A U.S. Olympic fencer repeatedly accused of sexual misconduct is pushing to lift restrictions on his travel and housing at the Games in Tokyo.
Alen Hadzic, 29, is being required to stay at a hotel away from the Olympic Village and was prohibited from flying with the U.S. team to Japan, among other measures. The United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee and USA Fencing said the restrictions were for safety reasons, according to USA Today.
Attorneys for Hadzic said the limitations were “arbitrary and unnecessary,” according to court documents cited by the paper. He has asked for the restrictions to be lifted before the Opening Ceremony on Friday.
The U.S. Center for SafeSport suspended Hadzic in June following allegations of misconduct from multiple women between 2013 and 2019. An arbitrator overturned the suspension, allowing Hadzic to compete at the Summer Games. He denied the allegations to USA Today.
One of the women said Hadzic groped her and another accused him of sexual misconduct when they were teammates on Columbia’s fencing team, Yahoo reported. Hadzic was suspended for a year amid a Title IX probe.
Hadzic, who won gold in Division I of the North American Cup in May, is the men’s epee fencing alternate and will participate in the Games if need be. The competition begins Sunday.
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