U.S. Rowing Rescinds Ted Nash’s Honors After Abuse Investigation
The New York Times
A law firm examining accusations that Ted Nash sexually abused Jennifer Fox — when she was 13 and he was her 40-year-old running coach — found that her claims were credible.
A 16-month investigation made public on Tuesday determined that child sexual abuse accusations against Ted Nash, a two-time Olympic medalist and nine-time Olympic coach for the United States who had mythic status in his sport over decades, were credible and that his main accuser had no motive to lie about the abuse.
The 154-page report by the law firm Shearman & Sterling, which U.S. Rowing, the sport’s governing body in the United States, asked to examine claims against Mr. Nash, found that Jennifer Fox, now 64 and a filmmaker who lives in Manhattan, was believable when she said that Mr. Nash had sexually abused her more than 50 years ago. Ms. Fox claimed that he had groomed her for a sexual relationship and sexually assaulted her multiple times when she was 13 and he was her 40-year-old running coach.
The abuse, which lasted several months and included his coercing her to have sex with him multiple times, ended in 1973, said Ms. Fox, whose 2018 film “The Tale” depicted her memories of the abuse but did not name Mr. Nash. He died at 88 in 2021.
Jan Nash, his widow, did not immediately respond to voice messages and texts seeking comment. Last year, she told The New York Times that she was shocked and saddened by the accusations and said that “it’s just not fair” for Ms. Fox to name Mr. Nash now that he can’t defend himself.
The report specifically stated that the law firm was not tasked with finding evidence that met any legal standard of proof for the abuse. But after the firm interviewed approximately 47 witnesses who interacted with Mr. Nash or Ms. Fox, it said its inquiry corroborated many of her allegations against him. Also, the investigation did not find evidence that “expressly refutes” her accusations or a motive for her to lie about the abuse, the report said.
“I’m thrilled because this is what I hoped for,” Ms. Fox said Tuesday in a telephone interview. “This whole process has been really, really hard and the result is like removing a lifelong festering tumor from your body.”
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