Now up on sexual abuse cover-ups: USA Swimming

Orange County Register goes deep.

100s of USA swimmers were sexually abused for decades and the people in charge knew and ignored it, investigation finds – Orange County Register

The Wielgus in this snippet is Chuck Wielgus, the executive director, who died last year.

• Top USA Swimming executives, board members, top officials and coaches acknowledge in the documents that they were aware of sexually predatory coaches for years, in some cases even decades, but did not take action against them. In at least 11 cases either Wielgus or other top USA Swimming officials declined to pursue sexual abuse cases against high profile coaches even when presented with direct complaints, documents show. With some of the complaints, the decision not to pursue the case was made by Susan Woessner, USA Swimming’s current director of Safe Sport.

For example, three U.S. Olympic team head coaches, and a USA Swimming vice president were told in the 1980s that a world-renowned coach has sexually abused a female swimmer beginning when she was 12. Wielgus was informed of allegations against the coach at least three times in recent years. But not only did USA Swimming not pursue a case against the coach, it allowed him to continue to have access to USA Swimming facilities, U.S. Olympic and national team events, and the Olympic Training Center. USA Swimming even awarded the club owned and operated by him more than $40,000 in grants. The coach was only banned after pleading guilty to sexual assault, more than a quarter-century after the abuse was first brought to the attention of the Olympic coaches.

 

Staggering number of coaches involved. I guess there's no way to know the total number of unique coaches certified by the organization was over this period. Would be curious/presumably appalled to know what % of the total coaching population was doing this.

 

Those coaches and officials have a total of at least 590 alleged victims, some of them abused while attending pre-school swim classes.

PRE-SCHOOL. What the damn hell?

 

These stories go back years. ABC had this story in 2010.

Diana Nyad went public with her coach's abuse in 2007.

I hope the Nassar thing blows this wide open, but the USA Swimming scandal wasn't just ignored by swimming officials, it was ignored by the public.

USA Swimming Releases List of 36 Men Banned for Sexual Misconduct

USA Swimming Votes 'Yes' to Athlete Protection Measures After Sex Abuse Scandal

www.abcnews.go.com/Blotter/abc-news-investigation-usa-swimming-coaches-raped-molested/story?id=10322469

https://jezebel.com/5513590/sexual-abuse-and-molestation-scandal-rocks-usa-swimming

 

Scott Reid has been investigating and writing about abuses in gymnastics and swimming since about 2004. And he pulled this one together while producing 3 or 4 stories a day from the Olympics.

 

There have been a great many more developments since 2010 when those links came about. In fact this story is a response to their failure to deliver on the actions they promised then.

 

Good. Drop the bomb on USA Swimming, same as USA Gymnastics. I had not heard about this one but my reaction is exactly the same. Sue 'em, jail 'em, disband them.

 

Believe me, I'm not criticizing the journalism.

But I'm always astonished by public apathy in cases like this.

 

The care about swimming only in Olympic years.

 

Not that this is any better, but I think it means swim classes which occur before school for older students.