Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) Youth Sports Abuse Lawsuits
Overview: Child Sexual Abuse in Youth Sports & the AAU
Hundreds of thousands of families have trusted the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) to provide safe athletic opportunities for their children. Founded in 1888, the AAU today boasts more than 800,000 members and 150,000 volunteers across its 45 AAU Sports Programs and the AAU Olympic Games. The organization publicly claims on its website that “[t]he safety and welfare of all members is paramount.”
However, for many youth athletes, these promises have proven hollow. According to investigative reporting by The Washington Post and ProPublica, the “[AAU] has become a haven for coaches suspected of abuse.” Nigh Goldenberg Raso & Vaughn is actively investigating child sexual abuse claims against the AAU, its member programs, and affiliated coaches nationwide.
Impact and Harms
Child sexual abuse within sports environments causes severe, long-lasting emotional, physical, and psychological trauma. Survivors often suffer from:
- Anxiety, severe depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
- Substance use issues and emotional distress.
- Prolonged isolation and silence due to fear, betrayal of trust by authority figures, and societal stigma.
AAU’s History of Sexual Abuse Allegations & High-Profile Cases
For decades, warning signs and reports of abuse involving high-ranking officials and coaches were repeatedly ignored or mishandled by the AAU:
AAU’s Broken System for Preventing and Responding to Abuse
Investigative findings published by The Washington Post and ProPublica revealed systemic breakdowns in how the AAU handles athlete safety:
- No Mandatory Abuse Prevention Training: While the AAU represented to parents that child abuse prevention training was “mandatory,” the course offered was actually “Double Goal Coach”—a general sports psychology course created by the Positive Coaching Alliance (PCA). PCA leadership confirmed the course was never designed to satisfy federal requirements under the Safe Sport Act and was “not an official training by any stretch.” When questioned, the AAU simply altered its website wording from “mandatory” to “encouraged.”
- Failure to Enforce SafeSport Bans: In 2012, the AAU created a rule stating that individuals rendered ineligible by other sports organizations would be ineligible in the AAU. However, the AAU failed to cross-reference the U.S. Center for SafeSport Centralized Disciplinary Database. When warned that a coach banned by another governing body was joining the AAU, an official explicitly stated that “SafeSport does not apply.”
- Defective Abuse Reporting Hotline: The AAU promised to establish a dedicated hotline for reporting child sexual abuse. In reality, calls to the hotline were redirected to the general AAU office line with no dedicated option to report abuse.
- Opaque Review Process: Reports of abuse were handled by an unlisted 5-member “Board of Review” with no written guidelines on when a coach should be suspended or banned. A 25-year board member admitted, “I think we just decided on our feelings.”
Who Qualifies to File an AAU Abuse Lawsuit?
You or your child may be eligible to file a civil lawsuit if:
- You or your child was sexually abused, exploited, or assaulted by an AAU-affiliated coach, official, chaperone, or volunteer.
- The abuse occurred during participation in AAU sports programs, tournaments, travel teams, or hosted athlete living arrangements.
Understanding the Statute of Limitations
The legal deadline (statute of limitations) to file a lawsuit depends on state law. Many states have enacted special legislation expanding, pausing, or eliminating the time limits for bringing child sexual abuse claims. Because state laws vary significantly, speaking with an experienced attorney is vital to determining your eligibility.
What Can I Expect If I Pursue a Claim?
- Confidential & Private Case Evaluation: Your consultation is held in complete confidence, allowing our team to evaluate the facts and identify institutional failures.
- Holding Institutional Defendants Accountable: We pursue civil actions against organizations based on negligent hiring, negligent supervision, negligent retention, and failure to warn.
- Contingency Fee Structure: We operate on a contingency fee basis—there are no upfront costs, and you pay nothing unless compensation is recovered on your behalf.
Why Choose NGRV?
Nigh Goldenberg Raso & Vaughn, PLLC is a national plaintiffs’ law firm with over 50 years of combined experience representing individuals harmed by powerful corporate and institutional defendants.
- Trauma-Informed Practice: Our dedicated attorneys specialize in litigating complex sexual abuse and misconduct cases against institutions.
- Leadership & Experience: Founding partner Marlene Goldenberg was court-appointed by a federal judge to lead the Plaintiffs’ Steering Committee in the Uber Sexual Assault Litigation.
- Dedicated Legal Team: Attorneys Marlene Goldenberg, Sam Hoefs, and Zoe Anderson-Miller handle complex sexual abuse litigation daily and work compassionately with survivors and families to seek justice.
