UH statement regarding allegations against men's volleyball coach

News release from University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, Apr 25, 2019

There are media reports that University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa Head Men’s Volleyball Coach Charlie Wade is under investigation by the U.S. Center for SafeSport regarding an allegation of possible misconduct with a female athlete. The incident is alleged to have happened approximately 30 years ago in California when he was coaching a club volleyball team.

UH takes any allegations of misconduct seriously. The university is actively reviewing the matter and is awaiting the conclusion of the SafeSport investigation.

Wade strongly denies that any type of misconduct took place. In his years at UH, as the women’s volleyball assistant coach and as the men’s head coach, he has never been accused of this type of misconduct and has always handled himself with the highest level of professionalism.

Wade cooperated with the SafeSport investigation as soon as he was notified in September, 2018. He still has not been interviewed and has not heard from SafeSport since. His attorney formally requested, multiple times and as recently as April 4, that SafeSport provide an update to the investigation. SafeSport has yet to respond.

  *   *   *   *   *

Charlie Wade coaching No. 1 Hawaii men’s volleyball team despite U.S. Center for SafeSport suspension

From Orange County Register, April 24, 2019 (excerpts)

…USA Volleyball in February 2018 became aware of allegations regarding (UH Volleyball coach Charlie) Wade and possible misconduct involving a female player who played for him at the club and college level, according to SafeSport and USA Volleyball documents. Wade was an assistant coach for the Hawaii women’s program from 1995 to 1997 and head coach at Pacific from 2006 to 2008. Earlier he was the head coach at Magnum Volleyball Club in Anaheim.

USA Volleyball forwarded the case to SafeSport last March but the center did not contact the alleged victim for another month, according to SafeSport documents and a person familiar with the case. SafeSport began investigating in July or August and agreed that fell under the center’s jurisdiction in September..

Wade has been listed as suspended on a public list on the USA Volleyball website since at least last fall.

NCAA events do not fall under SafeSport, USOC or USA Volleyball authority, so suspended coaches are not prohibited by rule from coaching on collegiate teams while under investigation by SafeSport….

Wade is the second high profile NCAA volleyball coach to coach this season while under investigation and suspended by the U.S. Center for SafeSport.

Long Beach State assistant Scott Touzinsky, 2008 Olympic gold medalist, resigned his post Wednesday night, a day after SCNG revealed that he was suspended by USA Volleyball in July after officials for the national governing body learned of allegations of sexual misconduct involving an underage female athlete at a camp or clinic in Canada in 2013 or 2014.

The U.S. Center for SafeSport launched an investigation that same month and, according to SafeSport documents, found the “allegations were substantiated.” Touzinsky was sanctioned with a “Formal Warning” last week, yet SafeSport declared Touzinsky “eligible” to participate in USA Volleyball-accredited events, the center citing the time of the suspension since July as sufficient penalty in its decision.

Touzinsky “elected’ to leave the Long Beach State program Wednesday night following an SCNG report revealing the SafeSport investigation and sanction.

The SafeSport investigations also promise to overshadow the NCAA tournament which opens this week and the possibility of a national championship match clash May 4 between two Big West rivals who have already played three five-set matches this month. Long Beach State won a pair of regular-season matches earlier this month before Hawaii knocked off the 49ers in the Big West tournament final Saturday in Honolulu.

Wade was placed on an interim measure-suspension Sept. 5, 2018, pending a SafeSport investigation, according to USA Volleyball and SafeSport records.

According to SafeSport, under an interim measure-suspension the individual under investigation “is prohibited from participating in any capacity in any activity or competition authorized by, organized by, or under the auspices of the United States Olympic Committee, the national governing bodies recognized by the USOC, and/or a Local Affiliated Organization of a national governing body recognized by the USOC pending final resolution of the matter.”…

read … Charlie Wade coaching No. 1 Hawaii men’s volleyball team despite U.S. Center for SafeSport suspension

Star-Adv: University of Hawaii stands by volleyball coach Charlie Wade amid misconduct accusation  (Suddenly all the meeetooo people vanish … again?)