Biathlon official apologizes to athletes who have suffered mistreatment
Max Cobb, the secretary general of the International Biathlon Union, apologized to any athlete who was mistreated during his tenure at U.S. Biathlon during a 90-minute meeting focused on concerns about athlete safety brought to light by multiple Associated Press reports
The secretary general of the International Biathlon Union apologized to any athlete who was mistreated during his tenure at U.S. Biathlon while speaking to a 90-minute meeting Tuesday that focused on concerns about athlete safety brought to light by multiple Associated Press reports.
“I appreciate anyone who comes forward with issues, especially issues of sexual misconduct, whether it’s recent ones or old ones. I think that’s an incredibly brave and important thing to do,” Max Cobb said in remarks to the U.S. Biathlon Association's annual meeting, held over Zoom.
It was Cobb's first public statement since AP's report a week ago detailing how women said officials ignored or excused sexual abuse and harassment of female biathletes by their coaches and others over decades because they were more concerned about winning medals than holding offenders accountable.
While the men involved climbed the ranks of the sport, the women — who described a culture of abuse dating back to the 1990s — said they were forced to end their racing careers early. Biathlon combines cross-country skiing with target shooting.
