U.S. Ski & Snowboard opens investigation into allegations of inappropriate behavior involving snowboardcross coach

ZHANGJIAKOU, China – U.S. Ski & Snowboard confirmed Friday that it opened an investigation into allegations of inappropriate behavior within the U.S. snowboardcross team, including some that have been levied against its current head coach.

Callan Chythlook-Sifsof, a member of the 2010 Olympic team, said in a series of Instagram posts that the coach, Peter Foley, has "taken naked photos of female athletes for over a decade" and made an explicit comment to her about another woman's appearance in 2014.

"I cannot watch another Olympic Games without saying this publicly," she wrote in one Instagram post.

Foley denied the allegations when asked about them after the mixed team snowboardcross competition on Saturday. “I’m super surprised by the allegations and I vehemently deny the allegations," Foley said.

U.S. Ski & Snowboard spokesman Tom Horrocks said the organization is “aware of the recent allegations” against Foley.

“We take these very serious and these are being investigated,” Horrocks wrote in an email, adding that the organization would not comment further.

Foley was not able to access the athlete village for a film review in advance of the mixed team final, veteran snowboarder Lindsey Jacobellis said.

Horrocks did not say who is investigating Chythlook-Sifsof’s statements.

However, the U.S. Center for SafeSport is responsible for investigating reports of sexual misconduct in the Olympic movement.

Spokesman for the center and for the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee said they could not comment on the case.

Following her win in the mixed team event with veteran teammate Nick Baumgartner, Jacobellis said, "It’s definitely been super upsetting to have that when we’re trying to focus and it definitely breaks up our team energy a little bit, but my 20 years on the team, I can speak very highly of his character and he’s always been supporting me through everything that I’ve gone through."

Chythlook-Sifsof also said a current Olympic athlete, Hagen Kearney, used the N-word "intentionally to get under my skin."

In an email, Kearney said, “I made a mistake years ago with my words and appropriate action was taken. I learned from my mistake and I’m a better person now for it.” He also posted an apology on Instagram Saturday.

Horrocks said, “the concerns regarding Hagen were dealt with at the time and appropriate action was taken.”

Kearney finished 17th in men's snowboardcross on Thursday. The start list shows he was not selected to compete on either of the U.S. duos in Saturday's mixed team event, which pairs one male rider with one female rider.

Chythlook-Sifsof first posted about the allegations on Instagram on Sunday, according to Outsports, a website that covers LGBTQ issues and personalities in sports. The website first reported on the existence of the allegations and U.S. Ski & Snowboard's response.

Chythlook-Sifsof did not respond to an Instagram message or email from USA TODAY Sports.

The dates and locations of the specific allegations in the Instagram posts are unclear, but Chythlook-Sifsof, now 32, indicated that they occurred during her time on the U.S. team, which ran from 2005 to 2014.

"I will not carry this stuff around anymore, there was bizarre behavior across the board," she wrote. "The people I’ve named have overtly behaved toxically but the truth is the culture on the team protected this behavior. Things have been normalized that are not okay."

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Snowboardcross investigation for allegations of inappropriate behavior