{"id":297291,"date":"2018-02-21T15:32:32","date_gmt":"2018-02-21T22:32:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/?p=297291"},"modified":"2018-02-21T15:33:50","modified_gmt":"2018-02-21T22:33:50","slug":"is-usa-swimming-safe-sport-initiative-effective","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/is-usa-swimming-safe-sport-initiative-effective\/","title":{"rendered":"Is the USA Swimming Safe Sport Initiative Effective?"},"content":{"rendered":"

By David Rieder.<\/em><\/p>\n

Last week, the Orange County Register<\/em> released a story accusing USA Swimming of failing to properly investigate \u201chundreds\u201d of claims of sexual abuse<\/a>. What followed were the results of the newspaper\u2019s investigation, which included both new information and other facts previously disseminated when USA Swimming last came under fire for its sexual abuse procedures in 2010.<\/p>\n

Those revelations brought about USA Swimming\u2019s Safe Sport division, launched as a proactive measure to ensure athlete safety and put in place procedures for coach education and handling misconduct violations. Every two years, all USA Swimming-certified coaches must take and pass a Safe Sport online course.<\/p>\n

The Register <\/em>blasts both Safe Sport and its director, Susan Woessner<\/strong>, as inadequate, but is that really the case? Since 2010, more than 100 individuals have been added to USA Swimming\u2019s banned-for-life list for code of conduct violations, which includes sexual misconduct. But on a club level, is Safe Sport making a difference with coaches, swimmers and families?<\/p>\n

\u201cYes,\u201d said Tom<\/strong> Ugast<\/strong>, CEO of the Nation\u2019s Capital Swim Club, one of the country\u2019s largest clubs. \u201cCertainly, in years\u2019 past, there have been some issues that have come up that weren\u2019t dealt with in a timely manner, but I think in the past six or seven years, we are doing what we need to do to protect the athletes and make sure that our coaches and officials make sure that we\u2019re not putting our athletes in harm\u2019s way.\u201d<\/p>\n

The coaches Swimming World<\/em> spoke with discussed their own efforts to be more aware of what behaviors are appropriate\u2014which means that coach education is working. One explained that USA Swimming has provided resources for helping staff members and families understand limits for athlete-coach interactions and even athlete-athlete interactions.<\/p>\n

Previously, it was considered perfectly normal or appropriate for coaches to meet with athletes one-on-one, for a coach to give an athlete a rubdown or for coaches and athletes to share a hug after a race. Now, the expectations for conduct have changed, and coaches know they have to be aware.<\/p>\n

Pam Swander<\/strong>, head coach of the South Carolina Swim Club, explained the importance of coaches having \u201ccandid discussions\u201d about how they run their clubs in order to ensure athlete safety. \u201cRethinking how we promote our sport\u201d has even been a part of those discussions, stretching down to whether it\u2019s appropriate for clubs to self-promote with photos of children in swimsuits.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think what we\u2019re doing is more (to prevent inappropriate behavior). I think it takes real conversations among peer coaches,\u201d she said. \u201cThe awareness, at least at the club level, is heightened.\u201d<\/span><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The latest issue Swander has encountered is parents asking for coaches to drive their swimmers to or from practice or a meet. She won\u2019t let that happen, because what if?<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019d rather put things in place to ensure that they don\u2019t have the opportunity (for misconduct),\u201d she said, even if \u201c99 percent of the time it\u2019s fine.\u201d<\/p>\n

But is USA Swimming doing enough to ensure athlete protection?<\/p>\n

\u201cI think they need to be diligent,\u201d Swander said.<\/p>\n

===<\/p>\n

Steve Morsilli<\/strong>, who leads the Pleasanton Seahawks program in Northern California, explained why so many instances of sexual assault in swimming went unreported for so long: \u201cNobody filed a police report.\u201d<\/p>\n

Morsilli remembered when one of his former female swimmers was concerned about a new coach\u2019s behavior, and she sent a letter to the LSC reporting the issue but specifically stating that she did not <\/em>want to press charges.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn our legal system, it is very, very intrusive,\u201d Morsilli explained of why his former swimmer did not seek punishment for the behavior. \u201cIf you\u2019re a girl, and you file a report in this, you almost become the victim. That\u2019s the scary part of the system, and that\u2019s really where the breakdown is. It\u2019s not with USA Swimming.\u201d<\/p>\n

The offending coach eventually was fired and bounced around to different programs before he was charged and eventually banned from USA Swimming for life.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey fired him, they hushed it up, and they hired someone else,\u201d Morsilli said. \u201cThey just got rid of the problem. Very few clubs in USA Swimming were calling previous clubs for background references. He just kept moving around, and that\u2019s how he got away with it.\u201d<\/span><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

It\u2019s worth pointing out an independent background check is now required for any coach to become USA Swimming-certified so that coaches fired for misconduct cannot resurface elsewhere.<\/p>\n

What reflects the worst on USA Swimming in the Register<\/em> story is that when complaints did come in, they were not properly adjudicated. But Ugast pointed out, that under the current Amateur Sports Act, USA Swimming does not always have the authority to sanction a coach or a former coach. As a bottom-up organization, it can be only as effective as the information it receives and follows up on.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have to give due process to every official and coach,\u201d Ugast said. \u201cIf they have not been brought before USA Swimming, we can\u2019t do anything about it. There are things that need to change in the way Congress wrote the Amateur Sports Act. I think USA Swimming as a national governing body is doing the best it can under the law to protect all our athletes.\u201d<\/p>\n

In recent weeks, USA Swimming has come under fire specifically for the 2011 investigation into whether Ariana Kukors<\/strong> and Sean Hutchison<\/strong> were in a romantic relationship<\/a>. According to Kukors, her role in the investigation consisted of one phone call, where she denied that her relationship with Hutchison was anything but professional. She has now admitted that she lied on that call.<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cDid we do all of our due diligence to make sure nothing was going on? In reading the accounts, probably not. The investigator never went out there, talked to them on the phone. Did we do enough?\u201d Ugast said.<\/p>\n

But on the other hand: \u201cIs it our responsibility to call her a liar? I don\u2019t think so. It\u2019s just like if you have a criminal act. If someone doesn\u2019t say that a felony has occurred, the police can\u2019t do anything.\u201d<\/p>\n

===<\/p>\n

In this world of heightened awareness of sexual abuse issues, coaches worry. They have to consider their own well-being, and what if they do nothing wrong and are falsely accused of misconduct?<\/p>\n

\u201cNo longer are you innocent until proven guilty. Once someone is accused of an act like this, they are going to be deemed as guilty, whether they are or not. Under our current laws, that\u2019s a problem,\u201d Ugast said.<\/span><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Morsilli admitted that he has wondered what would happen if an angry parent accused him of misconduct and reported it via social media and to authorities.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a flat-out lie, but if they do that, my career is over,\u201d he said. \u201cBasically, it doesn\u2019t matter if I proved that that never happened. My career is over based on the allegations.\u201d<\/p>\n

But more importantly, from the perspective of swimmers\u2019 safety, what if a coach doesn\u2019t do enough to prevent abuse? What if something inappropriate is happening right under their nose, hidden in plain sight?<\/p>\n

Most of all, coaches have to realize the positions of influence they hold over young swimmers and use it for only the best of purposes.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe thing about power, it\u2019s very real, and we have to be careful about how our coaches use it,\u201d Ugast said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s about us as leaders and really understanding the impact we have and the dream that we\u2019re selling and how potent that it. There\u2019s a responsibility with it. A huge responsibility,\u201d Swander said. \u201cIt\u2019s not win at all costs. It\u2019s not go-for-the-gold at all costs.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By David Rieder. Last week, the Orange County Register released a story accusing USA Swimming of failing to properly investigate \u201chundreds\u201d of claims of sexual abuse. What followed were the<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":11,"featured_media":297292,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"dois","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[3,7],"tags":[25272,66478,45834,36330,50107,10290,46856,2690],"class_list":["post-297291","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured","category-usa","tag-david-rieder","tag-orange-county-register","tag-pam-swander","tag-safe-sport","tag-steve-morsilli","tag-susan-woessner","tag-tom-ugast","tag-usa-swimming"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"yoast_head":"\r\nIs 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