Olympic Doctor Bill Moreau Says He Was Fired for Reporting Sexual Abuse, More

Dr. Bill Moreau reportedly filed a whistleblower retaliation lawsuit Wednesday that alleged he was fired by the United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee (USOPC) for questioning how the organization handled sexual abuse allegations and mental health issues.

John Barr of ESPN.com and Sam Tabachnik of the Denver Post reported the news.

Moreau, who was the organization's vice president of sports medicine, was dismissed in May 2019 following 10 years at the USOPC.

"Frankly, what I'm really worried about is, what if another kid gets raped and I didn't say something?," he said, per Barr. "What if another athlete kills himself and I didn't say something? Somebody has got to get the USOPC's attention to start listening and not breaking the law."

Barr noted there are a number of allegations in the lawsuit, which was filed in Denver District Court and seeks unspecified damages, including the mishandling by executives of an alleged statutory rape of a 15-year-old female Paralympic athlete at the 2018 Drake Relays. Moreau, who also questioned how disgraced former USA Gymnastics team doctor Larry Nassar treated athletes at the 2012 Olympics in London, added that officials did not recognize a criminal act may have occurred when it was reported to the U.S. Center for SafeSport.

According to Barr, "the offender in that case was later suspended by the center for 'sexual misconduct involving a minor.'"

Moreau also said the USOPC did not act in January 2019 when someone saw a male strength and conditioning coach naked in a sauna accessible to the under-18 women's gymnastics team, among other athletes, who were training at the organization's Colorado Springs center.

"In February 2019, Moreau said, top USOPC executives failed to heed his warnings to provide psychiatric care to an Olympic cyclist, who at the time was suicidal," Barr wrote. "The athlete died by suicide a day after 'Moreau's plea for urgent action,' according to the lawsuit."

Tabachnik noted Moreau's lawsuit follows investigations from the Department of Justice and Congress into how the organization handled sexual abuse allegations.

A 2017 Washington Post investigation also discovered 290 coaches and officials had been publicly accused of sexual misconduct since 1982.

"We regret that Dr. Moreau and his attorney have misrepresented the causes of his separation from the USOPC," Luella Chavez D'Angelo, the Olympic Committee's chief marketing and communications officer, said in a statement to Tabachnik. "We will honor their decision to see this matter through in the courts, and we won't comment on the specifics as that goes forward."

Barr noted the USOPC's chief of sport performance, Rick Adams, said he fired Moreau because he wanted someone with "a Doctor of Medicine (M.D.) degree rather than a Doctor of Chiropractic (D.C.) degree."