Taekwondo athlete Mandy Meloon (L) poses with her grandfather Heinz Dieter Mrugalla and mother Martina Flores shortly after winning the bronze medal in the 2005 World Championships, in Zweibrueken, Germany and provided April 10, 2018. Courtesy of Mandy Meloon/Handout via REUTERS
(Reuters) - It has taken a decade, but Mandy Meloon, a two-time taekwondo world champion thrown off the U.S. national team in 2007 after accusing her coach of molesting her at age 16, has won a measure of vindication.
When she first complained about being sexually abused by Jean Lopez, then the team's head coach, USA Taekwondo officials said the claims were false slurs that damaged morale, and Meloon was soon suspended from the team. Lopez and his siblings were the sport's most prominent family, bringing home Olympic gold medals.
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