Rob Gage

[PonyPenny]

@SonnysMom

He can still run the farm. He likely can go to local shows. USEF should be enforcing the ban for recognized shows. However like anything in a big organization it comes down to individual show management, how good at they are checking and how much of a spine do they have. If he isn’t signing the entries as trainer they may not know he is on the grounds unless somebody reports him. I would think if he is signing as rider or trainer their software should pick up that he is banned.

How can you ban someone from public property? Many shows at least in California are on public property.

[BLBGP]

@ladyj79

@MHM Michael Cintas

Wow, except for the three strong women who are pushing back, that thread has it all (and not just from MC, but from people replying).

1. Everyone was doing it, what’s the big deal? Boy oh boy, those were fun times.
2. If a teenager is coming on to you, no man could possibly say no.
3. Those girls were slutty sluts anyways

Not to mention the unfathomable punctuation.

It’s all so incredibly sad.

[Jealoushe]

@BLBGP

Wow, except for the three strong women who are pushing back, that thread has it all (and not just from MC, but from people replying).

1. Everyone was doing it, what’s the big deal?
2. If a teenager is coming on to you, no man could possibly say no.
3. Those girls were slutty sluts anyways

Not to mention the unfathomable punctuation.

It’s all so incredibly sad.

It’s concerning that a coach, of a world competition level team like the US Pentathlon team, would publicly say these things. I hope the right eyes are watching.

[goodmorning]

Well I read the sad excuse for a humans facebook page. Oh my. I am quite sure he thinks he is above the law, ethics, and his moral compass is pointing south. Unsurprisingly, he is a Trump supporter. Caring for women or children is not a concern, accountability is out the door (unless you are a victim, then you are Guilty). Utterly disgusted by his insinuations. His connections, his ease to - blame the children. They are tempting??? I would not be surprised if he winds up in jail or with charges pressed after reading these comments. They are disturbing. And read like 45s Twitter account…

[SonnysMom]

@PonyPenny

How can you ban someone from public property? Many shows at least in California are on public property.

I don’t know that. I would guess that maybe by leasing that property for set show dates that the show grounds or the show grounds portion of the property in essence is not open to the public during that time. If not that what is to prevent anyone from showing up at any time and throwing a horse in an empty stall but not paying for the use even if a show is going on. Also USEF seems to be able to enforce things like Coggins, flu/rhino.

For PA there are a number of state and local parks with pavilions. You need to reserve and pay for them to use them. They are in public areas but the public does not have 100% unfettered access to them. I would expect that if I paid for the pavilion and somebody else decided to hang out in the pavilion during my rental time that I could ask him to leave and either the park or the police would be able to enforce that.

Hopefully one of the lawyers on the board will chime in. @vxf111 , @Guilherme

[BLBGP]

@Jealoushe

It’s concerning that a coach, of a world competition level team like the US Pentathlon team, would publicly say these things. I hope the right eyes are watching.

To be fair, #'s 2 and 3 came most strongly stated from a woman who commented on the thread.

[Jealoushe]

@BLBGP

To be fair, #'s 2 and 3 came most strongly stated from a woman who commented on the thread.

oh my favourite, women hating on women victims. This guys death has really brought out all the winners eh.

[RugBug]

@BLBGP

To be fair, #'s 2 and 3 came most strongly stated from a woman who commented on the thread.

:eek: and :mad:

[Virginia_Horse_Mom]

@Jealoushe

It’s concerning that a coach, of a world competition level team like the US Pentathlon team, would publicly say these things. I hope the right eyes are watching.

Indeed. I actually have tried to discern if he is STILL connected with USA Pentathlon as he has an older profile photo pertaining to 2016 and Rio… but I can’t figure it out.

Isn’t there someone on these boards who pops up regularly who has also had a position in terms of coaching at a high level in Pentathlon? I can’t remember who.

[Jealoushe]

@JER can let us know if shes brave enough LOL

I want to see a picture of this guy to see if I recognize him from 2015 Pan Ams

[Peggy]

@Jealoushe

@JER can let us know if shes brave enough LOL

I want to see a picture of this guy to see if I recognize him from 2015 Pan Ams

Just Google his name plus the word photo. There are some that are not him but some that obviously are.

[TequilaMockingbird]

Time and time again, it’s so blatant that people are giving special consideration to this guy (and other people like him) because he is a horse trainer. These same people would not think twice if the accusations involved a priest, a teacher, a doctor or a police officer.

None of these people would be complaining about lack of transparency if it weren’t a horse trainer. It does not need to be transparent because it’s none of your business. It is not a constitutional right bestowed by the US Bill of Rights that Nancy Busybody gets to know all the salacious details about a sexual predator and his victims so she can form an opinion (ie make a judgement that it happened “too long ago” or "that 16 year old was always flirty’) that can be shared all over social media. This is not a law enforcement agency. The worst SafeSport can do to you is ban you from a private club. Again, quick note, membership in a private club is not in the Bill of Rights. A lifetime ban does not need to meet the “beyond a reasonable doubt” requirements of criminal prosecution before it is handed down.

I have no doubt that the SafeSport process could be improved upon. But most of the issues being brought up here and on FB hold no water whatsoever. Most of those asking these questions are not looking to improve a process, they’re looking to create doubt because it happened to a horse trainer that lots of people liked. “What if SafeSport is really run by the Russians? Prove to me it isn’t!”

It’s like all sense and human decency go out the window because it’s a freakin’ horse trainer. It reminds me of all the celebrities who still defend Woody Allen.

[Tiramit]

@Jealoushe

One of the articles I read about Rob Gage said at least 2 accusations were verified, and a third had come forward. So in their mid thirties (which is around my age now) they were sleeping with girls in age range of 14-17, it is still, really concerning. What possibly, could someone that age have to offer a man of that age, aside from fulfilling some sick fantasy.

If it was a teacher in the news, doing the same thing, riots would be happening. The star struck blinders are disturbing.

Wasn’t Mary Kay something a teacher in the late 90s early 2000s whose relationship with a young student became all anyone could talk about? From the way the story was treated, it was disgust all around. IIRC, she went to jail despite saying it was a relationship and love, not predatory behavior?

For the Facebook mob her mistake was clearly teaching at a high school and not at a horse barn (sarcasm).

[RugBug]

@Tiramit

Wasn’t Mary Kay something a teacher in the late 90s early 2000s whose relationship with a young student became all anyone could talk about? From the way the story was treated, it was disgust all around. IIRC, she went to jail despite saying it was a relationship and love, not predatory behavior?

For the Facebook mob her mistake was clearly teaching at a high school and not at a horse barn (sarcasm).

Mary Kay LaTourneau (sp?). Yep, she was pretty much universally (and rightly) considered to have crossed the line. The revulsion was probably due to a few things: age of the student, that she was a teacher and as well as the older woman, younger man thing isn’t nearly as ingrained as the opposite.

They did end up marrying when she got out of jail and reportedly are still married.

[Tiramit]

@RugBug

Mary Kay LaTourneau (sp?). Yep, she was pretty much universally considered to be inappropriate. Probably in part because she was a teacher and also because the older woman, younger man thing isn’t nearly as ingrained as the opposite.

(this is directed to the world, not you), HOW is the RG situation different other than gender and subject matter taught?

[Virginia_Horse_Mom]

@Jealoushe

@JER can let us know if shes brave enough LOL

I want to see a picture of this guy to see if I recognize him from 2015 Pan Ams

That’s who I was thinking of. Not to drag her into it. But perhaps she or someone else who cares about everyone in that particular sporting community just wants to take a thorough look at all the publicly available information and quotes and comments coming from MC about all these issues?

Isn’t the whole POINT of Safe Sport to clean up the underlying culture in many different sports so that we no longer turn a blind eye, or brush under the rug situations in which coaches who are inappropriate or outright predatory towards underage athletes can operate with impunity?

[Texarkana]

The demand for transparency boggles me.

Said by someone (me) who 100% supports transparency… when it is appropriate.

There is a damned good reason why details of SafeSport accusations shouldn’t be made public: just look at the cesspool of humanity that comes out of the woodwork! Who would ever willingly open themselves up to this sort of treatment?

Then people go, “well what about the falsely accused experiencing the same thing?” But it’s not the same! The data suggests very few victims lie about sexual misconduct. Some of these interim suspension recipients get some eyeballs raised, maybe temporary interruption of business, some frustrating hardships for sure… but then it goes back to business as usual.

I still keep asking for someone to give me the name of an innocent trainer who has lost their livelihood as a result of a SafeSport false report. I’ve heard the frustrating yet temporary inconveniences and do recognize why they feel it is unfair. But mostly what I’m getting are examples of how BANNED people aren’t even hurting for business!!! There is a banned trainer who is still claiming sponsorship from major equestrian retailers on his website!!! And you’re trying to tell me SafeSport robbed him of his livelihood?

I am very sorry for the suicide of RG. But the deeper I go down this SafeSport wormhole, the less I can find credence in any of the arguments from the detractors.

[RugBug]

@Denali6298

I’m a victim too.

I just wanted to say, before we got too far from this, that I’m sorry to hear that you are also a victim. We may have a difference of opinion on things, but I hate hearing that you too have been there, done that. :no:

Seems like those that haven’t experienced sexual abuse in some way are the minority.

[IPEsq]

@RugBug

I am not concerned about the guilty. AT.ALL.

I get it. I worked on the production for a TV show about wrongfully convicted people, mostly African Americans. They were convicted of various serious crimes such as rape, aggravated armed robbery, and murder. All were later exonerated (unfortunately some not until after they were dead, and others may have spent decades in prison). The show focused on issues of racial bias mostly. I worked on obtaining clearance for some of the news materials featured. It was pretty horrifying.

But I think no matter the process—whether we have law enforcement, the judiciary, or administrative bodies, so long as these are staffed by humans, there is a chance for bias. And not everyone is good at their job. But we still must put some faith in our systems because there are plenty of bad people who also do get caught and need to be. Do the risks of mistakes outweigh the public interest in stopping abuse? The stakes are not minuscule, but we are still talking about sanctions from USEF competition, not prison, with Safe Sport.

I don’t think that adding a level of transparency people are asking for is going to help the process. It risks exposing victims. Even in the Nassar court case, most witness statements and identities were confidential until some revealed themselves during sentencing.

[Jealoushe]

@Tiramit

Wasn’t Mary Kay something a teacher in the late 90s early 2000s whose relationship with a young student became all anyone could talk about? From the way the story was treated, it was disgust all around. IIRC, she went to jail despite saying it was a relationship and love, not predatory behavior?

For the Facebook mob her mistake was clearly teaching at a high school and not at a horse barn (sarcasm).

yeah, and the kid was like 12. That story is so beyond disturbing, I watched a documentary on that story and it was beyond disturbing.