Prominent D.C. swim coach/teen sex accusation

[Moderator1]

Massive hat tip to our esteemed competition on this one. So those who covered it up should be in trouble, too? I'd say so. Doesn't rise to the Sandusky level on the disgust-meter but it still rises pretty high

http://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/olympics/swim-coach-rick-curl-local-faces-disciplinary-hearing-from-usa-swimming/2012/07/25/gJQAg78q8W_story.html?hpid=z1

 

[LongTimeListener]

This story has been brewing for a long time in USA Swimming. In the Bay Area, a coach named Andy King was accused of molesting a teenage girl, and that touched off a flurry of allegations that he had been doing this for decades and, like the Catholic Church, USA Swimming took care of the problem by just moving him from place to place.

http://www.swimmingworldmagazine.com/lane9/news/24420.asp

ABC did an investigation focusing on King and another coach, and found that in all 36 coaches had been banned for life in the last 10 years. (Brian Ross, insert joke here, but the report was pretty damning.)

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

Story says King passed a background check with high marks in 2008, even though credible allegations first surfaced in 2003.

It could get ugly. Penn State, Catholic Church kind of ugly for the engineers of the cover-up.

 

[black dude with pompano]

The swimming community is similarly cult-like.

 

[proudpittsburgher]

I know this is small potatoes given everything else involved, but I don't think accepting money would ever cross my mind if I found out someone 20 years my daughters elder had a relationship with her when she is barely a teenager. Beating the **** out of the adult in question, however, would.

Sounds to me like it was consensual. I don't think that would make a difference for me, though.

 

[Big Circus]

Uh oh...one of our own has some 'splainin to do!

(Sonner, now retired, has told The Post he did not recall the matter.)

 

[poindexter]

Sounds to me like it was consensual. I don't think that would make a difference for me, though.

There is no such thing as consent when the girl is 13.

 

[Starman]

I know this is small potatoes given everything else involved, but I don't think accepting money would ever cross my mind if I found out someone 20 years my daughters elder had a relationship with her when she is barely a teenager. Beating the **** out of the adult in question, however, would.

Sounds to me like it was consensual. I don't think that would make a difference for me, though.

And what the hell kind of lawyer would advise the parents "not to pursue the matter" ??

Why not? Because the powerful and legendary swim club coach would wreak his revenge on you?

I can see people being intimidated out of pursuing the Sandusky thing because of the clout of Joe Paterno, but swim club coaches barely have enough "clout" to get extra cheese on their sandwiches at Subway.

 

[ColdCat]

Swim coach in Indiana is out after serving a whopping 19 months for similar charges
http://www.theindychannel.com/news/30998880/detail.html

There was also a lawsuit against other coaches he told, including one who responded with "Good catch"

 

[LongTimeListener]

The swimming community is similarly cult-like.

Regarding the cult aspect ... here's another case from the Bay Area.

http://www.contracostatimes.com/news/ci_20807152?source=inthenews

A former Olympian and current swim coach at Cal, Kristen Cunnane, recently told her story about being raped by a middle school teacher long ago. In the course of revealing that story, the Contra Costa Times uncovered documents that showed that the school principal knew about and covered up the rape. Shortly after the documents surfaced, he resigned.

Cunnane was scheduled shortly after this to give a swimming clinic at the country club where she grew up swimming. The club revoked her invitation because of the story she told. After getting hammered by bad publicity, they eventually relented and she did the clinic.

Not a perfect example because the actual molestation occurred as part of school, but it was pretty sickening to see how far grown-ups will go to protect their own.

 

[nmmetsfan]

We should ban swimming to teach those who created this culture a lesson.

 

[Tarheel316]

We should ban swimming to teach those who created this culture a lesson.

I could go along with that.

 

[black dude with pompano]

We should ban swimming to teach those who created this culture a lesson.

I could go along with that.

I wouldn't go that far. Just prohibit the current swimmers on this coach's team from competing in national events for the next four years.

 

[Ace]

We should ban swimming to teach those who created this culture a lesson.

I could go along with that.

I wouldn't go that far. Just prohibit the current swimmers on this coach's team from competing in national events for the next four years.

I believe metsy was employing hyperbole.

If swimming was banned, everyone who jumped into a lake to cool off would drown.

 

[Armchair_QB]

When is USA Swimming getting the Death Penalty?

 

[Big Circus]

When is USA Swimming getting the Death Penalty?

The drowning penalty?

 

[ColdCat]

We should ban swimming to teach those who created this culture a lesson.

I could go along with that.

I wouldn't go that far. Just prohibit the current swimmers on this coach's team from competing in national events for the next four years.

I believe metsy was employing hyperbole.

If swimming was banned, everyone who jumped into a lake to cool off would drown.

Just ban the summer club circuit. The kids can still swim for their high school team as long as they play at least one other sport and their parents never call the local newspaper

 

[qtlaw]

The swimming community is similarly cult-like.

Regarding the cult aspect ... here's another case from the Bay Area.

http://www.contracostatimes.com/news/ci_20807152?source=inthenews

A former Olympian and current swim coach at Cal, Kristen Cunnane, recently told her story about being raped by a middle school teacher long ago. In the course of revealing that story, the Contra Costa Times uncovered documents that showed that the school principal knew about and covered up the rape. Shortly after the documents surfaced, he resigned.

Cunnane was scheduled shortly after this to give a swimming clinic at the country club where she grew up swimming. The club revoked her invitation because of the story she told. After getting hammered by bad publicity, they eventually relented and she did the clinic.

Not a perfect example because the actual molestation occurred as part of school, but it was pretty sickening to see how far grown-ups will go to protect their own.

Awesome that the clown on the Board had to reverse himself.

This club is near me and I was glad to see the club's swim chairperson who I know called the board out and told it like it is.

To pick a principal over the victim/survivor is troubling.

 

[LongTimeListener]

Update: Curl banned for life.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/apnewsbreak-prominent-swim-coach-rick-curl-banned-for-life-over-improper-relationship/2012/09/19/530aa300-0269-11e2-9132-f2750cd65f97_story.html

 

[britwrit]

Sounds to me like it was consensual. I don't think that would make a difference for me, though.

There is no such thing as consent when the girl is 13.

$150 grand to not go to the cops? That's troubling on so many levels... particularly when Currin talks about how "We were given terrible legal advice." Could a seventeen-year-old really have made a decision about this?

 

[RubberSoul1979]

The club in that CC Times story got what it deserved, ironically what it was trying to avoid - bad publicity.