Jean Lopez Explained

Jean López (born August 31, 1973 in Texas, U.S.) is an American Taekwondo athlete and coach.

Biography

Lopez is a 1991 graduate of Kempner High School.

He was a four-time member of the U.S. National Taekwondo Team. In 1995 Lopez won a silver medal at the 1995 Taekwondo World Championships.^[1]

Lopez coached the U.S. Olympic Taekwondo team in the 2004, 2008, and 2012 Olympic Games.^[2]

On April 3, 2018, Lopez was found guilty by the United States Center for SafeSport of sexual misconduct involving a minor, and was banned from USA Taekwondo.^[3] SafeSport found that Lopez had assaulted Mandy Meloon, Heidi Gilbert, and a third woman.^[4] The ban was overturned by an arbitrator in January 2019.^{[5] [6]}

Notes and References

1. Web site: Lopez family Archives. The Saturday Evening Post.
2. Web site: Former USA Taekwondo Coach Banned From The Sport For Sexual Misconduct.
3. News: Olympic taekwondo coach Jean Lopez banned for sexual misconduct with a minor. USA TODAY. 2018-04-04. en.
4. Web site: SafeSport disputes characterization of what led it to drop Jean Lopez ban . . https://web.archive.org/web/20230226153250/https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/2018/08/19/jean-lopez-safesport-disputes-attorneys-claim/1037390002/ . 2023-02-26 . live .
5. Web site: Jean Lopez able to coach taekwondo again after arbitrator lifts ban for sexual misconduct. Nancy Armour and Rachel. Axon. USA TODAY.
6. Web site: Axon. Nancy Armour and Rachel. Report: Sixth woman says she was sexually abused by Olympic taekwondo champ Steven Lopez. 2021-07-23. USA TODAY. en-US.