美国国家公共电台 NPR Former USA Taekwondo Coach Banned From The Sport For Sexual Misconduct

 

AUDIE CORNISH, HOST:

Today, the U.S. Center for SafeSport banned a former Olympic taekwondo coach from the sport. The organization found Jean Lopez guilty of sexual misconduct against athletes. In some cases, those athletes were minors¹. Reporter Alexandra Starr spoke² with one of his accusers. A warning - this story contains a description of events that may be too graphic³ for some listeners.

ALEXANDRA STARR, BYLINE⁴: Fifteen years ago, Heidi Gilbert was considered one of the best taekwondo fighters in the world. Today, in her mid-30s, she runs a taekwondo school with her husband in Southern California. Gilbert doesn't compete herself anymore, but she can still unleash⁵ impressive kicks.

(SOUNDBITE OF TAEKWONDO TRAINING)

HEIDI GILBERT: Going to the Olympics was always my dream.

STARR: She made a lot of sacrifices to become a top taekwondo fighter.

GILBERT: My mom ended up having to homeschool me, and I actually fought juniors, and I broke my nose.

STARR: Around that time, the Lopezes - sometimes called the first family of taekwondo - were emerging as the sports stars. The oldest, Jean Lopez, became the U.S. national coach. His brother, Steven, became the most decorated taekwondo fighter in the world.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

UNIDENTIFIED ANNOUNCER: Lopez claims the gold.

STARR: In 2000, Steven Lopez won his first Olympic gold. Jean Lopez coached him to a second gold medal four years later. That impressed Heidi Gilbert.

GILBERT: You're just kind of, you know, in awe⁶.

STARR: She started training under Jean Lopez in 2002 when she was 19 years old. It paid off. In the Pan American Games in Ecuador that year, she won a gold medal in her weight class. Diana Lopez, the only sister in the Lopez family, was also there. Gilbert says that after the competition, they went back to Jean Lopez's hotel room to celebrate. The women literally⁷ flexed⁸ their muscles.

GILBERT: We're like, hey, look at my traps. Look at my six pack. Oh, yeah. Check this out. Jean's like, you girls are so awesome⁹. You're so strong. You guys are going to go to the Olympics.

STARR: Diana left the room, and Gilbert was totally unprepared for what happened next. A warning to listeners - her description is graphic.

GILBERT: So he throws me on the bed. And I thought we were wrestling, to, you know, be quite honest. And he puts me in fetal position and starts dry-humping me and, within 10 seconds, ejaculates in his pants.

STARR: Gilbert was shocked. She blamed herself.

GILBERT: I was like, oh, my gosh. This was my fault. Like, I was flexing¹⁰ in front of his mirror. You know, I'm an idiot.

STARR: Gilbert didn't talk to Jean Lopez for the rest of the trip, but she did return to training with him in Texas.

GILBERT: He reassured¹¹ me. He said, hey, you know what? Once you move out here, everything's business. You're my athlete. I'm going to take care of you like my athlete.

STARR: Gilbert wanted to believe that what had happened was an aberration¹². She had dreams and training with the Lopezes seemed like the way to realize them.

GILBERT: You don't want to believe that you're in a bad situation - right? - because the training is so good. Your Olympic dreams are so high that you are honestly willing to sacrifice everything to achieve that.

STARR: For the next year, she says things were fine, but in 2003, she traveled with Jean Lopez to compete in the world championships in Germany. And she says that at an after-party, he offered her a drink.

GILBERT: I really just could not function. I was totally like a dead person.

STARR: So you feel that he drugged your drink.

GILBERT: I - there's a part of me that would love to think that he didn't, you know, but, yeah, I mean, there's no reason why I was that intoxicated¹³.

STARR: She was conscious, but her body went limp. She says Jean Lopez sexually assaulted her in the hotel where they were staying. Jean Lopez did not return emails and phone calls seeking comment. In the past, he has denied any of this happened. Gilbert left the Lopez training facility. She considered going to the police but figured they wouldn't be able to do much since the alleged¹⁵ assaults had happened abroad. She also decided¹⁶ against filing a report with USA Taekwondo. Jon Little is an attorney who has sued multiple Olympic sports organizations for how they have handled sexual assault. He says USA Taekwondo had one of the worst records among the sports' governing bodies.

JON LITTLE: Gymnastics and swimming, when confronted with criminal indictments¹⁷, generally would take action. But taekwondo has really done nothing until very recently.

STARR: Heidi Gilbert is not the only female athlete to allege¹⁴ Jean Lopez engaged in inappropriate conduct. Two other women have formally lodged¹⁸ complaints against him with SafeSport. And at least two former athletes have said they were raped¹⁹ by Jean's brother, Steven Lopez. Steven also did not return phone calls seeking comment. Neither Jean nor Steven has been charged with a crime.

STEVE MCNALLY: 2006 - there were complaints brought to USA Taekwondo about a high-profile athlete and coach.

STARR: That's Steve McNally, the executive director of USA Taekwondo. He's held the position for six months. He says he hopes to rebuild trust in the organization. Olympic sports governing bodies do not investigate sexual assault anymore. Now those cases are referred to U.S. SafeSport. That's a new independent organization charged with handling cases of sexual assault across Olympic sports.

MCNALLY: I think the SafeSport Center is going to be a great step forward in this area for everybody.

STARR: Heidi Gilbert spoke with U.S. SafeSport last May. Her allegations are cited in the organization's findings against Jean Lopez. The ban against Jean Lopez for sexual misconduct came after NPR and other news outlets²⁰ asked about the investigation²¹ last week. The organization declined to comment on the Steven Lopez case. That is their policy on all active investigations²². For NPR News, I'm Alexandra Starr.

1 minors   

n.未成年人( minor的名词复数 )；副修科目；小公司；[逻辑学]小前提v.[主美国英语]副修，选修，兼修( minor的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• The law forbids shops to sell alcohol to minors. 法律禁止商店向未成年者出售含酒精的饮料。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He had three minors this semester. 这学期他有三门副修科目。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

3 graphic   

adj.生动的，形象的，绘画的，文字的，图表的

参考例句：

• The book gave a graphic description of the war.这本书生动地描述了战争的情况。
• Distinguish important text items in lists with graphic icons.用图标来区分重要的文本项。

4 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

5 unleash   

vt.发泄，发出；解带子放开

参考例句：

• They hope to create allies to unleash against diseases,pests,and invasive species.他们希望创造出一些新群体来对付疾病、害虫和一些有侵害性的物种。
• Changing water levels now at times unleash a miasma of disease from exposed sewage.如今，大坝不时地改变水位，从暴露的污水释放出了疾病瘴气。

6 awe   

n.敬畏，惊惧；vt.使敬畏，使惊惧

参考例句：

• The sight filled us with awe.这景色使我们大为惊叹。
• The approaching tornado struck awe in our hearts.正在逼近的龙卷风使我们惊恐万分。

7 literally   

adv.照字面意义，逐字地；确实

参考例句：

• He translated the passage literally.他逐字逐句地翻译这段文字。
• Sometimes she would not sit down till she was literally faint.有时候，她不走到真正要昏厥了，决不肯坐下来。

8 flexed   

adj.[医]曲折的，屈曲v.屈曲( flex的过去式和过去分词 )；弯曲；（为准备大干而）显示实力；摩拳擦掌

参考例句：

• He stretched and flexed his knees to relax himself. 他伸屈膝关节使自己放松一下。 来自辞典例句
• He flexed his long stringy muscles manfully. 他孔武有力地弯起膀子，显露出细长条的肌肉。 来自辞典例句

9 awesome   

adj.令人惊叹的，难得吓人的，很好的

参考例句：

• The church in Ireland has always exercised an awesome power.爱尔兰的教堂一直掌握着令人敬畏的权力。
• That new white convertible is totally awesome.那辆新的白色折篷汽车简直棒极了.

10 flexing   

n.挠曲，可挠性v.屈曲( flex的现在分词 )；弯曲；（为准备大干而）显示实力；摩拳擦掌

参考例句：

• Flexing particular muscles allows snakes to move in several ways. 可弯曲的特殊的肌肉使蛇可以用几种方式移动。 来自电影对白
• China has become an economic superpower and is flexing its muscles. 中国已经成为了一个经济巨人而且在展示他的肌肉。 来自互联网

11 reassured   

adj.使消除疑虑的；使放心的v.再保证，恢复信心( reassure的过去式和过去分词)

参考例句：

• The captain's confidence during the storm reassured the passengers. 在风暴中船长的信念使旅客们恢复了信心。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• The doctor reassured the old lady. 医生叫那位老妇人放心。 来自《简明英汉词典》

12 aberration   

n.离开正路，脱离常规，色差

参考例句：

• The removal of the chromatic aberration is then of primary importance.这时消除色差具有头等重要性。
• Owing to a strange mental aberration he forgot his own name.由于一种莫名的精神错乱，他把自己的名字忘了。

13 intoxicated   

喝醉的，极其兴奋的

参考例句：

• She was intoxicated with success. 她为成功所陶醉。
• They became deeply intoxicated and totally disoriented. 他们酩酊大醉，东南西北全然不辨。

14 allege   

vt.宣称，申述，主张，断言

参考例句：

• The newspaper reporters allege that the man was murdered but they have given no proof.新闻记者们宣称这个男人是被谋杀的，但他们没提出证据。
• Students occasionally allege illness as the reason for absence.学生时不时会称病缺课。

15 alleged   

a.被指控的，嫌疑的

参考例句：

• It was alleged that he had taken bribes while in office. 他被指称在任时收受贿赂。
• alleged irregularities in the election campaign 被指称竞选运动中的不正当行为

16 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

17 indictments   

n.（制度、社会等的）衰败迹象( indictment的名词复数 )；刑事起诉书；公诉书；控告

参考例句：

• A New York jury brought criminal indictments against the founder of the organization. 纽约的一个陪审团对这个组织的创始人提起了多项刑事诉讼。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• These two indictments are self-evident and require no elaboration. 这两条意义自明，无须多说。 来自互联网

18 lodged   

v.存放( lodge的过去式和过去分词 )；暂住；埋入；（权利、权威等）归属

参考例句：

• The certificate will have to be lodged at the registry. 证书必须存放在登记处。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Our neighbours lodged a complaint against us with the police. 我们的邻居向警方控告我们。 来自《简明英汉词典》

19 raped   

v.以暴力夺取，强夺( rape的过去式和过去分词 )；强奸

参考例句：

• A young woman was brutally raped in her own home. 一名年轻女子在自己家中惨遭强暴。 来自辞典例句
• We got stick together, or we will be having our women raped. 我们得团结一致，不然我们的妻女就会遭到蹂躏。 来自辞典例句

20 outlets   

n.出口( outlet的名词复数 )；经销店；插座；廉价经销店

参考例句：

• The dumping of foreign cotton blocked outlets for locally grown cotton. 外国棉花的倾销阻滞了当地生产的棉花的销路。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• They must find outlets for their products. 他们必须为自己的产品寻找出路。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

21 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

22 investigations   

（正式的）调查( investigation的名词复数 )； 侦查； 科学研究； 学术研究

参考例句：

• His investigations were intensive and thorough but revealed nothing. 他进行了深入彻底的调查，但没有发现什么。
• He often sent them out to make investigations. 他常常派他们出去作调查。