Team USA fencers wear pink masks to protest teammate accused of sexual assault: report

• A member of Team USA's fencing squad has been accused of sexual misconduct.
• Three Team USA fencers wore pink face masks in a protest against Alen Hadzic.
• Hadzic is under investigation for the allegations, which he has denied.

Three Team USA fencers donned pink face masks on Friday at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics in an act of protest against a teammate who has been accused of sexual misconduct, according to BuzzFeed News.

Jake Hoyle, Curtis McDowald, and Yeisser Ramirez were photographed wearing pink face masks, while their teammate Alen Hadzic wore a black face mask.

A source told BuzzFeed News the "disdain was clear" between the teammates.

Hadzic, an alternate on the US fencing team, has been accused of sexual assault by three women in incidents that they said happened between 2013 to 2015, the New York Times previously reported.

According to BuzzFeed News, he is under investigation for the allegations, which he has denied.

"Frankly, they're untruths,'' Hadzic recently told USA Today. "They're just frankly not true.''

Hadzic's attorney, Michael Palma, also denied the allegations to the Times. Palma did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.

On May 20, six female fencers urged the International Olympic Committee to reconsider its decision to allow Hadzic onto the team, saying his participation puts other athletes at risk, according to BuzzFeed News.

According to The Times, Hadzic was temporarily suspended on June 2 by the US Center for SafeSport, a nonprofit focused on ending all forms of abuse in the sports community. The Times reported that his chances of competing in Tokyo were near zero after the suspension, but the fencer appealed and his suspension was overturned on June 29. The arbitrator reportedly ruled that his suspension was "inappropriate to the allegations" and said that having him participate would not be "detrimental to the reputation of the United States or his sport."

As a part of Hadzic's inclusion in this year's games, USA Fencing - the national governing body that selects fencers for Team USA - created a "safety plan" to keep him out of the Olympic Village, BuzzFeed News reported. The plan involved Hadzic traveling and lodging separately from his teammates, according to the publication.

USA Fencing, the International Olympic Committee, and SafeSport did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.