Make it Mandatory

USA Swimming needs help. The sport’s leadership unit seems lost and unable to deal with a crisis of responsibility that erupted with reports by 20/20 and ESPN during 2010. This crisis has been simmering since the inception of our National Governing Body. Token efforts have been made towards the reduction of sex abuse within the sport but these have been too weak or too incomplete to provide any real change. Coaches within the sport have been afraid to offer assistance to USA Swimming out of fear for their own jobs. Chuck Wielgus & Company have repeatedly lashed out at those within the sport who dare to acknowledge rampant sexual behavior by rogue coaches. Individuals like Mike Saltzstein, who offered a serious and thoughtful path to improvement, have been met with a wild and misdirected baring of teeth.

To date, Swimming Exposed has offered five stories highlighting failures in the sport as avenues for improvement. The response from USA Swimming has been true to form. Over the last two months we have been in contact with the FBI regarding activities by USA Swimming which go well beyond the reasonable. Yes, USA Swimming has done something very, very wrong. We will detail that series of events for you in the next few weeks. This week we will offer our first step of hundreds towards improvement and proper governance in the sport. This is a tool we hope USA Swimming will adopt. If they do not, individual clubs may wish to add this to their arsenal to prevent failures like those that seem to have occurred in Monument, Colorado… USA Swimming’s back yard.

Steve Fair, a Colorado Springs coach who has bounced from team to team over the last decade, has a past employment failure that USA Swimming and his many clubs have failed to unearth. As detailed on ConcussionInc.net, Steve Fair was apparently fired by Colorado Springs Parks, Recreation and Cultural Services for behavior that included sexual harassment of lifeguards. Unless employment with the City of Colorado Springs was completely omitted from Coach Fair’s resume, the behavior he exhibited would have been easily identifiable by the use of a simple screening form. (We’re placing ours in the new ‘Resources’ section on SwimmingExposed.com.)

Susan Woessner’s favorite broken record quote when speaking to reporters is “We have the flagship [Athlete Protection/Safe Sport] program in Olympic Sports.” StopItNow.org, a leader in child abuse prevention, cites screening like USA Swimming’s minimal requirements as inadequate saying that “[c]ompliance with mandatory reporting statutes, whistleblower policies and background checks are important steps to dealing with abuse but set a low bar for protecting children.” We couldn’t agree more.

Oddly enough, Steve Fair is already responsible for one of USA Swimming’s recommended employment checks. In late 2010, Steve Fair arranged for the Woodmoor Waves to hire his drinking partner as an assistant coach. As detailed on ConcussionInc.net and USSwimNScandal.com, this was done with neither interview nor reference checks beyond Fair’s own evaluation. Woodmoor parents discovered that Sean Coffey had a very sexual and profane web presence only after his employment was completed. USA Swimming’s suggested social media check came as a result of Susan Woessner’s interaction with parents regarding Woodmoor’s cover-up and failure to report Coffey’s seeming violation of what is now Article 304.3.18.

While USA Swimming does recommend several helpful steps to follow when hiring coaches, the lack of mandatory procedures (beyond the most basic of background checks) is both irresponsible and intentional! By not mandating most hiring practices, USA Swimming asserts that it is not legally responsible for the hiring decisions made by clubs. This strategy has proved unsuccessful in multiple lawsuits. USA Swimming has a clear legal obligation (Duty of Care, Duty of Obedience) to uphold the conduct and membership rules it sets. The local consequence of this warped legal strategyis that individual clubs are essentially set up to fail by the NGB.

USA Swimming has added past employment verification as a requirement but hasn’t addressed handling of a situation when the response is no more than “Yes, he/she worked here.” Signed by the applicant, our form ensures for the release of sexual abuse or harassment documentation that individuals might otherwise be able to conceal. Voluntary release by the applicant legally frees previous employers to tell the truth and goes a long way toward preventing known abusers (Charles Arabas and Aaron Bartleson for instance) from moving club to club. If a coaching candidate attempts to hide past indiscretions by not authorizing release, that candidate’s application can be easily and legally dismissed as incomplete.

Making all employment requirements mandatory and filing paperwork for each coach with USA Swimming would reduce the instances of negligent hiring and give USA Swimming a true defense for the actions of its member clubs. The clubs would benefit by sharing the collected experience of others in executing a proper and thorough hiring process.

While many clubs are responsible, there are those that lack the time, commitment or judgment to run a proper hiring program. There are also lots of ways that the inexperienced can fail at hiring without competent guidance. Compliance with good procedure can be encouraged by either the carrot or the stick. The Woodmoor Waves, Steve Fair’s former club, are a prime example of a club that doesn’t like carrots. Many current and former parents of Woodmoor exemplify the archetypes that so often lead to disaster. Recognizing these failure types may help you better administer your own club:

Waves President Sue Hippe (banished to Peak Swim Team North) – Type: helpless and hopeless. “I don’t know what to do. I only had a few hours of training.” What a difference checklists and forms would make.

Waves Vice President Brian Donahue (of Chuck Baechler fame) – Type: clueless but defiant. “We’re drawing a line in the sand. This case is closed.” Actions taken: essentially zero. Awareness: less.

Waves Secretary Sonja Griffith (also now at Peak Swim Team North) – Type: arrogant and unthinking. “If these coaches leave you owe us a new coach!” Involved enough to threaten members of different teams to protect her coaches (a sexual harasser and his porn star friend).

Waves Treasurer Robin Carden (another Peak exile) – Type: intentionally oblivious. “I’m sure it’s disgusting but I don’t even want to see it.” What she doesn’t know can’t hurt her or her children.

Amy Panoncillo (chased off to Peak Swim Team as well) – Type: defensive pawn. “You’re vilifying a young man.” Unwitting stooge for a harassing coach and his friends to hide their own failures.

None of these individuals would have made a public spectacle of themselves if a proper hiring procedure was provided by USA Swimming. In the case of Panoncillo and Hippe, USA Swimming’s failure contributed to police involvement (for the protection of others) as recently as late February 2012. The children of this sport require a much better effort from USA Swimming to protect them from predators. As a side benefit, this same effort may help protect some parents from themselves.

As the Woodmoor failures demonstrate, the potential benefits of a mandatory program are tremendous. Proper and mandatory employment screening (the provided form or similar) would have identified Steve Fair and Chuck Baechler as risky hires. Social media screening and minimal internet research would have precluded the hiring of Baechler and Sean Coffey under several provisions of the Code of Conduct. Reporting enforcement would have kept an apparent past sexual threat like Baechler from continued employment in the sport.

A well designed and enforced program could catch a very high percentage of the most dangerous coaches (even those lacking a criminal record!) prior to placing them on a pool deck with children. Swimming Exposed will help build that program over the next few months with the assistance of our commenters and contributors. Your participation, ideas and your club’s best practices are welcome. Unfortunately your voice may be required to encourage USA Swimming and the LSC’s to participate.

Through lawsuits and investigative reporting, USA Swimming has been made very aware of their failings and shortcomings. Thus far, their efforts have been limited to damage control in the media and mitigation of financial responsibility in the courts. This level of action falls short of what USA Swimming’s customers, young swimmers, truly deserve. The changes that we and others will propose require far less effort than USA Swimming currently spends sweeping their failures under the rug. With solutions and improvements so readily available, USA Swimming’s inaction is a reprehensible evasion of both reality and responsibility.

Crime and Punishment

Amanda Cox insists that she has done nothing wrong. Her lawyer says that she has fulfilled any legal or moral obligations to her swimmers and owes the sport nothing more. If this view is shared by USA Swimming we will understand just how short our leadership falls in backing claims of having “the flagship protection program” in Olympic sports. If you haven’t heard of Amanda Cox you are not alone. USA Swimming has been remarkably silent about her existence despite Coach Cox providing the wink and nod to one of the most public displays of youth sports pedophile culture in the past few years.

In 2009 Amanda Cox, the head coach at Maverick Aquatics (Lafayette, IN), showed us that the good ol’ boy system of sex abuse tolerance isn’t just for men. Ms. Cox participated in a shocking exchange of text messages with fellow coach Chris Wheat over his sexual relationship with a 14-year-old swimmer. After confirming the identity of the young girl, Ms. Cox’s response was not an immediate call to the police or USA Swimming. Instead, Amanda Cox laughingly texted this to Wheat…

“…good catch . now put her back in the lake and chalk it up as an experience, smile about it occasionally and upgrade to college…”

This is far from a professional or responsible reaction to the rape of a young child. Ms. Cox’s callous and insensitive text is mind blowing. USA Swimming had no way to avoid placing Chris Wheat on the ‘Banned List’ following his conviction but they have done nothing about the actions of Amanda Cox.

USA Swimming has both a responsibility and the necessary authority to act against Ms. Cox. The Code of Conduct directly addresses situations like the Wheat/Cox child sex failure.

304.2 Any member or prospective member of USA Swimming may be denied membership, censured, placed on probation, suspended for a definite or indefinite period of time with or without terms of probation, fined or expelled from USA Swimming if such member violates the provisions of the USA Swimming Code of Conduct, set forth in 304.3, or aids, abets or encourages another person to violate any of the provisions of the USA Swimming Code of Conduct.

Simple and clear. Aiding or abetting carries the same penalty as a violation of the Code of Conduct. Chris Wheat’s criminal sexual behavior with a child merited his expulsion from the sport. Amanda Cox’s joking about the rape of a 14-year-old girl merits the same.

The failure of USA Swimming to enforce this very important rule is not an aberration. Just up the road from USA Swimming Headquarters, lack of standards and supervision has resulted in nearly the perfect storm. After parting with a coach they dubbed “the Dictator”, the Woodmoor Waves (Monument, CO) selected a head coach who was apparently fired from his previous job for sexual harassment of young lifeguards. Woodmoor then added his drinking buddy, a self-proclaimed rock-star/porn-star party machine with a graphic and obscene web presence. Following the predictable implosion and departure of these two, the Waves had a brush with a disgraced judge whose plea deal narrowly avoided rape and stalking charges. The current deck-walker at Woodmoor appears to have failed at big teams on two continents before finding himself in the woods near Monument, Colorado… where swim coaches go to die.

We introduced you to Chuck Baechler last week. Coaches Steve Fair, Sean Coffey, Ross Hedrick and Rob Blundell will be the subject of future articles. Coffey and Fair have already achieved local notoriety with mentions by Irv Muchnick (ConcussionInc.net) and Splash of Truth (USSwimnScandal.com). It is the individual behind Woodmoor’s parade of uniquely qualified coaches that we’d like you to meet. Brian Donahue is a USA Swimming Member (an official) and a long serving board member at Woodmoor. After failing to identify every flavor of miscreant seeking to supervise children, Mr. Donahue has actively and repeatedly attempted to conceal these individuals from parents on his team and USA Swimming itself. Donahue is the poster child for a rules enforcement renaissance from 1 Olympic Plaza.

Inept though he is, even Chuck Wielgus wouldn’t allow an individual guilty of assault involving sexual misconduct to coach children in bathing suits. There seems only one rational conclusion: After being informed of Chuck Baechler’s sexual indiscretion by fellow board member Terriann Snediker, Donahue and the rest of the Waves Board neglected to inform Susan Woessner or anyone else of Chuck Baechler’s sexual and criminal past.

As with Amanda Cox, Brian Donahue and the Waves’ failure fits both the spirit and letter of the aiding or abetting section of the Code of Conduct. Brian Donahue’s inaction (despite clear knowledge) enabled a troubled individual to obtain employment as a swim coach with another club. This blatant disregard of USA Swimming’s Code of Conduct and membership standards is inexcusable. While there is no indication that Baechler’s activities are ongoing, similar failures to report have allowed abusers to move from place to place and victim to victim. Charles Arabas’ victims at Northern Arizona University were the result of nearly identical inaction and neglect. Passing the trash places every child down the line at potential risk.

USA Swimming makes a point of singling out their critics no matter how right that person may be. Ken Stopkotte received a two year national and five year state ban for entering bad times into the USA Swimming database. The clock component of those times was accurate. Stopkotte’s punishment seemed more a response to his honest representation of USA Swimming’s sex problems on 20/20 and ESPN than to the fairly common and almost universally ignored disregard of DQ slips. On SwimBrief.net, Chris DeSantis poetically dubbed Stopkotte’s offense “falsifying times while criticizing USA Swimming.” Despite their disregard of intentionally fictitious times in other cases, USA Swimming removed Coach Stopkotte from the sport for half a decade unless he elected to move from his home state and completely start from scratch.

Amanda Cox and Brian Donahue risked the safety of children out of either apathy or a desire to preserve relationships and the façade of their reputations. Ken Stopkotte’s clerical efforts pale by comparison. If justice or proportionality are any consideration, USA Swimming should immediately suspend both of these individuals from all swimming related duties pending formal hearings and their likely inclusion on the ‘Banned for Life’ list. Anything less would be a joke and a statement that swimmer safety has never been a concern for the top leadership at USA Swimming.

Defining Priorities: USA Swimming’s Critical Choice

USA Swimming is facing a defining moment. Chuck Baechler, an individual with a troubling past, has been discovered operating openly but undetected in USA Swimming’s coaching ranks. Baechler pled guilty to charges stemming from sex with a seemingly unwilling partner. This criminal conviction apparently was not turned up by USA Swimming’s vaunted background checks. USA Swimming now must choose between enforcement of their rules or allowing this coach to continue in a position of authority over vulnerable children. With a complaint imminent, we will soon know if USA Swimming’s priority is the children, the coaches, or a self-serving evasion of all responsibility.

Chuck Baechler, the current coach at Watertown Area Swim Club, has a past. For the record, his misdeeds are not something he attempts to hide. Baechler is very clear about the legal aspects of his actions in his communications with Concussion Inc. author and USA Swimming watchdog Irv Muchnick. Chuck Baechler, a former Washington district judge, had sex with a woman who appeared as a defendant in his court. She apparently did not consent or otherwise felt coerced into the unwanted act. A health professional she confided in brought this information to the authorities.

According to the Spokane Spokesman-Review (10/15/1998):

In court documents, [Newport Police Chief Bill] Clark stated he thought he was dealing with a stalking case when he interviewed the woman, but she hesitantly volunteered that Baechler had sexual intercourse with her against her will. She said she hadn’t told her counselor about that because she was recently separated from her husband and hoped for a reconciliation, the court documents say.

The woman, who was being counseled for an addiction to prescription drugs, said she appeared before Baechler Aug. 25 [1998] on charges that she drove drunk and failed to stop after hitting an unoccupied vehicle. She said Baechler called her into his chambers to give her some legal papers pertaining to her separation from her husband and children.

Baechler said he wanted to spare her embarrassment and offered to help her find a place to live, the woman told authorities. She said he made several calls and told her he was unable to find a place for her to stay, but offered to let her stay at his cabin at Diamond Lake.

The woman said Baechler drove her to his cabin after getting off work, and reassured her that he was “a good guy” when she told him she was uneasy about going to a strange place with a man she didn’t know.

At the cabin, she told Clark, Baechler repeatedly told her she was beautiful and began touching and trying to kiss her. She said she objected, but he assured her “everything would be OK” and led her to his bedroom.

Baechler undressed her, she alleged, although she repeatedly objected, pulled away and tried to tug her clothing back on. Clark stated in an affidavit that the woman told him she was frightened of Baechler and eventually allowed him to have sex with her. Afterward, she said he dropped her off at a convenience store in Newport.

On Oct.1, after the woman had rented an apartment in Newport, she said Baechler came to her home. Clark said she told him she feared she “had done something wrong,” so she let Baechler in and he began touching her and making sexual advances.

Baechler left when the woman told him she had to go to a meeting at her children’s school, Clark stated. But he said the woman told him Baechler returned at 1:40 a.m. and knocked on her door and banged on her window for 15 minutes. She said she watched him get into a car, but he returned to knock on her door and window about every half-hour for five hours.

Afterward, she said she found a note of apology on her door, signed “C.B.”

Like Clark, sheriff’s Deputy Alan Botzheim said in a court document that he found the woman’s account consistent and credible. In a statement used to obtain a warrant to search Baechler’s cabin for evidence of third-degree rape and criminal stalking, Botzheim said the woman was able to find the cabin and accurately describe its interior.

Chuck Baechler’s personal record is littered with tax delinquencies and reports, official and otherwise, allude to repeated failures in filing paperwork or completing required duties.

According to the Spokesman-Review:

Despite that, prosecuting and defense attorneys alike continued to regard Baechler as a talented jurist. He blamed his failure to get things done on attention deficit disorder, and said he sought counseling and began taking the prescription drug Ritalin to overcome the problem.

Excuses, excuses.

The ultimate outcome of Baechler’s criminal case reflects both his intellectual/legal prowess and an apparent penchant for manipulation. Chuck Baechler stepped down as a judge in an agreement that also terminated the investigation into his status as a legal professional. The criminal case was adeptly ended with a plea bargain and guilty plea (technically an Alford plea, “guilty with an asterisk”: see below) to an assault charge that would just keep Baechler off of the national sex offender roster. The bright but seemingly troubled judge had maneuvered to avoid national shame while preserving hope of a future legal career.

(An Alford plea is a guilty plea with a side comment of “…but I really didn’t do it”. Those choosing to enter an Alford guilty plea are essentially admitting that a judge or jury would find them guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. The hope is that a plea bargain or lighter sentence can be obtained as a result of the “not guilty” guilty plea. In Baechler’s case this meant avoiding potential jail time. He also avoided having a picture on the internet labeled “sex offender” being placed alphabetically between Charles Arabas and Will Colebank.)

USA Swimming’s rule regarding Chuck Baechler’s situation is clear:

304.3.6 Conviction of, imposition of a deferred sentence for, or any plea of guilty or no contest at any time, past or present, or the existence of any pending charges, for (i) any felony, (ii) any offense involving use, possession, distribution or intent to distribute illegal drugs or substances, (iii) any crime involving sexual misconduct, or (iv) any criminal offense against a minor.

This rule is often referenced as the reason for a coach’s appearance on the Banned List. Many of the coaches already banned committed only misdemeanor offenses, like those admitted to by Chuck Baechler’s (Alford) guilty plea.

No one can reasonably assert that Baechler’s offense did not involve sexual misconduct. His plea apparently narrowly avoided a rape trial and at best, his victim felt that the sex was coerced. The correspondence with Irv Muchnick unfortunately suggests that more excuses will be offered in Baechler’s hope that his case will be casually swept aside.

According to Baechler himself, the assault sentence was expunged. This does not mean that people must pretend that Baechler’s actions never occurred. It means that Chuck Baechler’s criminal record was considered clean following probation. Baechler’s behavior and guilty plea do not simply evaporate into a false and rosy new reality.

As if foretelling the failure of the “disappearing crime” dodge, Baechler stated that the statute he pled guilty to doesn’t include sex. Splitting hairs over the absence of the word sex in a legal heading (aside from invalidating his own expunged defense) is beside the point given USA Swimming’s clear wording. “Any crime involving sexual misconduct” reasonably includes allegations of rape or coerced sex. Baechler’s (Alford) guilty plea admits a jury would likely have convicted him of that higher offense if the charges were brought to trial.

While USA Swimming’s laughable background checks and non-binding employment guidelines are the primary concern, the responsibility of individual teams is also an issue in this case. In his email to Irv Muchnick, Chuck Baechler states that he made his criminal history clear to two teams that employed him. Baechler didn’t elaborate but any disclosure, complete or partial, should have triggered investigation by the directors of Baechler’s known employers, Mitchell Aquatic Club (SD) and Watertown Area Swim Club (SD). Baechler was also briefly considered or employed at the Woodmoor Waves (Monument, CO) before discovery of his past terminated the relationship. Compliance with USA Swimming’s rules implicitly required that all three of these teams report Chuck Baechler to the NGB to avoid potential punishment for aiding and abetting Code of Conduct violators under Article 304.2.

A frequent pattern among sexual predators is the use of authority or trust to initiate their advances. It has also been said that 90% of child sexual abuse happens at the hands of trusted adults. While there is no indication, past or present, that Chuck Baechler has ever done anything wrong with children (and no such claim is being made!), concern over similar history among abusers is the focus for USA Swimming’s sex/drug/child offense rule.

USA Swimming is correct in stating that a person’s past action may be an indicator of future behavior. This rule successfully highlights patterns or weaknesses we will continue to see from offenders. As such, denying membership to those who have violated the Code of Conduct “at any time, past or present” is absolutely the right thing to do. Case after case has validated the right of organizations to limit their membership based on the criteria of their choosing. What we shall wait to see, as the guardians of young swimmers’ safety and innocence, is whether USA Swimming will enforce the rules they so highly tout or return to business as usual. See no evil. Hear no evil. Cut me a $750,000 paycheck.

This particular case will tell us quite a bit about USA Swimming’s priorities. If USA Swimming chooses to ban Chuck Baechler they will be making a statement that their rules are important and the safety of children is the priority. If USA Swimming sides with Chuck Baechler and retains him as a USA Swimming member, Wielgus & Co. will be clearly indicating that the self-interest of a coach supersedes the written rules and must be honored even if that means potentially placing children at risk. One of those priorities, child safety or adult membership, has to be placed as paramount.

There is a third possibility. USA Swimming may abrogate their responsibility and do nothing in hopes that, for lack of interest, another scandal will simply fade away. In reality, citing Baechler’s expunged criminal record and opting not to respond would be total breach of corporate responsibility. USA Swimming has a Duty of Care to their underage members and a Duty of Obedience to their own rules. A “Baechler Blank Out” would be a tacit admission that USA Swimming functions only to support the unjustified compensation of Chuck Wielgus and others while bolstering their false sense of child-endangering pride.

The Monster You Don't Know

There are things that keep USA Swimming’s leadership up at night. We’d like to think they lose sleep over people and issues related to the protection of innocent children. Unfortunately, that is not the reality. The monsters in USA Swimming’s closet are things they don’t want you to know about.

USA Swimming has started banning coaches who are convicted of child sex crimes. They have no other choice. They hold up the Banned List and say, “See. We’re keeping your kids safe!” By the time USA Swimming acts, it is already too late. Not one of the victims gets a rewind and erase of the abuse they have suffered.

Penn State’s attempt to hide Jerry Sandusky shows the lengths an organization will go to in protecting their image, jobs and revenue stream. Sandusky, who university officials knew to be a threat to young boys, was allowed to continue running his charitable foundation in the offices and showers of that very campus.

USA Swimming has acted to bury similar allegations on several occasions. National Team Director Everett Uchiyama was removed after a past relationship with an underage swimmer became known. He was ushered out of his office with a hasty cover-up agreement. Pat Hogan, Director of Club Development for USA Swimming, provided a glowing recommendation for Mr. Uchiyama to the Country Club of Colorado. No disclosure of Everett Uchiyama’s illicit past was made. Pat Hogan attempted to deny knowledge of this recommendation until he was confronted with the actual document.

(Uchiyama’s outing, the sordid swimming politics involved, and USA Swimming’s failure to grant Everett Uchiyama a Board of Review will be the topic for another article.)

Pat Hogan is a story himself. Mr. Hogan’s first wife was a swimmer he coached from when she was 16. According to Mr. Hogan, he began having a relationship with her at some point “after she was 17” (under oath) or 18 (to the NY Times). They married when she was 20 but subsequently divorced. (The rumored reason for the divorce we’ll leave for you to Google.) Pat Hogan informed Swimming’s Executive Director Chuck Wielgus about this prohibited relationship only after it came up in a legal deposition for yet another USA Swimming sex abuse case.

Though USA Swimming strictly prohibits coach/swimmer relationships (except under the most unusual circumstances), Chuck Wielgus took no action against Pat Hogan. Our Executive Director went so far as to tell the New York Times he supported Mr. Hogan, “There was nothing wrong with that relationship. I’m O.K. with it”. He then declared to the court that “…knowing the sort of individual that I -- that he is and the sort of value system he lives by, I felt there was no reason to -- I appreciated what he told me, and I felt there was no -- I had no cause to do anything more”. Is it troubling that the leader of our sport dismissed this inappropriate and prohibited relationship with a simple “I’m O.K. with it”?

As bad as these two instances are, USA Swimming has had worse. One incident in particular may prompt legal questions. We project USA Swimming answering them with some variant of “we don’t remember”.

Pat Hogan’s predecessor as Director of Club Development was a man by the name of Will Colebank. Will Colebank and everything related to his existence disappeared from USA Swimming Headquarters with a speed that defies imagination. No explanation of his departure was made to the bulk of the staff. There was no publicity. He doesn’t appear on the Banned List. Will Colebank appears to be USA Swimming’s ‘He Who Must Not Be Named’.

You can easily find Will Colebank's information on the internet and in public records. Will Colebank became a middle school teacher shortly after leaving USA Swimming. He likely received a stellar recommendation from 1 Olympic Plaza. The teaching job terminated when Mr. Colebank was arrested for child pornography. He was not turned in by his school or USA Swimming. Will Colebank was turned in by his own adult son. Ultimately, Mr. Colebank was convicted of sexual exploitation of a child (2009) and promotion of obscenity to a minor (2008).

The Rick Curl case has been referred to as the worst kept secret in swimming. Within the halls of USA Swimming and among its employees at the time, the Will Colebank cover-up holds nearly the same status. No one wants to talk about or address the things they know USA Swimming should have done. This institutional failure to deal with issues has allowed the child sex abuse problem to spread like a disease until, today, it is too big to solve without completely starting over.

Questions will be asked of USA Swimming about Will Colebank. “We don’t remember” or “nothing to see here, move along” is how USA Swimming will likely answer. That won’t make any child safer. Just as they did when Will Colebank was fired, USA Swimming’s leaders will act to save their individual hides and paychecks until they are forced to do otherwise.

Ask these questions of your leadership. Expect nothing by way of answer except denial and amnesia.

1. Why was Will Colebank fired?
2. Why was the departure so quick?
3. Why was the departure so quiet?
4. What happened to Will Colebank’s computer?
5. Were Will Colebank’s activities reported to law enforcement?
6. Was Will Colebank’s computer given to law enforcement as evidence?
7. What did USA Swimming offer by way of recommendation to his school employer?
8. Why would USA Swimming offer any positive recommendation at all?
9. Is there a secret agreement regarding the activities of Will Colebank?
10. What was discussed with parents about USA Swimming activities where Will Colebank coached?
11. How can Will Colebank, a former USA Swimming officer, fail to appear on the Banned List after a conviction for sexual exploitation and promotion of obscenity to a child?

Ask these questions of yourself. Don’t fail to answer and act.

1. How safe are our swimmers under this leadership and organization?
2. How many more children will be victimized before we act to ensure actual change?

Bill Maxson - Twitillated

@Jesus_M_Christ: "You know who I am. If not, google me bitches."

If you find that offensive, you're not alone. If you don't know what the "M" stands for don't ask. It makes it worse. No one in a public position of responsibility would dare endorse such an inflammatory comment. The same rules apparently don't apply to the leadership at USA Swimming or its charitable USA Swimming Foundation.

Bill Maxson, the USA Swimming Foundation's Board Chair, was one of the last Splash of Truth investigations before the sudden shutdown this spring. Mr. Maxson is also a past USA Swimming President and ex-officio USA Swimming Board Member. With USA Swimming rocked every few weeks by new arrests, lawsuits, or stories of sexual abuse by coaches, the leadership of the sport should be hyper-conscious of their image and activities. Instead, Mr. Maxson flaunts his own sexual interests and questionable judgment on the same Twitter account he uses to tout the Foundation and our dedicated athletes.

In January of this year, Bill Maxson's Twitter Following page was littered with Playboy Playmates, swimsuit models, wardrobe malfunction prone D-list actresses, and web sex personalities like @LilMissCuntCake. To call these publicly proclaimed favorites of Mr. Maxson shocking would be correct on many levels.

In March this information was relayed to Splash of Truth. They stated an intention to publish within days. Instead, the sport's most controversial and best watchdog unceremoniously folded up shop.

Within days, Bill Maxson's Twitter account was cleaned up. Was USA Swimming tipped off? Did Chuck Wielgus, USA Swimming's Executive Director, or Susan Woessner, the athlete protection puppet, have a brief spasm of proactive and ethical behavior? Did Maxson do this of his own volition? We'd have to place all of them under oath to find out the truth.

Several days later USA Swimming announced a partnership with Social Intelligence, a company whose purpose is to monitor social media for questionable conduct and material. This was a step that many in the sport had been requesting for some time. Social Intelligence and similar companies have been helping corporations and universities with screening and monitoring for years. If USA Swimming couldn't keep its web house in order, maybe somebody else could.

In the run-up to the Olympics we visited Bill Maxson's Twitter account once again and were shocked to find that Mr. Maxson was resuming his old ways.

@Parker_Snow: "People mostly like me for my loose morals. My close friends call me P-Nasty." ...

@ericaskeli: Are you following this for the bondage outfits? ...

@WhatTheF***Facts ...

@OMGFactsSex ...

@JessaHinton: a Playboy model ...

@Playboy: the official Twitter page ...

@jerica: "( . Y . ) Titzilla" ...

@Kayden_Kross: a web sex entrepreneur ...

@ShannonElizab: D-list or D-something ...

@Jesus_M_Christ ...

You've got to be kidding. While adults are free to read or peruse whatever they desire, public display of questionable material by a leader or coach shouldn't be without consequences. The partnership with Social Intelligence confirms that. If you must surf the pornographic and profane, have the sense to do it discretely. Bill Maxson, your public persona is gross and most inappropriate as the charitable face of USA Swimming.

The motto of the USA Swimming Foundation is in part "Building Champions". The image of USA Swimming, away from the pool at least, is being dominated by coaches like Rick Curl, Mitch Ivey, Andy King and a host of others. How can the sport consistently build champions when USA Swimming spends its time and your dollars primarily on damage control and settling lawsuits? Would we build more champions if this effort and money were refocused on club development and enhancement of coach, swimmer, and parent resources? How about supplementing and funding the progression of our elite and near-elite athletes?

Search the blogs and the newspapers covering swimming right now or talk to your local coach. You'll find that people who have been involved with the sport long term say the "relationships" we're now banning pedophiles for have been an acknowledged and purposely ignored part of swimming's culture for decades. Is it a surprise that USA Swimming's leadership turns a blind eye to this when the past President of the organization doesn't even try to hide his puerile interests?

Fixing the culture of USA Swimming so that we can refocus our efforts on swimming(!) requires that we clean house from top to bottom. Bill Maxson, the USA Swimming Foundation Chair, is the perfect place to start.

The USA Swimming Code of Conduct calls a violation...

(304.3.18) Any other material and intentional act, conduct or omission not provided for above, which is detrimental to the image or reputation of USA Swimming, a LSC or the sport of swimming.

A Board of Review that wouldn't find Bill Maxson detrimental to swimming's image could itself be called out on this same clause.

Susan Woessner showed us something other than intelligence (again) by not using Social Intelligence on USA Swimming's own.

Chuck Wielgus might further signal his contempt for USA Swimming's Rules by whitewashing this like the alleged "investigation" of a national coach this spring.

Mr. Maxson could and should spare the sport trouble and embarrassment by resigning and accepting a lifetime ban (a la Everett Uchiyama). No secret deals this time. No glowing recommendations. Everyone reading this knows the truth.

USA Swimming's Bill "@BMaxson" Maxson. Now you know who he is. If not, google him bitches.

• Bill Maxson's Twitter page (current)
• Bill Maxson's Tweets (archive)
• Who Bill Maxson follows (January partial archive)
• Who Bill Maxson follows (August archive)

$1,000,000 for a broken arm...

In every organization or undertaking there are risks.  What those risks are and how they are handled gives us an indication of the values and priorities of the sponsoring organization.  USA Swimming's priorities are both clear and troubling when you examine their weak hiring guidance and the insurance they provide to member clubs.

USA Swimming offers member clubs insurance with $1,000,000 in medical and general liability coverage per incident.  If a child were to break an arm while swimming for their local club, this is the policy that would pay for any necessary care or treatment.  This amount is adequate for almost every accidental, careless or negligent injury that could occur while a swim team is responsible for a child's safety.  The exceptions and exemptions in this policy are where USA Swimming's weakness and failure are exposed.

The most glaring exception in USA Swimming's insurance coverage is a separate policy that covers sexual misconduct by coaches.  USA Swimming's sex abuse coverage only provides $100,000 to potential victims of a predatory coach.  With the cost of litigation for a civil sex abuse claim potentially above $250,000 many lawyers would balk at even filing a lawsuit. Their fees and expenses could not be recouped from a settlement with the insurance company.  No money at all would be left for damages.

While USA Swimming's intent in this regard isn't known, many would consider this an attempt to deter victims from pursuing claims against the governing body.  Coaches and the swim teams that employ them are not likely to have great financial resources.  Victims of sexual abuse are left without a means to pay for any physical harm or the years of emotional rehabilitation required in the wake of betrayal.

Predators like swim coach Andy King, jailed in 2009, have moved within the system for years, even decades.  It is rumored that King's troubles with under-age girls started as early as the 1970's.  USA Swimming can be documented as aware of King's activities in 2003.  This is information that should have been available to any club that chose to interview Coach King. It was not and Andy King, a serial abuser, continued working with the tacit approval of USA Swimming.

While no system of background checks and interview protocols will identify every potential predator, USA Swimming does have a responsibility to provide their member clubs with the best available programs to vet and screen new and transferring coaches.  The current background check only identifies convicted felons.  Information about prior claims is shockingly absent.  In the event that the hiring system falls short, USA Swimming's insurance package will supposedly help pick up the pieces.  Unfortunately it can't and won't.

The combination of inadequate insurance, lax employment guidelines and limited screening tools places every young member of USA Swimming at risk. No reasonable parent can feel comfortable knowing that USA Swimming will pay $1,000,000 for a broken arm but only $100,000 for the rape of a child.


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