(Reuters) – The U.S. Center for SafeSport has permanently banned Australian Olympic figure skater Brendan Kerry for sexual misconduct involving a minor, the body said in a ruling on Tuesday.
The ruling, which is subject to appeal, bans Kerry for life from any events or activities controlled by the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee (USOPC).
Kerry, 29, competed at three Winter Olympics and was one of Australia’s two flagbearers at the opening ceremony of the 2022 Beijing Games, his last major international competition.
Attempts to contact Kerry through Ice Skating Australia (ISA) on Wednesday were not immediately successful. ISA did not respond to an emailed request for comment.
The U.S. Center for SafeSport was established in 2017 with the aim of protecting athletes, particularly minors, from sexual abuse in Olympic sports programmes in the United States.
(Reporting by Nick Mulvenney, editing by Shri Navaratnam)
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