reporter: according to confidential documents, in 2018, safe sports investigators concluded that jean lopez engaged in, quote, a decades-long pattern of sexual misconduct by an older coach abusing his power to groom, manipulate, and sexually abuse younger female athletes. safe sport banned lopez from coaching for life. >> i felt like we were changing things. and we were kind of the trailblazers for sexual misconduct that was happening in our sport. >> reporter: but that feeling was short-lived. lopez appealed and the case went into arbitration. heidi declined to testify at the hearing at the advice of her attorneys, and despite the evidence she provided during safe sport's earlier investigation, the arbitrator said they could not assess her credibility and opted to overturn lopez's ban. was that hard to accept, hard to live with? >> as a victim, you're just kind of floundering, right? you're out there in the ocean swimming and you're like, where do i turn? who do you trust? who is going to hold anyone accountable? >> reporter: lopez maintained his innocence in an interview with a local fox