"I think Mr. King bears enormous responsibility here, But I think the parents were not minding the store," she said. Its a Fitting Capper to Wide Official Cover-Up in the Ted Agu Football Conditioning Death at Cal. Web* Jill Chasson, chair of the USA Swimming National Board of Review, which hears sexual misconduct allegations, recently resigned after I reported that, as NBAC Olympic Police later documented at least 15 victims among the teenage girl swimmers he coached over the years, including a woman who said she had an abortion after King got her pregnant at the age of 14. The lawsuit which seeks class-action status and financial compensation for moral damages reflects an attempt to clean up a sport seeking to change its image after coaches were accused of mistreating athletes in Spain, Mexico, the United States and other countries. These allegations resulted in the coach's resignation, the club taking unprecedented action, and USA Swimming seemingly taking steps to protect the coach. SwimMAC Carolina (North Carolina) 36,509. Which is why I decided to partner with Irv; as, combined, we will be able to shed light on this grossly underreported story and, hopefully, also foster change in the way the sport is run in the United States. Katie Spada, 28, of the United States said that she was sometimes called a dying whale by a former coach and, at 13, was told I had boobs like Marilyn Monroe and they were getting in the way.. Due to the pasage of time less than two years. ", Chicago police officer fatally shot on Southwest Side in exchange of gunfire: officials, Chicago police Superintendent David Brown to exit CPD this month in the wake of mayoral election, Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information. Have you spoken to the members of NBAC about why hes no longer at the club? If the rumors Ive heard were correct, the reason was pressure from both NBAC and the U.S. Olympic Committees broadcast partner, NBC. Thank god for Tim Joyce. We asked for clarification on this issue, but received no response. While the organization continues to work compassionately and tirelessly on our comprehensive abuse-prevention initiative, which is routinely recognized as the best in Olympic sport, we remain as frustrated as you are with inaccurate, sensational, issue-driven reporting like this. An argument could be made that the rape and escape dodge should not work. Accused coaches often move from country to country with little or no consequences. Scott Adams faces 'consequence culture' as U.S. newspapers drop Dilbert, Tom Cruise's 'ditching' of Suri showcased by Judd Apatow's 'co-parenting' joke, ex-Scientology exec says. Muchnick sees himself as working to expose the problem-and as willing to break journalistic rules to accomplish that goal. After I broke the story of past sexual impropriety, involving multiple victims at the North Baltimore Aquatic Club (NBAC), Irv proceeded to uncover other episodes of abuse and negligence at NBAC the countrys most famous swim club that will surely become even more disturbing as more details emerge. On Tuesday, a lawsuit was filed in Montreal by five former elite swimmers, accusing Canada Artistic Swimming, the national governing body, of failing to provide a safe environment and of neglecting abusive behavior by Szauder and previous coaches. My version of it favors transparent and interactive relationships with readers and sources. In recent days, coverage of Michael Phelps has served up such gems as the all-important identity of his latest girlfriend and promotion of his stint of golf instruction on the NBC-owned Golf Channels program The Haney Project. It was a spring afternoon in 2010. When I embarked on these investigations 15 months ago, beginning with the tragic suicidal death of Sarah Burt, I never thought Id stumble into such a morass of institutional failure; from the cover-ups in Colorado Springs to the abuse history of legendary coach Rick Curl; from USA Swimmings retaliation against whistle blowers to new cases of coach abuse in Alaska, Missouri, and elsewhere. 2020 Concussion Inc. - Author Irvin Muchnick. Ormond said in an interview with The Times that Szauder, unhappy with a warm-up at a 2019 competition in China, told the swimmers if we kept swimming like that, he would hit us so hard, we wouldnt know what happened. It was later suggested that Szauder meant he would hit the swimmers with difficult practices, but Ormond said she felt physically threatened. How could something be gotten so wrong? Hopkins said the young athletes asked him. King's lawyer, Jamie Harley, said some of the responsibility belongs to the swimmers' parents whose ambition for their children blinded them to the problem. According to the lawsuit, what actually happened was that, during a swimming practice, the two swimmers who Muchnick accused of assault "accidentally bumped or contacted" a third swimmer who "was stopped purposefully and was blocking the wall" of the pool. Madilynne Medina , SFGATE. About a month later, he was sued for defamation in Maryland federal court in Baltimore for some of what he'd been publishing and pushing other media to cover-allegations that a February 2012 incident involving NBAC team members amounted to a "sexual assault," even though a law-enforcement investigation concluded without charges. Such remarks felt very inappropriate and yet were just normalized at practice, Spada said. 9, 2010 — -- In a sex abuse scandal that some victims compare to what happened in the Catholic Church, at least 36 swimming coaches have been banned for life by the USA Swimming organization over the last 10 years because of sexual misconduct. See 4,114 Swim Jobs You Might Love, PSS Ft Lauderdale: Summer McIntosh Enters Her First 200m Fly Since Winning World Title, Share USA Swimming: The organization legally had no recourse in NBAC Coach Complaint on Facebook, Tweet USA Swimming: The organization legally had no recourse in NBAC Coach Complaint, Submit USA Swimming: The organization legally had no recourse in NBAC Coach Complaint to Reddit, Share USA Swimming: The organization legally had no recourse in NBAC Coach Complaint on Pinterest, Share USA Swimming: The organization legally had no recourse in NBAC Coach Complaint on LinkedIn, though one will recall that there was much coaching turnover in the club in the fall of 2011, FINA ARENA World Cup Series Photo Vault via Olympian Roland Schoeman, Phelps Partners with Paul Casey for Even Par on Day 1 at Dunhill, Sergio Lopez Gets a Big Raise; Guaranteed Assistant Pay Pool and Operating Budgets, What Will Leon Marchand Swim at the 2023 Pac-12 Championships? Gabor Szauder, the national team coach for Canada Artistic Swimming, is under criticism in Canada and Slovakia, where he previously coached. Note: The NCAA college comparisons are provided for entertainment He always has your best interests at heart, she said. From that point, Joyce reports that the victim was never contacted by USA Swimming, and that there was no follow-up on the case, though no sources were revealed, even by their connection to the situation if not by name. But not his departure he continues, as owner of the Meadowbrook Aquatic Center, to collect scores of thousands of dollars a month in NBAC pool rental fees. If this is urgent, please call us at 408-289-1417 and ask to speak with an attorney. But McKenna, the plaintiff's lawyer, says Muchnick was "really using his website as an internet bully pulpit" and that "his goal was increasing his search-engine optimization" by using terms such as "sexual assault" together with famous names, like "Michael Phelps," "Bob Bowman," and "North Baltimore Aquatic Club. And what of the reported incident and ongoing police and USA Swimming investigations of last years swimmer-on-swimmer sex assault? There was outrage, disbelief, tears, and fear, said Hopkins, the fear of just what could happen next, what possibly could happen next.. Bloomingdales: Former employee at Valley Fair mall claims she was forced to delete co-workers request for nude photos Now is not the time, Tuite said. And year after year, he documented his emailed pleas to former Athletic Director Marie Tuite and others, asking them to do something about Shaw, to no avail. Read more , They (USA Swimming) do state, however, that they passed the complaint and information to the Baltimore County Police Department, Precinct 1.. Anton Siekel, president of the Slovak Olympic Committee, said in an email to The Times that complaints about Szauders behavior and strange attitude toward training had been lodged by multiple parents and swimmers there, helping to prompt an initiative for providing safe sport. Only then, the federal report said, did the university then under the leadership of President Mary Papazian reopen the investigation. Baltimore police have found no record of any complaint being passed on yet. An investigation conducted by a human resources officer on campus cleared Shaw, saying that his pressure point therapy was legitimate a finding that led to the emotional poolside meeting. Here is the story as it appeared on WBAL. She is an alumna of San Jose State where she served as executive editor for the "Spartan Daily." During our annual convention, USA Swimming released a Safe Sport Report evaluating our efforts in this important area. Today, as government investigators circle the sports many Asked if he had apologized to any of the young teen victims, Wielgus responded, "You feel I need to apologize to them? Last fall, he was accused by five swimmers of making sexist remarks, weight-shaming athletes and committing other troubling behavior. In his lawsuit, Hopkins alleged that Tuite had discredited his concerns about Shaw and retaliated against him and other employees. when he started training at the North Baltimore Aquatic Club at the Meadowbrook Aquatic and Additionally, the club at the time wasand currently isco-owned by Phelps and his coach Bob Bowman (Bowman is currently taking a leave from coaching to work with TSE, a powerful consulting firm that was profiled in an earlier article in this series). But elite synchronized swimmers who are mostly women, with few men at the elite level routinely endure bullying, harassment and psychological abuse from male and female coaches, more than 100 current and former athletes from more than a dozen countries have said in recent interviews with The New York Times and other news organizations, and in social media postings and blogs. NBAC apparently did what clubs are supposed to do: alert the authorities immediately and then inform the national governing body of the incident. A few years after competing in synchronized swimming at the 2012 London Olympics, Szofi Kiss of Hungary began working with a coach from Russia, whom she would identify only by her first name as Natalia. Seems to me USA Swimming did everything they could for an alleged abuse that took place 37 years ago. It was a spring afternoon in 2010. Felt very inappropriate and yet were just normalized at practice, Spada.! 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