Sex Abuse Survivors & Their Lawyer Call On Tim Hinchey To Purge USA Swimming Of ‘Enablers’
![BobAllardSexAbusUSASwimming](https://vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com/news/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/BobAllardSexAbusUSASwimming.jpeg)
Debra Grodensky, Tracy Palmero and Suzette Moran, three survivors taking legal action against USA Swimming over historic sex abuse, and the lawyer representing them, Bob Allard, have called on Tim Hinchey, the USA Swimming chief executive, to dump ‘enablers’ in the organisation.
They claim that employees who covered up sex abuse under Chuck Wielgus, the former and late CEO, are still working for USA Swimming. Details of the lawsuit were first reported by the Orange County Register.
Press conference announcing the filing of sexual abuse lawsuits against USA Swimming. from Corsiglia McMahon & Allard on Vimeo.
At a press conference to announce a set of three lawsuits filed against USA Swimming over abuse by swim coaches Andy King, Everett Uchiyama and Mitch Ivey, as reported by Swimming World yesterday, Allard said:
“Mr Hinchey: I believe you to be a good man with good intentions. True change cannot occur unless those who knew [about sexual abuse] and remained silent and did nothing are ousted from USA Swimming’s leadership.”
Wielgus, who died in 2017, was singled out in the latest round of challenges over historic sex abuse for continued heavily criticism of the kind that caused him to withdraw his name from the list of candidates for the International Swimming Hall of Fame in 2014. Said Allard:
“Chuck Wielgus was the poster-boy ‘bad guy’ within this organization. He’s now gone. But he did not act alone. Not even close. He had the cooperation of a very large board of directors and a very large management team. There are people who remain in leadership positions today within USA Swimming who go way back to even the days of Debra Grodenski in the late ’80s, early ’90s. And if it means to blow things up to replace all these people with some good people, then that’s what we have to do. That’s where it starts.”
Grodensky, a victim of King’s abuse in the 1980s, named three people she says knew about his sex abuse crimes, did not act but remain in leadership positions at USA Swimming to this day.
Here are some key resources related to the theme of sexual abuse in sport:
- Nancy Hogshead (Makar), the 1984 Olympic 100m freestyle champion who these days runs Champion Women
- How to Stop Sexual Abuse in Sports – by Nancy Hogshead-Makar at AthleticsBusiness
- Lifetime sexual and physical abuse among elite athletes: a Cross-sectional study of prevalence and correlation with athletics injury – Abstracts from the IOC World Conference on Prevention of Injury & Illness in Sport, Monaco 2014
- Sexual Violence Prevention – An Athletics Tool Kit for a Healthy and Safe Culture, from the NCAA
- Study on gender-based violence in sport
- Sexual Abuse in Sports – Know the facts. Learn the tips
- Sports Culture as an Opportunity to Prevent Sexual Violence – Developed by the Center for Gender Equity and Health at the University of California, San Diego for Reliance
- The Army of Survivors
- Athletes and Sexual Assault – Prevention and Readiness
- Sexual Abuse in Sport: A Model to Prevent and Protect Athletes
- Prevention of sexual and gender harassment and abuse in sports – Initiatives in Europe and beyond
- Academic/Scholar resources on sexual abuse of athletes
- WomenSport International Task Forces: The Sexual Harassment Task Force – Brochure on Sexual Harassment and Abuse in Sport