World’s most famous sled dog race hit by scandal after claims of violence against women

The world’s most famous sled dog race has been put under the spotlight by claims of violence against women

Sled dogs run through the streets of Akiachak, Alaska, on Aug. 18, 2023 (Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved)

The world’s most famous sled dog race has been hit by scandal after claims of violence against women by mushers.

The race — Alaska's Iditarod — has seen officials disqualify two top mushers this week and then quickly reinstating one of them on Friday, days before the start.

The upheaval began last week, when the Iditarod Trail Committee, the race's governing body, sent an email to all competitors saying it had been informed of several accusations concerning violence against and abuse of women within the mushing community.

"The ITC Board cannot tolerate such conduct by anyone affiliated with the Iditarod,” the email said.

On Monday, the committee held an emergency meeting and disqualified the 2023 rookie of the year, Eddie Burke Jr. Burke had been facing single felony and misdemeanor assault charges after his then-girlfriend told police in May 2022 that he had strangled her to the point she almost lost consciousness, according to the Anchorage Daily News.

The committee offered no explanation of Burke's disqualification beyond noting a rule that mushers “will be held to a high standard of personal and professional conduct."

Two days later, the State of Alaska dismissed the charges because the former girlfriend declined to participate in the case, Alaska Department of Law spokesperson Patty Sullivan said Friday in an email to The Associated Press.

“After a thorough review of the evidence in this investigation, the Department of Law determined that it would be unable to prove the assault charges beyond a reasonable doubt to a trial jury,” she wrote.

Iditarod winner Brent Sass poses for photos with lead dogs Morello, left, and Slater

On Friday, Burke was reinstated. He did not immediately respond to messages seeking comment.

“Additional information was provided to the Iditarod Trail Committee Board today regarding Eddie Burke Jr.,” the committee said in a news release. “Upon reviewing this information, the Board voted to reinstate Mr. Burke as a competitor in the 2024 Iditarod.”

In the meantime, though, the committee on Thursday night disqualified 2022 champion Brent Sass — again, without offering any details about why. No criminal cases against Sass appear in online Alaska court records.

“I am beyond disappointed with the decision the Iditarod has reached to disqualify me,” said a statement posted Friday to the Facebook page of Sass' kennel. “The anonymous accusations that have been made against me are completely false.”

It was not immediately clear what accusations Sass was referring to. But on Friday, an Anchorage attorney, Caitlin Shortell, issued a statement saying, “More than one Alaskan has sought legal advice and representation from our law firm based on their reports of sexual assault by a dog musher who was disqualified today by the Iditarod" — an apparent reference to Sass.

“Our clients retained counsel and sought to remain anonymous because of the high risk that disclosure of their identities and experiences would subject them to retraumatization, invasion of privacy, litigation, and potential violence by their assailant or others,” the statement says.

Eddie Burke Jr. is photographed at the 2023 Iditarod musher banquet in Anchorage, Alaska (Anchorage Daily News)

This year’s 1,000-mile (1,609-kilometer) race across the Alaska wilderness begins March 2 with the ceremonial start in Anchorage. The competitive start comes the next day, about 75 miles (121 kilometers) north of Anchorage.

Sass' removal leaves 39 mushers remaining in this year’s field. Last year, 33 mushers started, the fewest since the Iditarod was first held in 1973.

It’s not the first time Sass has been disqualified from the Iditarod.

In 2015, he was removed from the race after officials found he had an iPod Touch with him on the trail, a violation of race rules barring two-way communication devices. Even though the iPod Touch was not a phone, he could have communicated with others when it connected to the Internet, officials said.