Mike Saltzstein worked for years trying to get USA Swimming to adopt tougher policies to protect its athletes from abuse. But the former vice president of the sport's national governing body said it was the courage of a 14-year-old San Jose girl that inspired him to take his campaign public.
By telling San Jose police that she had been molested by her swimming coach, the teenager set into play an investigation that ended with Andrew King, former head coach at San Jose Aquatics, being sentenced to prison for 40 years. The sentencing earlier this year came more than 30 years after King was first accused of sexually abusing his young swimmers.
"I said if a 14-year-old swimmer has the courage, I have the guts," said Saltzstein, who was vice president of USA Swimming from 2000 to 2006 and has remained active in the sport, serving as a technical official at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games.
Saltzstein sent his concerns in an April 28 letter to USA Swimming Executive Director Chuck Wielgus. Saltzstein urged that the organization, based in Colorado Springs, Colo., take tough action immediately, including adoption of the "rule of two" — that no athlete should ever be alone with a coach or any other staff member.
"No exceptions, no excuses, effective immediately," Saltzstein said.
Among his other recommendations: requiring: "good faith and reasonable suspicion" reporting of abuse as a condition of membership in USA Swimming; taking
AdvertisementClick Here
disciplinary action and possibly terminating any staff member who fails to report abuse or excessively delays an investigation of abuse; requesting that Hall of Fame officials remove from its rolls any offender connected with USA Swimming; banning coaches from performing rubdowns, massages or physical manipulations "without specific recognized training or certification" — and never "in a one-on-one scenario."
To bring about change, Saltzstein said, the culture of the sport will need to change because it's a culture that bans parents from practices at many clubs and gives coaches too much power. When he and others through the years have tried to effect change, Saltzstein said, the strongest opposition has come from coaches.
Wielgus declined to discuss Saltzstein's recommendations or criticism.
In a statement, he said: "We have received a great deal of constructive input from our membership, including strong support and suggestions to continue to improve our organization, as well as substantial input from outside experts. We will take what is constructive in Mr. Saltzstein's letter and review it, just as we have all other input we've received, both from the swimming community and from independent child welfare experts."
In March, Wielgus told the Mercury News that USA Swimming wants to create "a gold standard program" for dealing with conduct complaints and abuse allegations.
Then, last month, he released a "7-Point Action Plan for a Safe and Positive Sport Environment." It recommends:
# Developing comprehensive guidelines for "acceptable coach behavior."
# Enhancing the system for reporting sexual abuse to USA Swimming and law enforcement, which could include a hot line that victims and others could call anonymously.
# Improving communications to member clubs.
# Evaluating the process for sharing coaching history records with member clubs and other youth organizations.
# Educating athletes, parents, coaches and club leaders about sex abuse and reporting.
# Reviewing USA Swimming's code of conduct, as well as those of other top youth organizations.
# Reviewing the organization's current background screening program to see how it can be improved.
Last weekend, the organization's board of directors adopted four measures in support of the seven-point plan that include: publishing on its website a list of individuals who have been banned for life from USA Swimming; consulting with background screening expert Barry Nadell for best practices recommendations; designating staff at national headquarters who would focus on athlete protection; and creating a special committee on athlete protection, which would be asked to monitor industry and societal best practices regarding child protection.
Saltzstein, however, said those actions aren't immediate enough — or what is needed.
"There's no action in their action," he said.
Referring to the story of abuse told by King's 14-year-old San Jose victim, Saltzstein said he realized that the time to act to keep young swimmers safe from predatory coaches is now.
His scathing review of USA Swimming's history of dealing with abuse allegations follows a rough year for the organization, which was hit with the arrest of King and allegations from at least 10 other women that he had molested them at swim clubs in the East Bay. A young woman in Oak Harbor, Wash., accused King of molesting her before he was hired in San Jose in 2000.
The San Jose victim last month told the Mercury News that King initiated contact with her by massaging her body, first on top of her swimsuit and then underneath. Her attorney, B. Robert Allard of San Jose, estimated that King had molested the girl 150 times from May 2008 to March 2009, usually in his office by the pool at Gunderson High School, where San Jose Aquatics is based. Other times, the girl said, he molested her in his car at out-of-town swim meets.
The teenager and her family have sued King, Pacific Swimming and USA Swimming. The organization also faces suits by three other swimmers related to sexual abuse or exploitation by their coaches.
"They've been policing themselves since 1978, and they've done an awful job of it," said Indianapolis-based attorney Jonathan Little, who represents one of the women in a lawsuit against her coach. "For years, USA Swimming allowed 14- to 16-year-old girls go on international trips with their coaches but no chaperones."
Gary Firestone, president of the board of directors for Bear Swimming in Berkeley, said he welcomes any steps by the administration of USA Swimming that can make the athletes safer.
A former coach for Bear Swimming pleaded no contest last week to having sex with a 16-year-old East Bay swimmer on the team when they were at a swim meet in Florida. He was sentenced to probation and must register as a sex offender.
"Part of the issue is that swimmers are afraid to report" what their coaches are doing to them, Firestone said, adding that he thought that would improve "if this process were publicized and the athletes know they're not going to lose their swimming careers. The coaches would be at risk, not them."some birds are not meant to be caged
something inside
more than just words
Better late than never
no good thing ever dies
http://www.quantnet.org/forum
http://whbstatus.com
http://strategicleadership.phpbb3now.com
http://forum.filmowiec.pl
http://www.forum.enovine.net
