Allegations sideline U.S. coach

With less than a week until the U.S. skeleton team begins its final round of preparations for the Turin Olympics, its coach was placed on administrative leave Saturday amid allegations he sexually harassed at least two female sliders.

The decision whether Tim Nardiello will coach the Olympic team now rests with a three-person grievance committee formed by the U.S. Bobsled and Skeleton Federation. The committee will open its hearing Monday, and could make a recommendation to the federation's board members by week's end.

The timing of the investigation is crucial, because the team leaves for Europe next week and will not return until after the Turin Games. If a pre-Olympics coaching change will be made, it'll likely happen before that trip begins.

"Everyone is entitled to a fair hearing," said Dan Goodwin, the vice president of the federation's board and its legal counsel. "It'll be a thorough process. We're going to gather the facts and the committee will make a recommendation to the review board and the board will act however it deems fit."

The two athletes -- 2002 Olympic gold medalist Tristan Gale and longtime slider Felicia Canfield -- claim Nardiello has made sexual advances and explicit comments toward female racers, Goodwin said.

Nardiello, a two-time luge Olympian and married father of three who has denied the allegations, did not return calls from the AP seeking comment. One of his top athletes, reigning World Cup overall champion Noelle Pikus-Pace, said she was outraged by both the allegations and the suspension.

"These people cannot make the team, so they are trying to destroy this man's life," Pikus-Pace told The Associated Press.

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