Steve is not 100% there any more IMO. I helped him out with some horses and had 1 boarded with him 7+ years ago, then he moved out of state for a few years, and he moved back and helped me out with a foal a few years ago. Since moving back his Facebook comments have been very odd. IIRC he may have had a few head injuries which could be a contributing factor. I have no clue why he says USEF ruined teaching for him, he looks to be still in good standing (though not active).
”‹”‹”‹”‹”‹”‹
As far as not calling out the mob on FB, honestly, anyone doing so becomes a lightning rod for their anger. Kristin Hardin posted a thoughtful message. She and others who have made rational comments on rant threads have been attacked.
I think that the firestorm on social media isn’t just about people mourning the loss of their friend. Granted, there are some who do stick to tributes and mourning. I have no problem with that. However, I also believe, for others, it is precisely about intimidating other victims into not coming forward. As far as this case is concerned, multiple victims of various ages have already come forward and given statements to Safesport. This is not the case of a single 17 year old from 40 years ago “with an ax to grind”.
The other thing I have seen mentioned by those who defend not just RG, but basically any trainer who had sex with minors, is alcohol use by the girls.I was there in the early 1980s and while I can’t speak to later years or other individuals, during that time frame, I never saw Rob drink. In fact, I saw him discourage drinking. I have confirmed my recollection with others who were around him at the time. At least, in his case, this wasn’t drunken teens throwing themselves at a “star” as people ranting on FB would like everyone to believe.
By by the way, let’s be really clear: even a drunken underage teenage girl throwing herself at a trainer is no excuse. It was legally rape then and it’s rape now. To those who say that it was the environment at the time, so it’s no big deal. Really? The victims are real. Their pain is real. This is how we want to portray our sport?
Thank you for this post. You are exactly right.
And including the antonyms was important. Semantics DO matter, but I am going to use poor grammar and employ a double negative to say…
I do NOT think an adult professional or coach having sex with a 17 year old rider is innocuous.
I agree the social media fb mob is out of control. I feel so sorry for the victims. SS is a neutral party, thank goodness. Can you imagine if it was a peer group that determined guilt or not? If that was the case, all horse world pedophiles would have no worries.
Maybe the victims & the accused should take a voluntary lie detector test. That might help validate to some people that victims are telling the truth.
One of his comments said he was accused of “abuse” twice, and that it took 10 years to rebuild his reputation. I have no idea if the abuse was Safe Sport type abuse, or if it was a really ugly divorce or what. Just to be fair.
The people I know who do NOT drink, when hanging out with a drinking crowd, are almost always
Or…
I assume you were joking about lie detector tests,. We don’t have to prove anything to the mob. Safesport had evidence from multiple victims and corroboration from others.
As far as validating to some people who is telling the truth and who is not…
Lie detectors are unreliable to such a degree, they are not admitted in a court of law. Especially when people are highly stressed or emotional. Coming forward to anyone with an accusation of sexual abuse IS highly stressful and emotional for the victim. And even when POLICE use voluntary lie detectors during an investigation (but not as evidence to present in court) it applies to the SUSPECT.
Except for having sex with minor girls, but maybe that’s ok with you? Would you have let your daughter sleep with him?
I didn’t make that statement … and that’s my whole point. Attributing things falsely, and embellishing others is dishonest. The situation is bad enough without making stuff up.
In your inability to pay attention, Denali6298 never attributed that to you. They even included the specific person and quote to which they were responding.
I would say that they way you approach this thread and your indignation is more a failure of you to actually pay attention to the details of who is speaking.
I’ve no problem paying attention, maybe it’s you who should go back and re-read.
🙄
@Capall was the person you attacked earlier, Roser, and accused of having a “sick little mind”
It was back on page 55 of the thread. I’m not good at the multi quote thing, unfortunately, as it would be very useful right about now.
@Denali6298 and myself and some others are paying close attention to this thread and pushing back hard EVERY time folks like yourself, Roser, cross lines in the discussion and venture into the zone of legitimizing behavior that involves sexual contact with human beings who are not yet of legal age.
Legal lines in the sand exist for a reason. Because society needs them. The number of cases where a person was prosecuted in a court of law or put on a sexual offender list because he was 20 and she was 17 and 3/4 years old and they were dating? It’s MINISCULE. The police are OVERWHELMED with major cases of abuse that are incredibly hard to prove. So is Safe Sport apparently. They thought they would have 35 complaints to investigate in the first year the Center was established. They got 800. They prioritized investigating the complaint involving RG, temporarily suspended him while investigating because they thought he DID pose an ongoing risk, investigated thoroughly and interviewed multiple people, and then permanently banned him. There is a 400 page report apparently regarding the investigation. There apparently (I don’t know, but have seen multiple comments in multiple places now) is corroborating testimony from witnesses regarding victims telling these people AT THE TIME about what had happened to them with RG. That is the EXACT sort of evidence used in a court of law to prove abuse like this did happen many years after the fact. Contemporaneous accounts.
@Texarkana and myself were kind to you at first because you are obviously grieving. You were nice enough in your reply to me, but actually very rude in what you said about Tex… who did come up with the compassionate idea to rename this thread. Because no one here is trying to cause additional pain to those who loved RG.
However… the issues at the heart of this case ARE getting talked about, and the response from the equestrian community at large right now to the entire Safe Sport situation involving RG… because this is a really important issue to almost everyone.
You feel like those posting here on this thread have no “decorum” What can you or any of the others on Facebook say about yourselves? Are any of you concerned at ALL about possibly causing additional pain to victims who might be out there? People who either were exposed to sexual activity, or were actually somehow coerced into engaging in it with an adult male when they were 12 years old? Because that’s been alleged… in more than one place and by more than one commenter that I have seen. If you want to go ahead and accuse people of lying… go for it. So far though, you and everyone else defending RG has stopped just short of that. You all will only point to relationships that were public, frame them in such a way that people equate them to a 20 year old dating a 17 and 3/4 year old… and then talk about the injustices of Safe Sport.
Bottom line, It’s not ok to ignore sexual misconduct. Even when it comes to your friends and family. People get really really hurt when society collectively decides to turn s blind eye to this sort of misconduct. Try and wrap your head around that.
In the words of Edmund Burke, “All that is required for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.”
Roser123, I’m not sure what you hope to accomplish with your posts because, to me, not much of what you’re saying makes a lot of sense. Frankly, you’re coming across as someone so caught up in the loss of someone you knew and respected that you’re incapable of logical thought.
We’re not, as you seem to believe, engaging in a bunch of speculation based on rumor and innuendo.
Fact: SafeSport received multiple complaints about Rob Gage engaging in inappropriate behavior of a sexual nature with minors.
Fact: SafeSport conducted an investigation and concluded that this behavior did in fact occur.
Fact: As a result of the investigation, Rob Gage received a sanction of “Permanent Ineligibility” from USEF for “Sexual Misconduct - Involving Minor.”
I don’t need to have known Rob Gage personally and I don’t need to know the sordid details of his actions to decide that, whatever his other sterling qualities, his behavior toward more than one minor was indeed
abhorrent, abominable, appalling, awful, disgusting, distasteful, dreadful, evil, foul, fulsome, gross, hideous, horrendous, horrible, horrid, loathsome, nasty, nauseating, nauseous, noisome, noxious, obnoxious, obscene, odious, offensive, rancid, repellent (also repellant), repugnant, repulsive, revolting, scandalous, shocking, sickening, ugly.
When I was a kid, we had a neighbor who was a sexual predator. This was back in the 60s/early 70s. Probably 99% of the men and 95% of the women and teenage girls in the neighborhood thought he was a great guy. Active in the local riding club, life of the party, kept several neighborhood kids ponies and horses at his place for super cheap/free in return for occasional help with farm work, provided a team and wagon for hay rides during the fall, yada, yada, yada.
The only folks not on the Tom Warren bandwagon were the women and teens that he had fondled/raped/harassed/stalked. I was one of them when I was 13. I was an adult before I ever told anyone and learned then that my Mom, the lady across the street, and another neighbor lady were also victims.
Sexual predators and pedophiles do not wear Scarlet Ps on their jackets and they’re very good at coming across as fine upstanding members of the community. Roser123, the fact that you knew Rob Gage as a great guy does not mean that he was not also guilty of “Sexual Misconduct - Involving Minor.”
I have never legitimized sexual contact with minors, nor have I ever suggested turning a blind eye to it. Try and wrap your head around that.
What RG is actually charged with is bad enough … I just don’t see any need to exaggerate it, and I have just as much right to “push back” against posters who blur the lines between reality and fantasy, which has been done repeatedly here.
I don’t think there is any other phrase that Safesport would use. You seem to think that there is more in that phrase than there really is. A minor is under 18. The age of the minor victim isn’t relevant anyway.
And I don’t really think anyone gets a lifetime suspension for telling a student something like “stick your tits out” if that is what you are trying to insinuate.
There’s a difference between “Sexual Misconduct - Involving Minor” And “abhorrent behaviors towards MINOR CHILDREN”. One he was charged with, and one he wasn’t. It’s as easy to change “minor” to “children” as it is “children” to “little kids”, it’s like a game of telephone.
I haven’t claimed that he wasn’t guilty … not even going there … what I DO claim is that changing the words of, or misrepresenting the charges is wrong.
🙄 There you go again … next it’ll be, “Roser123 claims all RG did was tell someone to stick their chest out”.
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