Should Andy Gabel be Removed from the Speedskating Hall of Fame?

Andy Gabel  is a silver medal winner after skating the fastest leg of the 5000 meter Short Track in the 1994 Lillehammer Games.  He was the longest tenured member of the National Short Track Team from 1979 to 1998  and a member of  the National Long Track Team from 1981 to 1989. He received  75 international medals  and also competed in 12 World Championships.  He served as a member of the ISU Short Track World Cup Management Commission from 1998 to 2002, and as Chairman of the ISU Short Track Technical Committee. As a result of his successful career,  in 2003  he was elected to the Speedskating Hall of Fame

A petition has now been filed by 66 speedskaters asking that he receive a lifetime ban from US Speedskating and be removed from the United States Speedskating Hall of Fame, due to an admitted “inappropriate relationship” with his minor teammates.
Last year on NPR , Bridie Farrell accused Andy Gabel of molesting her when she was just 15 years old and Gabel was 33.  Gabel resigned within days of the interview  from his positions within the United States Speedskating Hall of Fame and the International Skating Union, and admitted to “inappropriate” relationships” with young female athletes.  Nikki Meyer, later said that she was forced to have sex when she was 15 years old.

It is clear that in his position on teams,  committees ,  and as a hall of famer, he was put in positions where he had access to young skaters who could be used as grooming for later assaults.  The requested  lifetime ban from the sport and removal from the Hall of Fame is being requested to remove him from these places of power.
If interested, you can sign the petition and help stop child abuse.

Abuse of children and the continued silence by the offenders needs to be prevented. If you suffered, saw, or suspected such events, it is important to know that there is help out there.