SafeSport says it cut case resolution time by 9% in two years

SafeSport is moving faster, but not yet fast enough to settle the question at the center of its work: whether athletes, parents and coaches can trust a system built to handle abuse claims in U.S. Olympic sport. The U.S. Center for SafeSport said fully investigated cases were completed 9% faster over the past two years, even as it received almost 9,700 reports of abuse and misconduct in 2025.

The center released its 2025 annual report on June 23, World Olympic & Paralympic Day, alongside a 2026-2028 strategic plan. It said the pace of resolution improved more sharply after process changes put in place on April 1, 2024, with overall case resolution time falling 25% across all outcome types. That matters because the agency has spent years under criticism from survivors and advocates who say complaints can move too slowly and too opaquely through the system.

The numbers show both progress and strain. SafeSport said the total reports it received in 2025 were up nearly 20% from 2024, a sign of how much demand still flows into an office that oversees abuse and misconduct allegations across more than 13 million people in more than 50 sports. The center also said cases open longer than two years fell 75% to 26 at the end of 2025, then dropped again to 8 by June 23, 2026.

SafeSport, which opened in March 2017 and later had its mandate strengthened by Congress through the Protecting Young Victims from Sexual Abuse and Safe Sport Authorization Act signed on Feb. 14, 2018, has long argued that its credibility depends on speed, transparency and independence from the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee and national governing bodies. That independence has not insulated it from backlash over delayed investigations, confusing terminology and the way certain outcomes are classified, especially in cases involving minors.

In April 2024, the center announced 10 process changes after an eight-month review and stakeholder feedback, saying the changes were intended to improve efficiency, information sharing and trauma sensitivity. One of those changes redefined and recategorized administrative closures and holds to make the process clearer. The report also said SafeSport has delivered more than 9 million trainings to 4.2 million individuals since 2017, a reminder that its mandate is not only punishment after harm, but prevention before it happens.

The new strategic plan says the center is heading toward LA28 and beyond with a simple mission: “We lead the movement to make sport safer for all.” The harder test is whether athletes and survivors feel that promise in the way cases are handled, sanctions are imposed and delays are reduced.