US Olympic fencer unhappy with isolation over sexual misconduct claims

A U.S. Olympic fencer who is under investigation for sexual misconduct allegations says he has faced unnecessary restrictions in Tokyo, and he has taken legal action in an attempt to change that.

Alan Hadzic, a 29-year-old fencer from New Jersey, was temporarily suspended in June by the U.S. Center for SafeSport after it was discovered that three women accused him of committing sexual misconduct against them between 2013 and 2015, according to a complaint obtained by USA Today Sports. The suspension was overturned by an arbitrator, which allowed Hadzic to join the U.S. Olympic fencing team in Tokyo. However, Hadzic says US Fencing has still forced him to remain in isolation at a hotel while his team is staying at the Olympic Village.

The United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee (USOPC) and USA Fencing say the restrictions are a matter of safety. Hadzic’s attorney, Michael Palma, insists the measures are unnecessary and wants them lifted before Friday’s Opening Ceremony. An arbitration hearing was scheduled for Thursday.

Palma argues that USA Fencing has known about the allegations “for years” and never placed any restrictions on Hadzic prior to the Olympics. Hadzic told USA Today the sexual misconduct allegations are “frankly not true.”

The allegations against Hadzic surfaced as part of a SafeSport investigation that began in March 2017 to look into sexual abuse in Olympic sports. One of the women accused Hadzic of sexual misconduct when the two were on the fencing team at Columbia in 2013. Hadzic was suspended from the school for a year. Another woman, who was on the Columbia fencing team with Hadzic in 2015, says Hadzic groped her that year.

One of the unnamed victims told USA Today that Hadzic should not be allowed to compete in the Olympics.

“I think one case is enough for you to not be allowed to compete at the f—ing Olympics,” the alleged victim said. “It really makes you question how far someone needs to go in order for them not to be able to compete.”

Hadzic is an alternate for the U.S fencing team, so he will only compete if one of his teammates cannot. He said he has been forced to stay at a hotel that is 25 minutes from the Olympic Village and has been robbed of “that experience that I earned.”