A former version of this article misprinted George Sagner as ‘George Sanger.’
During the Covid age, a former Mead Girls Basketball coach flew under the radar engaging in illegal activities, that were “sex-related,” with female athletes, until an anonymous Safe2Tell tip changed everything.
Now, five years later, on January 8, 2026, the Girls Basketball coach George Sagner was sentenced to 82 years in prison. Sagner was first found guilty in August of last year, and he was just recently sentenced by the Weld County jury after being “convicted of multiple sex-related charges involving female athletes.” After investigation, the court found that Sagner had “sexual relationship with at least three of his players in the past decade,” and would “sometimes provide the victims with alcohol and marijuana before sexually assaulting them.”
The case all started after a Safe2Tell tip in 2021 alleging that Sagner had inappropriate relationships with one of his players. Safe2Tell was created as an anonymous reporting system right after the 1999 Columbine tragedy as a way to report threats and concerning behavior. This tip was crucial, becoming such an inspiring act of courage.
Following this first tip, a powerful movement of survivors came forward, creating this strong case against him.
From personal experience, Safe2Tell can be made a joke. When a friend or other is doing something minor they shouldn’t, it will sometimes be joked, “I’m going to Safe2Tell you,” and just the question of how much power the website has can make it seem more like a joke.
But in this case and in many others, Safe2Tell tips are what gets the issues taken to admin, or even to the legal level.
Without the George Sagner Safe2Tell tip, it could be questioned if this coach would still be flying under the radar. Chief Deputy District Attorney Arynn Clark said, “George Sagner spent years posing as a trusted coach and mentor in our community, betraying parents’ trust by abusing their children.”
Safe2Tell tips are commonly used by citizens in Colorado.
Their data shows that this school year, starting of August 1, about 14,000 tips have been sent into Safe2Tell, with the top three categories being, “Suicide Threats, School Safety Concerns: Staff, and Bullying.” 97.8% of these tips were valid reports.
Safe2Tell is an incredibly valuable tool to so many people in Colorado as a platform for survivors to speak out like the women in the George Sagner case. It’s important it stays that way.
