athlete protection policies very seriously.” Sparks is married to one of the team members, four-time Olympic silver medalist Sarah Hammer.

Olympic Coach Andy Sparks in London, England 2012. Joe Scarnici/Getty Images for USOC

Sparks’s dismissal marks the second high-profile incident recently where a male coach for a national team was let go after abuse complaints from riders. Last year, British Cycling dismissed Shane Sutton after 2012 Olympian Jess Varnish accused him of making sexist and belittling comments, amid a larger controversy over sexism at the organization.

More broadly, there is increasing concern about abuse of power in women’s sports. Six-time track national champion Missy Erickson detailed her story of sexual abuse to Bicycling earlier this year, and Dutch former pros Petra de Bruin and Marijn de Vries have spoken of harassment, including sexual abuse, by team staff.

RELATED: USA Cycling Opens Investigation into Missy Erickson's Allegations of Sexual Abuse

Systemic abuse scandals have been uncovered in women’s swimming and gymnastics; the Indianapolis Star has been reporting a massive scandal at USA Gymnastics involving more than 360 cases of abuse complaints in the past 20 years. USA Cycling has opened an investigation into Erickson’s allegations, but sexual and physical abuse is only one part of the problem. Based on our own conversations with riders, verbal and emotional abuse may be just as, if not more, pervasive.

Derek Bouchard-Hall, USA Cycling’s CEO since June 2015, told Bicycling in February: “We have a zero-tolerance policy for abuse and misconduct,” and encouraged any victim to contact the organization’s SafeSport program.

SafeSport, which was created by the US Olympic Committee in 2012, represents the first time that victims have a clear avenue to report claims of abuse or misconduct in Olympic sports in the US. SafeSport works with the US Olympic Committee and the various national governing bodies, which create their own programs based on SafeSport guidelines. USA Cycling’s program is run by Jon Whiteman, who has a background in foster care and advocacy for abused children.

USA Cycling says that it can’t discuss specific claims, but confirmed to Bicycling that there have been multiple misconduct claims against people other than coaches during the time since the organization adopted the SafeSport program. But they say they need to do more to publicize it.

“We are committed to doing more to ensure athletes are protected from abuse through increased awareness of issues of abuse, educating staff and athletes about identifying abuse and the means available via SafeSport to report it, and improving the channels available for our community to raise issues,” Bouchard-Hall told Bicycling today in a written statement provided while he was traveling. While USA Cycling’s SafeSport protocol has existed only since January of 2014, Bouchard-Hall said that victims are not limited to reporting only new incidents. “SafeSport resources are available for anyone who needs to file a claim regardless of when the incident took place,” he wrote.

The Sparks case was apparently opened after the Rio Olympics. Given that Sparks is a high-profile and accomplished coach, who previously ran the UCI’s World Cycling Center development program, and is married to the program’s best track rider, male or female, of at least the past decade, it could have been tempting for USAC to allow him to stay. Instead, they dismissed him and made it public.

USA Cycling’s statement noted that the complaints addressed “a pattern of behavior over time,” rather than characterizing it as an isolated incident or incidents.

Bicycling is encouraged to see USAC taking this action, which could help other members feel comfortable coming forward with their own complaints. And we’re glad they didn’t dismiss the riders’ complaints as a philosophical disagreement over Sparks’ coaching style.

Cycling, like all sports, has coaches who use negative motivation as a primary tactic. And it can be a powerful motivator. But it’s toxic. Sparks had exceptional success with the US women’s endurance program—a World Championship and Olympic silver medal are remarkable accomplishments, especially for a country that does not spend lavishly on track cycling.

But some of the athletes who accomplished those feats may have done so in an environment that tore them down as much or more than it built them up. USA Cycling’s statement noted that the complaints addressed “a pattern of behavior over time,” rather than characterizing it as an isolated incident or incidents. Cyclingnews paraphrased Sparks as dismissing the complaint as the disappointment of riders who weren’t allowed to compete at the Games—a sentiment that ignores that the complaint originated with three Olympic team members.

And it ignores the hidden damage that negative coaching does. The five-member pursuit team is undeniably talented. But they also were the ones who survived two years of Sparks’s alleged abrasive and abusive approach. Who were the riders that didn’t? Which riders, of even surpassing physical talent, simply decided that they weren't going to put up with it? Put another way: If the team accomplished all that they did despite the circumstances, what might they have achieved with positive coaching and mentoring?

Please take our short surveyon abuse of power in competitive cycling. Your answers will help us understand the scope of this important issue.

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