De La Riva Answers Claudia do Val's Allegations

APRIL 05, 2020, yesterday the jiu-jitsu world woke up to the news of IBJJF World Champion athlete, Claudia do Val’s shocking allegations of inappropriate behavior from her former instructor, Ricardo de La Riva. Actions that would lead to her separation from her former coach’s association. Claudia was well known as the most accomplished athlete in de La Riva’s team, arguably the most proficient student ever developed by the BJJ coral belt, which elevated the impact caused by the accusation even further.

Prior to releasing Claudia do Val’s account on Ricardo’s alleged sexual misconduct, we tried to reach out to coach de La Riva to hear his side of the story. Those requests were not replied, however, earlier today, the former student of Carlson Gracie made an official rebuttal to do Val via social media. The reply did appear to cut short, but in it, the Brazilian Master said to be perplexed by the accusations, citing a 40-year history in the sport as his defense.

Full translated transcript of de La Riva’s reply to Claudia:

“For the past 40 years, I gave start to a great history on the mats with a lot of teamwork, strength, determination, respect, character, and passion for Jiu-Jitsu, which got us united as a real family.

There are over 80 De La Riva schools around the world and approximately 3 thousand students guided by me and by the other coaches associated with us.

In all these years, my reputation was built on and grounded by ethics, respect, and commitment to all my students.

As everybody knows, this path was paved with a lot of dedication and honor. I have always had a code of ethics, which has been respected by my family, friends and all my students.

It was with perplexity and consternation that I heard Claudia do Val’s, allegations last Saturday – an athlete of De La Riva team for about 10 years. My family and I were surprised by this irresponsible and false accusation.

For a while now, her statements do not live up to the spirit of this partnership that we are all so proud of, and reached its peaks over the past few days, revealing ingratitude to all the work, support, and coaching that were given in favor of her professional evaluation.

In the past 5 years, Claudia has reached her professional peak, winning a lot of championships, conducting seminars, gaining great notoriety in Jiu-Jitsu world, which reflects, for sure, the great team and professional work that was done by the De La Riva family.

It is important to say that in these times ruled by social media, as you all well know, any reckless statement can grow into epic proportions, having the power to irreversibly harm a reputation, since the mere allegation is enough to convict in the court of public opinion, without the opportunity of a counterpoint.

I have always been a reserved person centered on my family. Because of that and, above all, in respect of my beloved wife that has been so supportive in this time, I am already in touch with my lawyers for them to undertake every action to safeguard my image and reputation, in order to clarify those unfounded accusations.

Despite all that, as a coach, I keep wishing that Claudia finds her path and has great achievements in her personal and professional life.

Thank you all for the support.

-GM Ricardo de la Riva”

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Ao longo dos últimos 40 anos, dei início a uma história nos tatames que, com muito trabalho em equipe, força, determinação, respeito, caráter e paixão pelo Jiu Jitsu, nos uniu como uma verdadeira família.
São mais de 80 escolas De La Riva espalhadas pelo mundo e aproximadamente 3 mil alunos e alunas, que são orientados por mim e pelos diversos professores associados. Em todos esses anos, a minha reputação foi construída sempre pautada pela ética, respeito e comprometimento. Sempre tive uma conduta ilibada ao longo de todos esses anos na minha vida pessoal e profissional, por isso, sou respeitado pela minha família, amigos e por todos os meus alunos e alunas.
Dessa forma, foi com grande perplexidade e consternação que tomei conhecimento, neste final de semana, das alegações da Cláudia do Val, atleta pela equipe De La Riva por mais de 10 anos. Eu e a minha família fomos surpreendidos por uma acusação inverídica e irresponsável.
Suas declarações, já há algum tempo, não fazem jus ao espírito de parceria e união que tanto nos orgulhamos, e atingiram o seu auge nestes últimos dias, mostrando, sem dúvida, ingratidão a todo o trabalho, orientação e suporte que lhe foram dispensados para a sua evolução profissional.
Nesses últimos 5 anos, a Cláudia atingiu o seu ápice profissional, ganhando diversos campeonatos, realizando seminários, ganhando grande notoriedade no mundo do jiu jitsu, o que, sem dúvida, foi fruto do trabalho em equipe e profissional da família De La Riva, que nunca lhe deixou de prestar o devido suporte. Em tempos de mídia social, como vocês bem sabem, qualquer declaração irresponsável pode tomar grande proporção, tendo o poder de prejudicar de forma irreversível a reputação de pessoas, sem a observação ao direito de defesa e ao contraditório. [Continua nos comentários]

A post shared by Ricardo de la Riva (@delarivaoficial) on Apr 5, 2020 at 3:56pm PDT