We’re not quite sure how far down the rabbit hole this speedskating story is about to go, but it’s definitely getting uglier every day. More allegations regarding U.S. short track coach Jae Su Chun surfaced Thursday in an arbitration filed by 14 current members of the national team who are seeking Chun’s dismissal for “unchecked abuse.”
According to the filing, Chun also allegedly asked Simon Cho, a Vancouver bronze medalist, to sabotage the skates of a Canadian rival Oliver Jean before the 5000m relay final at last year’s world short track team championships in Poland. Cho then told a teammate in a written letter that, “it is my darkest secret and I regret it.”
The filing suggests that Cho acknowledged the incident again in July 2012, telling a teammate that, “I know I have done [expletive] up things. I wish I could take them back. But I can’t. … And I’m preparing myself for the consequences to come.”
Neither Cho or Chun, who is also accused of physical and verbal abuse against a number of his skaters, including throwing one skater into a wall, have commented or publicly acknowledged the accusations regarding tampering with another team’s equipment.
The 14 current members are seeking arbitration to expedite Chun’s dismissal before the 2012-13 World Cup team is selected following team trials on Sept. 30, but seven members of the U.S. team have come out in support of Chun and have called the accusations “baseless” and “false.”
Oy. Vey.
