Towson Tigers Planning Peaceful Boycott of Pittsburgh Dual Meet

I am appalled that the University has allowed for Pat Mead, Maureens husband, to stay on deck with these kids. I can’t imagine how violating and uncomfortable that is for them. It is also mind boggling to me that this teams needs to perform a protest in order to receive some attention from the administration. My prayers go out for these kids and I hope they will recover from this.

I too am appalled at the lack of information and the handling of this situation. The University has also given the school newspaper the run around by responding to the paper’s Freedom of Information Act request for e-mails pertaining to the situation by charging a fee in excess of $2,000 – they have since waived the fee after a scathing editorial, however as of tonight, they still haven’t gotten any information. http://thetowerlight.com/the-towerlights-public-information-saga/ This source also did not report on the suspensions. How both women coaches could be suspended without any action against the head coach baffles the mind, especially since anyone with any interaction with the team knows that nothing happens without the head coach’s approval. I applaud Towson University’s Swimmers and Divers for standing up for themselves and can only hope that justice prevails.

As a parent of a swimmer I just want to be able to see my child swim. They love their team and are sacrificing a lot boycotting this meet..please from all us parents, let’s do the right thing by these kids and give them answers.

it is troubling how after 30 days there is “no reportable information” given to news outlets by TU on who the phone belonged to; who exactly was suspended pending investigation, etc. and why they were suspended. Instead, it seems that it has been left for sources to tell the news what coaches are missing. Is this a TU investigation or a cover up? Bravo to the Towerlight editor for seeking public information records in the wake of this administration silence.

To all the parents & fans of Towson Swim & Dive,
As an alumni of the team, I understand you have a great love for your kids and for the program, and this is upsetting. I respect that. You have ‘skin in the game’. However, no parent, fan or anyone else knows what goes on, besides the people who spent the full 4 years there. No one.
You don’t know exactly what countless 5am practices feel like, or how you are so completely drained after 4 hours of swimming, that you fall asleep during dinner. Or that you have hair falling out of your eyebrows, and your skin feels like sand paper. We do it, and we have done it, for the love of the sport. I carry every lesson I learned on that team, with those coaches, with me every single day, at work, in life–dealing with different kinds of people and bosses. It is wonderful you want to support your kid. But, let your kid be an adult and make decisions for themselves. This is a growing experience for them, as they transition into adulthood. They don’t need to be coddled, they need to do what they believe is right. If it turns out to be wrong, so be it. They learned. If they were right, they will step forward in life with more confidence about how to get through a difficult situation.
As for kids always running to the administration every time there is a problem: do you think in the real world you can really run to the police, or HR every time your boss says something ‘mean’ about your performance? No, you can’t. You have to figure it out on your own. I did. Most of us did.
No one said swimming in a Division I program was going to be a cakewalk. It’s not. But you learn through every trial and tribulation, and it makes you a better person.
As far as the investigation goes, it’s an investigation. It’s law. There is A LOT that goes on behind the scenes, and it isn’t black and white. These are people’s lives and livelihoods. Everyone needs to sit back, and allow the process to go forward. Investigations take a while, because they have to get it right. There won’t be new information, until the investigation is over. There never is. Otherwise, it compromises everything that is being worked on.
As for our team, it will survive and thrive, somehow.

It’s not unusual for the police to be keeping quiet, and one month is not very much time for performing an investigation involving the forensic review of electronic devices.

While it’s mildly unusual for a college or university to be keeping quiet, that is probably a good thing if there is the potential for a subsequent criminal prosecution. Any substantive comments by Towson could only harm, rather than help, the chances of convicting anyone who committed a crime here. And saying that someone has committed a crime can open you open to civil liability if you are wrong.

It does seems unlikely that a university would not suspend a coach if the university has reason to believe that the coach might have committed a crime against a student. One rational conclusion is that the coach is not the one under police investigation.

Past swimmer – maybe if you would have actually taken the time to read what I wrote you would have realized that my post was not about unfair treatment it had more to do with that the freshmen are just as important as any other swimmer on the team. My daughter took all that was thrown at her and kept going back so don’t talk to me about emotional instability. No one is worried about transferring rights as much as they are worried about the kids being able to compete. As a former swimmer I would think you would understand the commitment and sacrifice it takes to get ready for that one big meet. It was your decision to ignore what was going on around you and watch your teammates struggle but this team has decided that they no longer want to stand by and watch certain things happen and that is their right. You don’t get to decide whose struggles are justified or whose pain is real. They ALL matter! Good Luck to all the Towson swimmers!

This appears to be a perfect example of where’s there’s smoke there is fire. After witnessing the behavior of the Towson swim team at the CAA meet compared to other teams on deck indicated that something was not right. jMU showed in 2012 that winning can happen in a healthy atmosphere where the swimmers work and compete just as hard, treat the teams with respect and still love and support their teammates. I don’t think those Jmu girls are any better people than the girls on Towson’s team,but the JMU coaches Beckey Benson, Dane Pederson, and Sam Smith built a championship team without pitting the girls against each other. When Towson wins the title all other teams remain on deck during the award ceremony, when JMU won all teams remained for the ceremony except one, the Towson Tigers. If you are looking for a great college swimming experience check out the parent run William and mary team, or the fun loving UNCW team, or any of the other up and coming CAA teams. Of course there will be some of Mead’s successful swimmers who will write and say that winning justifies the means and the Meads. But it can be done without those means. Now college swimming is in the past for our family but it was great while it lasted. We only glad we had to endure the Towson program 4 days per year

Pat Mead I hope you are happy with your new life! Your created all of this for yourself