Former USOPC VP/Sports Medicine Dr. William Moreau filed a "whistle-blower lawsuit" against the organization, alleging that he was "fired in retaliation for urging management to better protect athletes' health and safety," according to Sam Tabachnik of the DENVER POST. In the lawsuit filed on Wednesday in Denver District Court, Moreau claims that he "tried to report allegations of sexual abuse against young female athletes, reform mental health processes within the organization and end the practice of creating incomplete medical records for its athletes." Moreau said that his efforts were "often met with deaf ears." He was fired in May '19. Tabachnik noted the lawsuit comes as the USOPC and its teams "face congressional scrutiny and a Department of Justice investigation into its handling of sexual abuse allegations." Moreau, who spent 10 years with the USOPC, is seeking "unspecified relief for wrongful discharge in violation of public policy and extreme and outrageous conduct" (DENVER POST, 2/6). Moreau said that he was informed on May 13, 2019, he was being fired in a meeting with USOPC Chief of Sport Performance/NGB Services Rick Adams. ESPN.com's John Barr noted Adams cited a "desire to hire someone with 'a Doctor of Medicine (M.D.) degree rather than a Doctor of Chiropractic (D.C.) degree." Moreau contends that the dismissal was in "direct response to a series of complaints he reported up the chain" in '18 and early '19. Moreau said that a statutory rape involving a 15-year-old Paralympic athlete was "among the first incidents" to create "tension with his superiors" (ESPN.com, 2/6).
