Don't allow U.S. taekwondo star Steven Lopez to go to world championships

Christine Brennan | USA TODAY Sports

Show Caption Hide Caption American taekwondo star accused of sexual misconduct Steven Lopez is best known as one of the world's all-time great taekwondo athletes, but USA TODAY Sports has discovered that he's at the center of a sexual misconduct case.

This Saturday, Steven Lopez, Olympic gold medalist and alleged sexual predator, will board a plane to South Korea to represent the United States at the upcoming taekwondo world championships.

Someone needs to stop him.

Lopez, 38, and his brother Jean, 43, members of what often is called the "First Family of Taekwondo," have been accused of sexual assault by four women, according to a recent USA TODAY Sports report. The brothers denied the allegations in interviews last week.

Even though USA Taekwondo, the national governing body for the sport in the United States, was investigating the brothers last year, they still were allowed to participate in the 2016 Rio Olympic Games. The investigations are continuing. The allegations have since drawn the attention of the FBI.

USA TODAY SPORTS INVESTIGATION:

It is time for someone to step in. The U.S. Center for SafeSport, which became fully operational in March, was designed for just this purpose. So far, it shockingly has done nothing publicly except say it can't comment.

The U.S. Olympic Committee created SafeSport to try to show how serious it is about sexual assault after scandals over the past decade involving USA Gymnastics, USA Swimming and US Speedskating. Yet it allowed both Lopez brothers to go to Rio even after being consulted by USA Taekwondo about the allegations.

The USOC said in a statement last week that it takes "preventing and responding to sexual abuse ... incredibly seriously." Yet it has done nothing, not even commenting about sending these two men to Rio.

USA Taekwondo says it "places tremendous importance on protecting and preserving the safety of our athletes." Yet it failed to hold a hearing about the Lopezes, which is the least that should have been done before they were allowed the privilege of representing their country at another Olympics.

The World Taekwondo Federation called the allegations "very, very serious," but said "it is too early to take a position."

You get the idea. Everyone is very concerned. Yet no one is stopping Steven Lopez from going to the world championships, where he will be on a 16-person U.S. team, including three women who are still teenagers.

This is an appalling dereliction of duty by the people who have been given the great responsibility of running our nation's Olympic program and protecting the children and young adults who are a part of it.

How can they possibly look at the USA TODAY Sports report and not step in immediately?

With the creation of SafeSport, they've given themselves the wherewithal to do just that. Within the organization's rules, there is this:

"Interim measures may also be appropriate where an allegation against the Responding Party is sufficiently serious that the Responding Party's continued participation could be detrimental to sport or its reputation. Nothing in these Procedures prevents … taking appropriate interim measures upon notice of an imminent threat of harm.”

Those interim measures include “altering training schedules, providing chaperones, implementing contact limitations between the parties, and suspensions."

Of course Steven and Jean Lopez are innocent until proven guilty. And they have the right to defend themselves in this process. But with such troubling information available to them, Olympic authorities must err on the side of caution. They cannot let Steven Lopez get on that plane.