The U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee placed an employee on administrative leave Thursday after The AP reported that one of its coaches was accused of sexually abusing a young biathlete, causing her so much distress that she attempted suicide.

Rocky Harris, USOPC chief of sport and athlete services, sent an email to U.S. Biathlon national team members to address the “concerning allegations of abuse” raised by several biathletes in the AP report.

“We want to commend these athletes for their immense courage and strength in coming forward,” the email said. “Effective immediately, we have placed a USOPC staff member on administrative leave pending an internal investigation.”

Harris did not name the employee, but Gary Colliander was the only USOPC coach named in the AP report. Jon Mason, a USOPC spokesperson, told the AP that no additional information would be released while the inquiry is underway.

Grace Boutot told the AP that after Colliander began coaching her when she was 15, he gave her a lot of attention, including long hugs and inappropriate touching. The conduct escalated after she turned 18 to “kissing, sexual fondling and oral sex,” according to a treatment summary by therapist Jacqueline Pauli-Ritz, shared with the AP.

The AP generally does not identify victims of sexual abuse except in cases where they publicly identify themselves or share their stories openly.

Boutot said she begged Colliander to stop but he ignored her. She said he warned her against telling anyone, saying his life would be ruined and her biathlon career would end.

In September 2010, Pauli-Ritz contacted Colliander and told him Boutot was suffering from major depression and post-traumatic stress disorder and he should stop coaching her, the treatment summary said.

“He did not do this until after the suicide attempt,” Pauli-Ritz wrote, referring to Boutot’s Oct. 7, 2010, overdose on antidepressants while at a training camp in Soldier Hollow, Utah. She was found by a teammate and hospitalized.

The next day, Colliander resigned his position with the Maine Winter Sports Center. He was hired in December 2016 by the U.S. Paralympic team, where he is associate director of high performance for U.S. Paralympics Nordic Skiing.

Colliander did not immediately respond to email and phone messages seeking comment.

Boutot, 33, said she’s glad the U.S. Olympic committee is taking action, but is “incredibility disappointed” that U.S. Biathlon has failed to do the same.

“The true origin of the misogynistic culture lies with U.S. Biathlon,” she said. “The silence is stunning, to be honest.”

U.S. Biathlon CEO Jack Gierhart sent an email to the AP and U.S. Biathlon members Thursday saying the allegations in the AP report were troubling. “We are deeply concerned about the experiences of the athletes mentioned. To all of you, I want to reaffirm our commitment to athlete safety,” it said.

Boutot was among a half-dozen Olympians and other biathletes who came forward after the AP reported earlier this year that Olympian Joanne Reid was sexually abused and harassed for years, according to findings by the U.S. Center for SafeSport, created to investigate sex-abuse allegations in Olympic sports in the aftermath of the Larry Nassar U.S. Gymnastics scandal.

They described a culture of abuse dating back to the 1990s, and said that while the men involved climbed the ranks of the sport, they faced retaliation that forced them to end their racing careers early.

MLB

The trial against Tampa Bay Rays shortstop Wander Franco, who has been charged with sexually abusing a minor, sexual and commercial exploitation against a minor, and human trafficking, was postponed and scheduled to resume June 2, 2025.

Dominican judge Yacaira Veras postponed the hearing at the request of prosecutors because of the absence of several key witnesses in the case.

Franco’s lawyers asked the court to reconsider the postponement, arguing Franco must report to spring training in mid-February.

The judge replied that Franco is obligated to continue with the trial schedule, continue his conditional release from detainment and not leave the country.

COLLEGE BASKETBALL

Hannah Hidalgo had 29 points, 10 rebounds and 8 assists, and No. 8 Notre Dame handed second-ranked UConn its first loss with a 79-68 victory in South Bend, Ind.

Olivia Miles toughed out an early ankle injury to score 16 points and Liatu King also had 16 for the Fighting Irish (8-2).

Paige Bueckers led the Huskies (8-1) with 25 points.

In a men’s top-25 game ...

NO. 3 IOWA STATE 89, IOWA 80: Curtis Jones scored 23 points, Joshua Jefferson added 19 points and 10 rebounds and the Cyclones (8-1) overcame a 13-point deficit to beat the Hawkeyes (7-3) in Iowa City. Iowa State snapped a four-game road losing streak in the series.

GOLF

Andy Sullivan shot 8-under 64 to take a one-stroke lead after the first round of the Alfred Dunhill Championship in Malelane, South Africa.

England’s Alex Fitzpatrick, the younger brother of 2022 U.S. Open champion Matt Fitzpatrick, was in a share of second place with Marcus Kinhult of Sweden and Casey Jarvis of South Africa.

MOTORSPORTS

Front Row Motorsports, one of two teams suing NASCAR in federal court, accused the stock car series of rejecting the planned purchase of a valuable charter unless the lawsuit was dropped.

Front Row made the claim in a court filing and said it involved its proposed purchase of the charter from Stewart-Haas Racing. Front Row said the series would only approve it if Front Row and 23XI Racing dropped their court case.

“Specifically, NASCAR informed us that it would not approve the (charter) transfer unless we agreed to drop our current antitrust lawsuit against them,” Jerry Freeze, general manager of Front Row, said in an affidavit filed in the U.S. District Court of Western North Carolina.

The two teams in September refused to sign NASCAR’s “take-it-or-leave-it” final offer on a new revenue sharing agreement. All other 13 teams signed the deal.

Front Row and 23XI balked and are now in court. 23XI co-owner Michael Jordan has said he took the fight to court on behalf of all teams competing in the top motorsports series in the United States. NASCAR has argued that the two teams simply do not like the terms of the final charter agreement and asked for the lawsuit be dismissed.