According to Aquatics International, USA Swimming has settled the first civil lawsuit filed against them since the sexual abuse by member coaches became the biggest story in the swimming world. At the same time, they’ve been hit with a 6th civil suit, this one involving coach Chris Wheat who received 10 years in prison after a guilty plea for sexual misconduct with a 14-year old girl.
The first case that has been settled was the ice-breaker filed by attorney Robert Allard, where he gave the media a list of 32 USA Swimming coaches who he claimed were culpable for crimes related to sexual misconduct with minors, in some form or fashion (though, not all coaches on that list felt they belonged there, which caused some heated exchanges). The implication of the case was that USA Swimming failed to do enough to protect their athletes.
No details were immediately available of the settlement, but it’s hard to believe at this point that it wasn’t a sizable sum of money. This fact surely is going to cause frustration amongst USA Swimming members, especially given the lofty salaries that have been reported for major executives like CEO Chuck Wielgus.
Meanwhile, a 6th civil case has been filed regarding the case of Christopher Wheat, a former coach in Lawrence, Indiana, who admitted to having a sexual relationship with a 14-year old swimmer. The case calls for the firing of Chuck Wielgus as the Executive Director of USA Swimming.
Though calling for the firing of a man who has proven to be largely inept at protecting USA Swimming athletes would be welcomed by those in many corners of the country, this case may not the straw that will break the camel’s back. USA Swimming indicates in their statement below that they handled Wheat’s case pretty-well to the letter of the law, and claim to have had him banned within three months of initial reporting.
“USA Swimming was first alerted to abuse by Chris Wheat when he was arrested in October 2009. Upon learning of the arrest, USA Swimming immediately implemented the process to expel and permanently ban Chris Wheat from USA Swimming, which was accomplished in December 2009. The review system in this case worked expeditiously and effectively to remove Wheat permanently from the membership.
“USA Swimming has developed one of the most comprehensive Athlete Protection Programs among Olympic Sports. [It] includes mandatory background checks for all coach and non-athlete members, a Code of Conduct governing all members, a mandatory reporting requirement in instances of sexual misconduct, a public listing of those suspended from the organization for life and a system for reporting complaints.”
By the way, you mention “the straw that breaks the camel’s back” with regards to Wielgus staying on as the 6th lawsuit. Shouldn’t it be the fact that USA Swimming had to settle this first lawsuit?
Nah, settlements can be explained away with “risk management”. As long as USA Swimming keeps settling, no judge will find him at fault and lay a hurt on them that even he won’t be able to recover from.
This subject of sexual misconduct continues to become an issue in this sport. Coaches that exploit the athletes or young children should be identified as soon practical and reported to USA swimming officials as identified or suspected. In addition, if suspected, coaches or witnesses should come forward and notify as soon as possible. better to report and notify than turn a “blind eye”.
For example if a coach observes behavior that he or she thinks appears suspicious in nature between a coach and athlete the behavior should be reported to USA swimming officials.
Sorry, agreed about the whole inept thing.. Carry on…
Last paragraph, agreed.
My response to the 1st paragraph of USA Swimming quote: BFD, he admitted it.