Ivan Lee

Lee was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York, living in East Flatbush. He later lived in Cambria Heights, Queens, and Jamaica, Queens, in New York City.{{Cite web|url=https://www.nydailynews.com/2002/03/19/school-champ-wont-be-foiled/|title=School Champ Won't Be Foiled|first1=Candace|last1=Rondeaux|work=New York Daily News|date=March 19, 2002}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2001/05/17/sports/fencing-around-the-world-with-saber-in-hand.html|title=Fencing; Around the World With Saber in Hand|first=Lena|last=Williams|date=May 17, 2001|work=The New York Times}}{{Cite web|url=https://qns.com/2004/08/jamaica-resident-is-athens-bound/|title=Jamaica Resident Is Athens-Bound|date=August 12, 2004|website=QNS News}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.rootquarterly.com/root-quarterly/2020/9/30/culture-files-officer-of-the-peace-an-olympic-fencer-turned-police-officer-makes-a-plea-for-understanding|title=Culture Files // Officer of the Peace: An Olympic fencer turned police officer makes a plea for understanding|date=September 30, 2020|website=Root Quarterly|author=Heather Shayne Blakeslee}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.usafencing.org/news_article/show/355296-african-american-fencers-aim-to-make-history-in-rio|title=African-American Fencers Aim to Make History in Rio|first=Nicole|last=Jomantas|date=February 28, 2014|website=USA Fencing}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.usafencing.org/news_article/show/1275665-2023-usa-fencing-election-results-lee-lehfeldt-salem-win-at-large-seats-on-board-of-directors|title=2023 USA Fencing Election Results: Lee, Lehfeldt, Salem Win At-Large Seats on Board of Directors|first=Bryan|last=Wendell|date=June 6, 2023|website=USA Fencing}} He began fencing in 1994 at the Peter Westbrook Foundation (PWF) in New York City, which he continued to represent throughout his competitive career along with the Fencers Club in Manhattan.{{Cite web|url=https://www.democratandchronicle.com/story/news/local/victor/2011/03/17/have-sabre-will-travel/45707731007/|title=Have sabre, will travel|author=Ron Wilson|website=Democrat and Chronicle|date=March 17, 2011}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/en-garde-06-10-2003/|title=En Garde|date=October 6, 2003|website=CBS News|author=Rebecca Leung }}{{Cite web|url=https://redstormsports.com/news/2004/4/20/Three_Former_St_John_s_Fencers_Selected_to_U_S_Olympic_Team|title=Three Former St. John's Fencers Selected to U.S. Olympic Team|website=St. John's University Athletics|date=March 31, 2004}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.ebony.com/olympics-rio-black-fencers/|title=Blades of Glory: Meet Our Black Olympian Fencers|work=Ebony|first=Christopher|last=Harris|date=August 12, 2016}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.liuathletics.com/sports/womens-fencing/roster/coaches/ivan-lee/36|title=Ivan Lee - Head Coach - Women's Fencing Coaches|website=Long Island University}} Lee graduated from Brooklyn Technical High School in Brooklyn, in 1999.{{Cite web|url=https://www.bths.edu/apps3/news/show_news.jsp?REC_ID=529450&id=3|title=Boy's Fencing Invitational Tournament|website=Brooklyn Technical High School}}{{Cite web|url=https://issuu.com/brooklyntech/docs/techtimes_2019|title=Class Notes|work=Tech Times|date= 2019 |page=23|author=Michael Edwards}}

He received a full athletic scholarship to St. John's University in Queens, New York. There, Lee won the NCAA individual sabre title in 2001 and 2002, and along with fellow future Olympian and longtime clubmate, friend, and sabre fencer Keeth Smart, helped lead the school to an NCAA national championship in 2001.{{Cite web|url=https://ncaa.escrimeresults.com/ncaa2001.html|title=2001 NCAA Championships Results|website=ncaa.escrimeresults.com}}{{Cite web|url=https://ncaa.escrimeresults.com/ncaa2002.html|title=2002 NCAA Championships Results|website=ncaa.escrimeresults.com}}

Lee was a member of the 2001 U.S. Junior World Sabre team. He anchored the team to its first men's world title at the 2001 Junior World Championships in Gdańsk, Poland, and also became the first man of African American descent to win a world fencing championship.{{Cite web|url=https://www.usafencing.org/news_article/show/273545-ivan-lee-shares-fencing-choices-with-the-next-generation|title=Ivan Lee Shares Fencing, Choices with the Next Generation|first=Nicole|last=Jomantas|date=July 26, 2013|website=USA Fencing}} He was awarded the USOC's Male Athlete of the Year Award for Fencing in 2001.{{Cite web|url=https://www.usafencing.org/news_article/show/1283845-olympian-ivan-lee-elected-as-chair-of-usa-fencing-board-of-directors|title=Olympian Ivan Lee Elected as Chair of USA Fencing Board of Directors|first=Bryan|last=Wendell|date=September 8, 2023|website=USA Fencing}} He went on to win individual and team gold medals at the 2003 Pan American Games in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.Jeff Bukantz (Fall 2003). [https://www.fencingarchive.com/wp-content/uploads/magazines/af/AF%20Vol%2053%20Num%203%20-%202003-Fall.pdf "High Expectations, Higher Returns; at Pan Am Games,"] American Fencing. He graduated from St. John's in January 2004 with a bachelor's degree in Journalism.

File:PWFATHENS.jpg, Keeth Smart, Erinn Smart, Ivan Lee, and Kamara James (l-r)]]

Lee was a member of the 2004 U.S. Olympic Team in Athens, Greece.{{Cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2004/07/08/sports/olympics-sibling-rivalry-foils-the-obstacles.html|title=OLYMPICS; Sibling Rivalry Foils the Obstacles|first=Liz|last=Robbins|date=July 8, 2004|work=The New York Times}}{{Cite web|url=https://issuu.com/usafencing/docs/fall2022_amfenc_full_digital|title=Rules & Referees|work=American Fencing|page=26|author=Jeff Bukantz|date=September 30, 2022}} He placed 12th in the individual competition and 4th in the team competition.[https://olympics.com/en/athletes/ivan-lee "Ivan Lee,"] Olympics.com. To be successful in fencing, which he likened to physical chess, he said it was most important to be intelligent and "brutally aggressive."

Image:IvanKeeth.jpg

After failing to qualify for the 2008 Olympic Team, Lee retired in 2008. Prior to his retirement, in 2008 he won his fifth U.S. Senior Championship, a title he had also won in 2001, 2003, 2005, and 2006, but his poor results in international tournaments kept him from making the US Olympic Team.{{Cite web|url=https://bleacherreport.com/articles/39897-us-mens-sabre-ready-for-2008-olympics-without-lee|title=US Men's Sabre Ready For 2008 Olympics, Without Lee|date=July 22, 2008|first=T. P.|last=Grant|website=Bleacher Report}}{{Cite web|url=https://cdn1.sportngin.com/attachments/document/9cfb-2757145/Div_I_Ind_National_Medalists_By_Event_2023.pdf|title="U.S. Fencing Division I Individual National Medalists by Event"}} Lee was inducted into the US Fencing Association Hall of Fame in 2014.{{cite web|url=https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/athletes/le/ivan-lee-1.html |title=Ivan Lee Olympic Results |accessdate=2012-06-10 |work=sports-reference.com |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20121112210714/http://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/athletes/le/ivan-lee-1.html |archivedate=2012-11-12 }}{{Cite web|url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/olympics/2023/12/23/usa-fencing-suspends-board-chair-ivan-lee-resignation-safesport/72017668007/|title=USA Fencing suspends board chair Ivan Lee, who subsequently resigns from position|author=Josh Peter|website=USA TODAY|date=December 23, 2023}} He has been a competitive veteran fencer, and won two consecutive national titles in Vet-40 men’s saber.{{Cite web|url=https://www.usafencing.org/news_article/show/1247188-usa-fencing-welcomes-two-new-vice-chairs-to-board-of-directors|title=USA Fencing Welcomes Two New Vice Chairs to Board of Directors|first=Bryan|last=Wendell|date=November 10, 2022|website=USA Fencing}}

Lee was the Head Coach of the Women's Fencing Team of Long Island University from March 2019 until December 1, 2023, when he resigned.{{Cite web|url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/olympics/2024/02/28/ivan-lee-arrested-facing-forcible-touching-sexual-abuse-harassment-charges/72783101007/|title=Ex-US Olympic fencer Ivan Lee arrested on forcible touching, sexual abuse, harassment charges|website=USA TODAY}} It was his first coaching position, and he said: "I love coaching. It’s very rewarding."{{Cite web|url=http://amsterdamnews.com/news/2021/04/15/liu-establishes-itself-national-power-fencing/|title=LIU establishes itself as a national power in fencing|first=Lois|last=Elfman|date=April 15, 2021|website=New York Amsterdam News}} At the 2021 NCAA National Championship, his freshman fencer Laura Fekete—whom he had recruited—won the gold medal in épée, the first NCAA fencing championship in school history.{{Cite web|url=https://www.liuathletics.com/news/2023/3/26/laura-fekete-finishes-eighth-at-ncaa-womens-fencing-championships.aspx|title=Laura Fekete Earns Third Straight All-America Honor after NCAA Championships Success|date=December 4, 2023|website=Long Island University|author=Adam Rubin}}{{Cite web|url=https://liuthetide.com/fencer-laura-fekete-becomes-sharks-first-ncaa-national-champion/|title=Fencer Laura Fekete Becomes Sharks’ First NCAA National Champion |work= The Tide|date=April 9, 2021|author=Andrew Scarpaci}} In 2022 she won the bronze medal.{{Cite web|url=https://headlines.liu.edu/?p=4517|title=Fencing Olympian Wins Title at Summer Nationals|publisher=Long Island University|date=July 16, 2021}} Fekete said: "Ivan helped me with everything he could. He was always by my side."

Lee was elected Chairman of the Board of Directors of USA Fencing in September 2023.{{Cite web|url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/olympics/2023/12/23/usa-fencing-suspends-board-chair-ivan-lee-resignation-safesport/72017668007/|title=USA Fencing suspends board chair Ivan Lee, who subsequently resigns from position|website=USA TODAY|author=Josh Peter|date=December 22, 2023}}

Lee was suspended by USA Fencing on December 22, 2023, for his alleged conduct that would constitute a violation of the SafeSport Code. Lee resigned as Chairman of the Board when he was informed of his suspension. On January 4, 2024, his suspension was upheld by the U.S. Center for SafeSport (SafeSport). On January 16, 2024, SafeSport lifted his suspension, while it continued its investigation of Lee’s conduct, but it then reimposed it in February 2024.

Lee was arrested in February 2024 on forcible touching, sexual abuse, and harassment charges.{{Cite web|url=https://xklsv.com/olympian-ivan-lee-arrested-for-alleged-sexual-abuse/2024-02-29/490210|title=Olympian Ivan Lee arrested for alleged sexual abuse. |website=xklsv News|date=February 29, 2024}} They related to an incident in November 2023 in a college gym while he was the Head Coach of the Women's Fencing Team of Long Island University.{{Cite web|url=https://www.blackenterprise.com/former-us-olympic-fencer-ivan-lee-arrested-on-charges-of-sexual-abuse/|title=Former US Olympic Fencer Ivan Lee Arrested on Charges Of Sexual Abuse|first=Rafael|last=Pena|date=February 29, 2024|work=Black Enterprise}} He pleaded guilty September 3, 2024, at Kings County Criminal Court in Brooklyn to forcible touching-intimate parts and harassment in the second degree — physical contact.

Lee was arrested in March 2024 in Nassau County with regard to a second incident, and in December 2024 Lee pled guilty with regard to the second incident in Nassau County District Court in New York to third-degree sexual abuse and forcible touching-intimate parts. The charge carries a maximum sentence of one year in jail. According to court documents, he admitted to forcibly touching a victim without their consent.{{Cite web |last=Peter |first=Josh |title=Hall of Fame fencer Ivan Lee pleads guilty to sex offenses against female college fencer |url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/olympics/2024/12/13/hall-of-fame-fencer-ivan-lee-pleads-guilty-to-sexual-abuse-charges/76955308007/ |access-date=2025-01-03 |website=USA TODAY |language=en-US}}

On January 31, 2025, SafeSport permanently banned Lee from U.S. Olympic sports due to his criminal dispositions for sexual misconduct.[https://uscenterforsafesport.org/response-and-resolution/centralized-disciplinary-database/ "Ivan Lee"], SafeSport Centralized Disciplinary Database.

Lee worked as a police officer in the New York City Police Department (NYPD) from July 2008 until February 2022.{{Cite web|url=https://www.50-a.org/officer/R9WP|title=Ivan J. Lee|website=50-a.org}} He spent his first six years on the police force in the NYPD transit bureau, and his last seven years as a physical training instructor at the Police Academy.

He also served as the Fencing Commissioner for the Public Schools Athletic League (PSAL) from 2008 to 2019. The PSAL is a scholastic athletic program that coordinates sports competitions for New York City public high schools.{{Cite web|url=https://www.schools.nyc.gov/school-life/health-and-wellness/sports-and-staying-active/public-schools-athletic-league|title=Public Schools Athletic League|website=NYC Public Schools}}

He was a board member of the Rosalyn Yalow Charter School in the Bronx{{Cite web|url=https://yalowcharter.org/about/board-of-trustees/|title=Board of Trustees |publisher=Rosalyn Yalow Charter School}} from 2014 until 2023. He has served as a deacon, administrator, and youth leader at his church, taught classes at PWF, mentored high school and college students at the USOC's F.L.A.M.E. (Finding Leaders Among Minorities Everywhere) program, and counseled teenagers at New Horizons Ministries.Ken Slentz (June 16, 2014). [https://www.regents.nysed.gov/sites/regents/files/614p12a2.pdf "Charter Schools: Initial Applications and Charters Authorized by the Board of Regents"], The New York State Education Department.

He founded a fencing club called Naviblue Sports in New York.{{Cite web|url=https://www.navibluesports.com/our-founder|title=Our Founder|website=Navibluesports}} Lee has also been the Head Sabre Coach at Long Island Fencing Center in Carle Place, New York.{{Cite web|url=https://issuu.com/usafencing/docs/winter2022_amfenc_digital|title=End of Year 2022 by USA Fencing|date=December 21, 2022|website=American Fencing }}

Ivan is the only child of Wesley Desmond Lee and Cynthia Lee.{{Cite web|url=https://www.ebenezermissionarynyc.org/ebenezer-missionary-history/|title=Ebenezer Missionary History|website=Ebenezer Missionary Chapel}} His mother, a retired teacher, heard from a fellow teacher who was the mother of future Olympic medalists Erinn Smart and Keeth Smart, that her children participated in a non-profit fencing program for children in Manhattan, the PWF. Mrs. Lee talked her son into trying it.{{citation needed|date=December 2023}} Lee initially instead wanted to play baseball in high school and beyond.{{Cite web|url=https://redstormsports.com/news/2000/11/29/SJU_Fencer_Ivan_Lee_Wins_Junior_World_Cup|title=SJU Fencer Ivan Lee Wins Junior World Cup|website=St. John's University Athletics|date=November 29, 2000}} But his father, an auto mechanic and pastor of Ebenezer Missionary Chapel in Brooklyn, convinced him to take fencing seriously because of what he saw as the college scholarship possibility in fencing.{{Cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2022/10/17/us/fencing-ivy-league-college-admissions.html|title=Fencing Can Be Six-Figure Expensive, but It Wins in College Admissions; How niche sports offer a pathway to the Ivy League and other elite schools.|first1=Stephanie|last1=Saul|date=October 17, 2022|work=The New York Times}}

Lee and his wife, Shameeka Waddell Lee, have two children.

• 2004 U.S. Olympic Team member
• Five-time Division 1 Men's Sabre National Champion (2001, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2008)
• 2021, 2022, 2023 Veteran-40 Men's Sabre National Champion{{citation needed|date=December 2023}}
• 2003 Pan American Men's Sabre Champion
• 2003 Pan American Men's Sabre Team Champion
• 2001, 2002 NCAA Men's Sabre Champion
• 2001 USOC Male Athlete of the Year, Fencing
• US Fencing Association Hall of Fame inductee, class of 2014 (Removed 2025)

• List of USFA Division I National Champions
• Alen Hadzic, permanently banned American fencer

{{reflist}}

• [http://www.peterwestbrook.org/ Peter Westbrook Foundation ]
• Cindy Bent (May 16, 2001). [http://www.usoc.org/73_2134.htm "U.S. Fencing's Lee defeats 2000 Olympic Champion to Win Bronze at World Cup"], U.S. Fencing Association (press release) {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070930204400/http://www.usoc.org/73_2134.htm |date=September 30, 2007 }}
• {{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20071010053254/http://www.fencingmedia.org/viewathlete.asp?name=ivan_lee U.S. Fencing Media: Ivan Lee]}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lee, Ivan}}

Category:1981 births

Category:Living people

Category:American male sabre fencers

Category:Brooklyn Technical High School alumni

Category:Fencers at the 2003 Pan American Games

Category:Fencers at the 2004 Summer Olympics

Category:Medalists at the 2003 Pan American Games

Category:Olympic fencers for the United States

Category:New York City Police Department officers

Category:Pan American Games gold medalists for the United States in fencing

Category:American people convicted of sexual assault

Category:People from Cambria Heights, Queens

Category:People from Jamaica, Queens

Category:St. John's Red Storm fencers

Category:St. John's University (New York City) alumni

Category:21st-century American sportsmen