Yesterday we saw preliminary reports that Julie Lynn Kindstrand may have been sexually assaulted as a minor by Neal Hendrix, but the source was abstracted enough that we left it until today to post. These are serious accusations, and we didn’t want to post something half-baked. Since then it has started appearing on ESPN and the Wall Street Journal. Neal Hendrix denies the allegations. Julie Kindstrand has provided a six page document to the Costa Mesa police, as well as the International Olympic Committee and the U.S. Olympic Committee. Although suspended, Neal Hendrix is still listed (at the time of this publication) as an Athlete Representative and Executive Committee member on the USA Skateboarding web site.
Update: Video statement from Julie.
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Why didn’t we post on this immediately?
The original source was an Instagram account of Paradox Grip. Julie Kindstrand has several Internet and social media presences, none of which had any notice. She appears to have a a couple Instagram accounts. It’s impossible to tell which, if any is actually hers. One of those accounts reposted the Paradox Grip post, which itself was a poorly cropped screen grab of an unknown and incomplete document. The web site for Paradox Grip didn’t list Julie as a team member, like the Instagram post did. The was not an attempt to discredit the original post, rather it was a decision to wait until there was something more concrete to point to as a source. Serious allegations like this required more than a lone, 3rd party, hastily made Instagram post.
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