Bill Jewell Draws Three-Year Ban from USA Swimming

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colorado, June 18. BILL Jewell has been banned by USA Swimming for three years following Code of Conduct violations stemming from “a pattern of inappropriate behavior, including making sexually explicit comments toward athletes and other individuals affiliated with the club.”

USA Swimming notified Jewell's former employer, the Golden West Swim Club including head coach Mark Schubert and board president Patrick Gillespie today of Jewell's suspension. USA Swimming did state that “there was no allegation of or evidence to support inappropriate sexual touching.”

Jewell's name first came into the public eye in 2010, when he was in the middle of the announcement that Sean Hutchison was resigning as coach of the postgraduate team at the Fullerton Aquatics Swim Team (FAST) in December 2010, an announcement that was denied one month later. Jewell was CEO and head coach of FAST at the time.

Most recently, Jewell was embroiled in a wrongful termination suit during his time in 2012 as volunteer assistant coach for the Golden West Swim Club that alleged that fellow coach Dia Rianda was terminated because she spoke out on suspicion of inappropriate actions Jewell was engaged in with other swimmers. Rianda also alleged that Jewell was involved with Mark Schubert in covering up misconduct by Hutchison at FAST.

In the months since Rianda filed the wrongful termination suit in September 2012, Jewell and Schubert have been cleared of covering up misconduct regarding Hutchison, although Schubert did admit in a deposition that he leaked information regarding Hutchison to the Washington Post.

Jewell later resigned from his post at Golden West and was part of a full investigation this spring by USA Swimming after documents surfaced alleging Jewell's misconduct towards several female swimmers during his time at FAST and Golden West. The investigation held a possible lifetime ban from the sport for Jewell, according to an article in the Orange County Register.

Jewell's coaching background includes a stint at the University of Southern California during Schubert's tenure there, as well as coaching at Newport Harbor High in the 1970s. His charges at Newport included future Olympian John Moffet. He was a two-time Olympian in kayaking, competing in 1964 and 1968.

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