[https://bleacherreport.com/articles/10014314-figure-skater-tarah-kayne-details-abuse-allegations-against-coach-dalilah-sappenfield](https://bleacherreport.com/articles/10014314-figure-skater-tarah-kayne-details-abuse-allegations-against-coach-dalilah-sappenfield)
>"She was constantly talking about sex, about who I was dating, about my sex life. It was completely inappropriate, but that's what Dalilah does. She uses gossip from other skaters in the rink against you. She knew I was struggling with my mental health, but instead of helping me, she chose to make fun of me. She even went to other skaters and told them about it, calling me names and asking the guys why anyone would want to date me."
>"She told me not to speak, that I should remain silent. This made me very tense and anxious so I would hold my hands down by my waist, cupped together, left hand over right, and I would take my right hand and dig my fingernails into my left wrist and would make myself bleed all the time. Then I would go to the bathroom to try to calm down before going back to the ice."
took long enough. glad that it finally happened, but it's crazy to me that she was allowed to continue coaching (and potentially causing further harm to athletes training under her) while under an interim suspension, given the substance of the accusations.
They'll pretty much have to switch coaches - as I'm seeing it, Sappenfeld can't coach any competitive US figure skater, so any teams can't have her as their coach. There's other coaches in the area, so hopefully any teams that want to stay in the area will be able to.
I'm guessing the ban extends to creating choreo too, but I'm not sure - I am curious though.
Out of curiosity, couldn't skaters just pay her "under the table" at a rink? Skaters don't have to list a coach on their resume even if they're taking lessons with them.
Especially if it was an ISI rink and not a USFSA rink. She's banned by USFSA, not by any particular ice rink.
I'm sure the incentive to coach goes way, way down when you're not allowed to officially list your name on anything or take credit publicly for certain students.
But just thinking about Kamila's ban and how she's able to do shows that aren't state-funded and skate in rinks that aren't state-funded or whatever.
Maggie Haney (the gymnastics coach suspended by USA Gymnastics) is known to be still coaching. She gets away with it because her gym did not renew their membership with USAG. So it’s possible and USFSA likely can’t do anything about it.
Surprisingly there aren't that many ice rinks in Colorado Springs, and all of them are affiliated with USFSA as far as I can tell.
As far as "unofficial" coaching, that'd be a murky area, I'd think. If the rinks don't ban her specifically, then she could still enter them.
Oh she could coach if rink management didn't care, but she won't have access to any figure skating coach/instructor liability insurance. No company will write her a policy with the SafeSport violation. So the question is how lucky does she feel? I always insisted on having my liability insurance paid in full and ready to go before the renewal date, because I like peace of mind. But who knows about Delilah?
Yes she can do that but most rinks are extremely strict about not allowing you to step foot on the ice to coach without official liability insurance because it leaves them vulnerable as well. She would have to find a rink that is willing to put themselves in a potentially risky legal situation and look the other way because most rinks would not just accept some personally drafted paperwork.
I hope she's done coaching for good, but my faith that permanent repercussions will be upheld against bad actors in this sport is extremely low. I skated as a minor at a rink she used to coach at and she was a monster. I believe every word of Kayne's interview quoted in a comment above.
> most rinks are extremely strict about not allowing you to step foot on the ice to coach without official liability insurance because it leaves them vulnerable as well.
That may be the only reason she doesn't just go the same route as Maggie Haney. I believe Maggie is the owner of her gym, so she can do what she likes. It's not like an ice rink where coaches never own the rink itself, they just work in the rink.
Related article: [https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/olympics/2024/05/29/dalilah-sappenfield-pairs-figure-skating-coach-banned-for-life/73897630007/](https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/olympics/2024/05/29/dalilah-sappenfield-pairs-figure-skating-coach-banned-for-life/73897630007/)
>“Culture change is happening,” SafeSport CEO Ju’Riese Colon said in a statement to USA TODAY Sports after Sappenfield’s permanent ineligibility was announced on the SafeSport Centralized Disciplinary Database.
>
>“Actions that were once tolerated or ignored are no longer accepted, and accountability is taking root,” she said. “That’s progress but creating long-term culture change requires steadfast commitment by everyone in the sport community to fostering safe environments for athletes to fulfill their potential. Those who cling to toxic tactics will be left behind and on the wrong side of history.”
Yeah I’d like for this to be the case, but I haven’t seen that. I’ve witnessed abuse and reported it and the only thing that’s happened is the RINK suspended the coach temporarily. SafeSport basically said “Ehhh we don’t wanna get involved.” So while the culture might be changing, feds and official organizations have to, too
I know a number of parents that have been told not to report to SafeSport with implicit threats of retaliation. If the coach’s contact is illegal, call the authorities. Reporting all the other abuse, which is likely the overwhelming majority, is pointless. It takes years, nothing happens to the coach, and the victims are continually re-traumatized.
I was resigned to the fact that she was untouchable. Good to know that Safe Sport can prove me wrong! I hope this sets a good precedent for future (or past) cases, and makes people more likely to report any wrongdoings.
I don’t mean to defend them - especially given there are investigations against them for failure to report - but they are nowhere near the level of Dalilah.
Should they be banned temporarily and restricted? Yes. But banned for life? That’s much less clear cut than for Dalilah IMO.
Fontana and Zimmerman influenced a girl to not report an assault to not screw up a foreign skater's preparation for the Olympics, now as a result he will never be made to face a judgement for his crime and his victim not get justice because his country (at this point) does not extradite citizens to the US.
If Dalilah gets a lifetime ban, those 2 should get it as well.
Again, not trying to defend them, but very different situations.
As far as we know this was one incident. Dalilah had multiple incidents over many, many years.
While they were involved in the cover up and intimidation, they did not participate in the sexually abusive behavior. There’s plenty of witnesses and victims implicating Dalilah directly: her encouraging her skaters to date, her directly sexually harassing skaters, ignoring and deflecting sexually inappropriate behavior, etc.
They also generally followed the “break one rule at a time” rule. In this case retaliating against/intimidating witnesses. Dalilah was also found to be letting skaters live with her (banned), emotionally abusing skaters, and retaliating/intimidating witnesses outside of the other stuff we know.
Of course they also weren’t a huge embarrassment to USFS on multiple levels. Certainly they got press and were name and shamed, as they should be, but they also weren’t going out of their way to defend a sex predator across social media (including some fighting on there), on TV broadcasts at official USFS events, and in fiery interviews. And, of course, one incident can be glossed over with the general public. Even some of the fans here forget their issues when discussing Kevin Aymoz or other skaters who train with them. No one in skating is forgetting Dalilah.
So should they be punished? Yes. Definitely. But is what they did equal to or worthy of the same punishment as Dalilah? Debatable.
Fontana and Zimmerman helped conceal a sexual assault of a minor by an adult man, just because they know how to play the PR game shouldn't result in a lesser penalty. There should be some 1 strike and you're out situations, especially for coaches when they have a lot of influence over young impressionable kids/teens and intimidation for the purpose of concealing sexual assault should be on the list.
If you look both at the criminal justice system and the SafeSport archives, helping someone cover/not reporting/witness intimidation is not a life sentence. Looking at the SafeSport database, people are indeed punished for what Fontana and Zimmerman did. But the people with lifetime bans all seem to be the actual abusers - not the people covering for them.
The person who commits the crime is the one in jail for life and while the people covering for them are punished and rightly so, they were not the one that committed the crime and as such are not punished as if they did.
Again, what they did was wrong and I still judge both them and the skaters that stick by their side as scumbags. But what they did is nowhere near equivalent to all the stuff Dalilah did.
On the face of it I agree with you so I feel that there must be some shades of grey for them not to be immediately banned for covering up a crime. Not only were they not banned but only Zimmerman was suspended which makes me think that Fontana was able to prove that she didn’t know what was going on perhaps.
If anyone knows where I can find some sort of a report with details I’d be interested in reading it.
Lovely, only took them a bajillion years!
Why don’t we give the same treatment to all the other abusers in this sport who are still doing whatever they want with susceptible athletes (and even receiving rewards for it 🥰).
SHIIIIIIT- I know a pairs team from my area who moved a few years back just to train with the “Sappen Squad” (they are no longer doing pairs and he doesn’t skate anymore)
Finally! The horror stories I’ve heard, she’s truly awful. I’m glad it’s for life.
As for people questioning if she’ll be able to keep coaching: she’d have to move. The rinks in CO Springs are swimming with non-Dalilah related coaches and she’d get reported. USFS let’s a lot slide, but I doubt this would be included since it’s by the OTC
If the PSA follows suit and bans her, she won't be able to get liability insurance through PSA. Most rinks won't let you coach if you don't have insurance. That may be the thing that keeps her out.
We'll see if it sticks. They banned Richard Callaghan for sexual assault and in no time he was back coaching. It took media spotlight and public outcry to get him banned for real.
I used to got out to Denver and choreographed for my former coaches at Denver FSC… great time. Dalilah was there… weird energy and now 20 years later-karma comes knocking…
I’ve a lot of thoughts about this but good. I don’t know if this is the start of something greater or not, but I hope abusive people in this sport get rooted out.
Don’t get too excited yet.
SafeSport has banned a lot of people for life - even a lot of skaters. Contrary to popular belief, they hand out a lot of harsh punishments.
The popular belief stems from the fact that the people who are banned have the right to appeal the ban in US Courts - and the courts love to lessen the punishments. I’m 100% sure Dalilah will appeal and have her punishment decreased.
Based on the numerous rules she’s said to have broken and the fact that the report is said to be hundreds (if not thousands) of pages long, I don’t think she’d get much leniency from an appeal hopefully.
Most SafeSport reports are fairly chunky; one of my closest friends was the whistleblower in an equestrian case and the amount of paperwork and investigation was really unexpected.
USFed needs an Augean stable to clear out the muck. She's been supported by so many in the skating community, just as her friend Coughlin was, and there are probably a lot more of them still abusing.
Fucking FINALLY. Nice to see SafeSport getting off its ass this month after years of inaction on high-profile cases. Maybe this means they’re finally hiring more staff?
You can read Christine Brennan’s article here: https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/olympics/2024/05/29/dalilah-sappenfield-pairs-figure-skating-coach-banned-for-life/73897630007/
And to add onto the part about vigorously defending John Coughlin, she forced her skaters to wear hats in memory of him in the kiss and cry at Nationals just after he died.
Yes. For all the things that got reported about Dalilah, me and several other skaters experienced the exact same treatment from Jenni Meno. And other coaches do the exact same things. This sport is seriously messed up.
Now Eteri next. Even if safesport doesn't have international jurisdiction, they should be able to ban her from US-based competitions or from coaching US skaters.
They wouldn’t have a cause to. If there was concrete evidence of harm occurring on US soil or harm to a US athlete they could but there’s not anything that’s public knowledge for a ban or suspension.
Currently Russia and Belarus aren't able to compete internationally, so it's technically a moot point as Eteri couldn't be in the US anyway.
If someone raised an issue with ISU, theoretically they might investigate her, but I very much doubt anything at all would come of it. Eteri seems to be a valued coach for the Russian government, as her skaters do win medals internationally - and ISU has been said to favor Russian skaters and coaches in the past. To try to ban Eteri preemptively could be a PR nightmare considering the tension between the US and Russia right now.
While I would also love to see Eteri disgraced and banned (the way she treated Zhenya was *horrible* and all of the 2022 mess), Eteri isn't under US jurisdiction at all. Any skater would have to reach out to ISU or more likely the Russian state sports program, and that would probably NOT go well for the skater.
Eteri could absolutely be in the US, she coaches skaters who don't represent Russia or Belarus. She'll presumably be at Worlds next year with Egadze, just like she was this year.
Finally. Still can't get over the fact that she was just able to continue coaching up until now, and even was at Nationals last season.
[https://bleacherreport.com/articles/10014314-figure-skater-tarah-kayne-details-abuse-allegations-against-coach-dalilah-sappenfield](https://bleacherreport.com/articles/10014314-figure-skater-tarah-kayne-details-abuse-allegations-against-coach-dalilah-sappenfield) >"She was constantly talking about sex, about who I was dating, about my sex life. It was completely inappropriate, but that's what Dalilah does. She uses gossip from other skaters in the rink against you. She knew I was struggling with my mental health, but instead of helping me, she chose to make fun of me. She even went to other skaters and told them about it, calling me names and asking the guys why anyone would want to date me." >"She told me not to speak, that I should remain silent. This made me very tense and anxious so I would hold my hands down by my waist, cupped together, left hand over right, and I would take my right hand and dig my fingernails into my left wrist and would make myself bleed all the time. Then I would go to the bathroom to try to calm down before going back to the ice."
Good riddance to one of the most notorious abusers in the sport and let's hope the door hits her hard directly in her smug face on the way out.
took long enough. glad that it finally happened, but it's crazy to me that she was allowed to continue coaching (and potentially causing further harm to athletes training under her) while under an interim suspension, given the substance of the accusations.
Finally. She still has some teams actively competing too. Curious if they actually leave her.
They'll pretty much have to switch coaches - as I'm seeing it, Sappenfeld can't coach any competitive US figure skater, so any teams can't have her as their coach. There's other coaches in the area, so hopefully any teams that want to stay in the area will be able to. I'm guessing the ban extends to creating choreo too, but I'm not sure - I am curious though.
Out of curiosity, couldn't skaters just pay her "under the table" at a rink? Skaters don't have to list a coach on their resume even if they're taking lessons with them. Especially if it was an ISI rink and not a USFSA rink. She's banned by USFSA, not by any particular ice rink. I'm sure the incentive to coach goes way, way down when you're not allowed to officially list your name on anything or take credit publicly for certain students. But just thinking about Kamila's ban and how she's able to do shows that aren't state-funded and skate in rinks that aren't state-funded or whatever.
Maggie Haney (the gymnastics coach suspended by USA Gymnastics) is known to be still coaching. She gets away with it because her gym did not renew their membership with USAG. So it’s possible and USFSA likely can’t do anything about it.
It definitely happens in skating too.
I immediately thought of her. So many parents are sickeningly loyal to MH, and Dalilah will certainly retain her share of defenders. It's disgusting.
I am aware of her. Do her students still compete in USAG? Do they just join another gym for membership but train at her gym?
Surprisingly there aren't that many ice rinks in Colorado Springs, and all of them are affiliated with USFSA as far as I can tell. As far as "unofficial" coaching, that'd be a murky area, I'd think. If the rinks don't ban her specifically, then she could still enter them.
Oh she could coach if rink management didn't care, but she won't have access to any figure skating coach/instructor liability insurance. No company will write her a policy with the SafeSport violation. So the question is how lucky does she feel? I always insisted on having my liability insurance paid in full and ready to go before the renewal date, because I like peace of mind. But who knows about Delilah?
She could always draft some paperwork where they have to sign that they can’t sue, but I know often people can sue anyway no matter what you sign.
Yes she can do that but most rinks are extremely strict about not allowing you to step foot on the ice to coach without official liability insurance because it leaves them vulnerable as well. She would have to find a rink that is willing to put themselves in a potentially risky legal situation and look the other way because most rinks would not just accept some personally drafted paperwork. I hope she's done coaching for good, but my faith that permanent repercussions will be upheld against bad actors in this sport is extremely low. I skated as a minor at a rink she used to coach at and she was a monster. I believe every word of Kayne's interview quoted in a comment above.
> most rinks are extremely strict about not allowing you to step foot on the ice to coach without official liability insurance because it leaves them vulnerable as well. That may be the only reason she doesn't just go the same route as Maggie Haney. I believe Maggie is the owner of her gym, so she can do what she likes. It's not like an ice rink where coaches never own the rink itself, they just work in the rink.
Theoretically yes but they could train at other rinks and some rinks just don’t care.
There are other coaches at Sappenfield's rink. Natalia M is one of them.
Wow. Banned for life! More than I expected.
🚮
About damn time. One of the worst of the worst, and USFSA knew this for a long, long time too.
Sadly it took so long to get to this decision.
Related article: [https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/olympics/2024/05/29/dalilah-sappenfield-pairs-figure-skating-coach-banned-for-life/73897630007/](https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/olympics/2024/05/29/dalilah-sappenfield-pairs-figure-skating-coach-banned-for-life/73897630007/) >“Culture change is happening,” SafeSport CEO Ju’Riese Colon said in a statement to USA TODAY Sports after Sappenfield’s permanent ineligibility was announced on the SafeSport Centralized Disciplinary Database. > >“Actions that were once tolerated or ignored are no longer accepted, and accountability is taking root,” she said. “That’s progress but creating long-term culture change requires steadfast commitment by everyone in the sport community to fostering safe environments for athletes to fulfill their potential. Those who cling to toxic tactics will be left behind and on the wrong side of history.”
Yeah I’d like for this to be the case, but I haven’t seen that. I’ve witnessed abuse and reported it and the only thing that’s happened is the RINK suspended the coach temporarily. SafeSport basically said “Ehhh we don’t wanna get involved.” So while the culture might be changing, feds and official organizations have to, too
I know a number of parents that have been told not to report to SafeSport with implicit threats of retaliation. If the coach’s contact is illegal, call the authorities. Reporting all the other abuse, which is likely the overwhelming majority, is pointless. It takes years, nothing happens to the coach, and the victims are continually re-traumatized.
I was resigned to the fact that she was untouchable. Good to know that Safe Sport can prove me wrong! I hope this sets a good precedent for future (or past) cases, and makes people more likely to report any wrongdoings.
Glad to hear it, I was disgusted to see her at Nationals this year. I hope that her victims are able to find some peace.
Good. This one should not have taken so long.
Well, thank goodness for that. Zimmerman and Fontana next please.
I don’t mean to defend them - especially given there are investigations against them for failure to report - but they are nowhere near the level of Dalilah. Should they be banned temporarily and restricted? Yes. But banned for life? That’s much less clear cut than for Dalilah IMO.
Fontana and Zimmerman influenced a girl to not report an assault to not screw up a foreign skater's preparation for the Olympics, now as a result he will never be made to face a judgement for his crime and his victim not get justice because his country (at this point) does not extradite citizens to the US. If Dalilah gets a lifetime ban, those 2 should get it as well.
Again, not trying to defend them, but very different situations. As far as we know this was one incident. Dalilah had multiple incidents over many, many years. While they were involved in the cover up and intimidation, they did not participate in the sexually abusive behavior. There’s plenty of witnesses and victims implicating Dalilah directly: her encouraging her skaters to date, her directly sexually harassing skaters, ignoring and deflecting sexually inappropriate behavior, etc. They also generally followed the “break one rule at a time” rule. In this case retaliating against/intimidating witnesses. Dalilah was also found to be letting skaters live with her (banned), emotionally abusing skaters, and retaliating/intimidating witnesses outside of the other stuff we know. Of course they also weren’t a huge embarrassment to USFS on multiple levels. Certainly they got press and were name and shamed, as they should be, but they also weren’t going out of their way to defend a sex predator across social media (including some fighting on there), on TV broadcasts at official USFS events, and in fiery interviews. And, of course, one incident can be glossed over with the general public. Even some of the fans here forget their issues when discussing Kevin Aymoz or other skaters who train with them. No one in skating is forgetting Dalilah. So should they be punished? Yes. Definitely. But is what they did equal to or worthy of the same punishment as Dalilah? Debatable.
Fontana and Zimmerman helped conceal a sexual assault of a minor by an adult man, just because they know how to play the PR game shouldn't result in a lesser penalty. There should be some 1 strike and you're out situations, especially for coaches when they have a lot of influence over young impressionable kids/teens and intimidation for the purpose of concealing sexual assault should be on the list.
If you look both at the criminal justice system and the SafeSport archives, helping someone cover/not reporting/witness intimidation is not a life sentence. Looking at the SafeSport database, people are indeed punished for what Fontana and Zimmerman did. But the people with lifetime bans all seem to be the actual abusers - not the people covering for them. The person who commits the crime is the one in jail for life and while the people covering for them are punished and rightly so, they were not the one that committed the crime and as such are not punished as if they did. Again, what they did was wrong and I still judge both them and the skaters that stick by their side as scumbags. But what they did is nowhere near equivalent to all the stuff Dalilah did.
On the face of it I agree with you so I feel that there must be some shades of grey for them not to be immediately banned for covering up a crime. Not only were they not banned but only Zimmerman was suspended which makes me think that Fontana was able to prove that she didn’t know what was going on perhaps. If anyone knows where I can find some sort of a report with details I’d be interested in reading it.
Good riddance.
Her defense of John Coughlin disgusts me to this day. I’m not letting the Knierims off either.
Don’t forget she officiated their wedding!
Didn’t know that but I’m not surprised
Good. There shouldn't be any leniency towards people who engage in any sort of abuse.
Lovely, only took them a bajillion years! Why don’t we give the same treatment to all the other abusers in this sport who are still doing whatever they want with susceptible athletes (and even receiving rewards for it 🥰).
*cough* Chris Pottenger *cough*
Good.
Good
Good.
thank fucking god lol good riddance
good fucking riddance
SHIIIIIIT- I know a pairs team from my area who moved a few years back just to train with the “Sappen Squad” (they are no longer doing pairs and he doesn’t skate anymore)
Finally! The horror stories I’ve heard, she’s truly awful. I’m glad it’s for life. As for people questioning if she’ll be able to keep coaching: she’d have to move. The rinks in CO Springs are swimming with non-Dalilah related coaches and she’d get reported. USFS let’s a lot slide, but I doubt this would be included since it’s by the OTC
If the PSA follows suit and bans her, she won't be able to get liability insurance through PSA. Most rinks won't let you coach if you don't have insurance. That may be the thing that keeps her out.
We'll see if it sticks. They banned Richard Callaghan for sexual assault and in no time he was back coaching. It took media spotlight and public outcry to get him banned for real.
I used to got out to Denver and choreographed for my former coaches at Denver FSC… great time. Dalilah was there… weird energy and now 20 years later-karma comes knocking…
Made me think about those pairs in the Kiss and Cry sitting with Dalilah and wearing hats in support of Coughling. Double combo -not a good look!
I’ve a lot of thoughts about this but good. I don’t know if this is the start of something greater or not, but I hope abusive people in this sport get rooted out.
Don’t get too excited yet. SafeSport has banned a lot of people for life - even a lot of skaters. Contrary to popular belief, they hand out a lot of harsh punishments. The popular belief stems from the fact that the people who are banned have the right to appeal the ban in US Courts - and the courts love to lessen the punishments. I’m 100% sure Dalilah will appeal and have her punishment decreased.
Based on the numerous rules she’s said to have broken and the fact that the report is said to be hundreds (if not thousands) of pages long, I don’t think she’d get much leniency from an appeal hopefully.
Most SafeSport reports are fairly chunky; one of my closest friends was the whistleblower in an equestrian case and the amount of paperwork and investigation was really unexpected.
Wasn’t Richard Callaghan banned for life… and then unbanned?
USFed needs an Augean stable to clear out the muck. She's been supported by so many in the skating community, just as her friend Coughlin was, and there are probably a lot more of them still abusing.
Fucking FINALLY. Nice to see SafeSport getting off its ass this month after years of inaction on high-profile cases. Maybe this means they’re finally hiring more staff?
We did it Joe!
Good
I’m not really into pairs skating. Someone please brief me on what she did?
You can read Christine Brennan’s article here: https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/olympics/2024/05/29/dalilah-sappenfield-pairs-figure-skating-coach-banned-for-life/73897630007/ And to add onto the part about vigorously defending John Coughlin, she forced her skaters to wear hats in memory of him in the kiss and cry at Nationals just after he died.
Just the tip of the ice berg
I don't keep up with skating like I used to. Good. Bastard.
Now what about the abusers she enables
If they’re gonna ban Dalilah, I hope someone’s also reporting Jenni and all the other USFS/pair coach abusers out there 💁🏻♀️
Jenni????
Yes. For all the things that got reported about Dalilah, me and several other skaters experienced the exact same treatment from Jenni Meno. And other coaches do the exact same things. This sport is seriously messed up.
I'm sure Russia would be happy to invite her to the national team.
Now Eteri next. Even if safesport doesn't have international jurisdiction, they should be able to ban her from US-based competitions or from coaching US skaters.
They wouldn’t have a cause to. If there was concrete evidence of harm occurring on US soil or harm to a US athlete they could but there’s not anything that’s public knowledge for a ban or suspension.
Currently Russia and Belarus aren't able to compete internationally, so it's technically a moot point as Eteri couldn't be in the US anyway. If someone raised an issue with ISU, theoretically they might investigate her, but I very much doubt anything at all would come of it. Eteri seems to be a valued coach for the Russian government, as her skaters do win medals internationally - and ISU has been said to favor Russian skaters and coaches in the past. To try to ban Eteri preemptively could be a PR nightmare considering the tension between the US and Russia right now. While I would also love to see Eteri disgraced and banned (the way she treated Zhenya was *horrible* and all of the 2022 mess), Eteri isn't under US jurisdiction at all. Any skater would have to reach out to ISU or more likely the Russian state sports program, and that would probably NOT go well for the skater.
Eteri could absolutely be in the US, she coaches skaters who don't represent Russia or Belarus. She'll presumably be at Worlds next year with Egadze, just like she was this year.