One of the world’s leading athletics coaches, who previously worked for the governing body in the UK, is facing a historical allegation that he raped an athlete in the United States when she was a teenager.
Rana Reider, the coach of top sprinters Marcell Jacobs and Andre De Grasse, was ejected from the Olympics this week after it emerged that he had been accused of sexual and emotional abuse in separate lawsuits by three female athletes at a court in Florida.
It can now be reported that one of these allegations involves an athlete, named as Jane Doe in court papers to protect her identity, who says she was raped by Reider during a training camp in Florida shortly after her 18th birthday.
In legal submissions to a circuit court in Broward County, and seen by the Guardian, the athlete alleges the rape took place after Reider asked her “to watch a movie with him on the bed”.
Reider, who strongly denies the allegations, is then accused of “touching her and eventually proceeded to penetrate her”.
The legal submissions also state the athlete “was shocked and distraught during and after the ordeal. She did not consent and did not want to have intercourse with Reider, who was more than double her age”.
In the days that followed, the complaint says, Reider showered the athlete with gifts, including expensive underwear and handbags. Jane Doe continued to have sex with Reider, the papers state, because of a “fear that he would retaliate and destroy her career if she … did not otherwise comply with his wishes”, due to Reider’s strong connections in the sport.
During an investigation into multiple complaints of sexual misconduct by the US Center for SafeSport, Reider admitted to an “imbalance of power” in an intimate relationship with one of his athletes. Last year he was placed on a 12-month probation and made to attend an online course.
In response to Jane Doe’s complaint, Reider’s lawyers filed a defence and a counterclaim for defamation. In a 23-page legal response they say that Jane Doe “took advantage of the loneliness and separation that often naturally occurs between spouses who are forced to spend a lot of time away from each other and pursued a consensual, romantic relationship with Reider under the guise of genuinely caring for Reider”.
The papers add: “To Reider’s surprise and disappoint the plaintiff/counter-defendant only viewed him as a stepping stone to advance her career objectives.” It described the allegations as “unfounded, shocking, and career-threatening accusations against him of betrayal, rape and sexual assault”.
That is disputed by Jane Doe, who like the two other athletes, is seeking damages in excess of $50,000 (£39,000). Jane Doe also says she has “suffered and will continue to suffer severe and ongoing emotional distress, insomnia, humiliation, generalised anxiety, depression, emotional and psychological pain, traumatic stress and mental anguish, and loss of capacity for the enjoyment of life”.
Reider became UK Athletics’ sprints and relays lead after London 2012 but departed in October 2014, following an internal investigation into his conduct. UKA has since said an inquiry now would be handled differently.
In a statement, UKA said: “It is very concerning to hear of any such allegations against personnel within the wider sport of athletics let alone individuals that have been directly associated or engaged by UKA in the past.
“Whilst we cannot comment directly on any ongoing legal cases, we would encourage anyone within the sport to raise any concerns they have through the variety of routes available.”
The second athlete involved in the court action alleges that he touched her vagina without consent during a massage. A third athlete alleges Reider made “sexually inappropriate comments”, “hit her on the buttocks” and “the unwanted sexual contact increased” when he coached her. Her submission states she “asked him to stop, he did not” and she eventually left his group as a consequence.
Reider’s court submissions do not address these specific claims, however his lawyer has been approached for comment.
