sense of vindication has evaporated leaving little in its place im not as mad as i should be maurizi told abc news if i think about it for a moment its more because i just feel kind of hopeless like there is no recourse for me and theres really nowhere i can truly get justice former equestrian rider kd who asked to be identified by only her initials said prominent riding coach bob mcdonald sexually abused her when she was a teenager working in his stable in the 1970s after reading media accounts of other cases in the sport she submitted her allegations to the center in 2019 mcdonald denied any wrongdoing but documents show that safesport investigators found that mcdonald engaged in sexual intercourse with two minor athletes that resulted in lasting physical pain as with lopez and callaghan the center banned him from the sport for life but mcdonald appealed and the center issued an administrative closure of the case after learning that kd did not plan to participate in an arbitration hearing on the advice of her attorney the closure meant mcdonalds sanctions were lifted his name was removed from the centers database and he was allowed to resume coaching the administrative closure gave the center the option to reopen the case in the future mcdonalds attorney said after the closure that he is free to participate fully in equestrian sport and it is my understanding that he is doing so kd said the sudden reversal was a shock but not a surprise i was completely appalled kd said however by this time i had read about several other instances of safesport doing this type of thing so i wasnt completely surprised confidential documents obtained by espn and abc news reveal that the rationale behind those reversals did not resolve questions about whether those coaches continue to pose a safety risk to young athletes in lopezs case a panel of arbitrators wrote that they were unable to assess the credibility of the three witnesses who accused him of wrongdoing because they declined to testify at the hearing after their previous interviews with a safesport investigator left numerous questions unanswered gilbert and her attorney say she offered to submit written testimony in lieu of telling her story in person again an experience that can often be traumatizing for people who have been subjected to abuse in callaghans case the arbitrator acknowledged and agreed that maurizis testimony confirms the sexual abuse occurred as described but determined that he was bound to apply an absurd and draconian standard of corroborating evidence that was required by law at the time of the alleged abuse which the center failed to meet the center reopened mcdonalds case earlier this year after learning that kd who had hired a new attorney was now willing to participate in the arbitration hearing according to the us equestrian federation arbitrators did not find sufficient evidence to uphold the sanctions against mcdonald despite kds willingness to participate his