USA Swimming Safe Sport Director Susan Woessner announced her resignation Thursday, citing an incident in 2007 where she kissed then-coach Sean Hutchison and then failing to disclose the incident before she contributed to an investigation of Hutchison several years later.
She wrote in a letter to USA Swimming’s membership that “while I would normally consider my personal life to be private, it is in the interest of full disclosure that I describe an incident from 11 years ago.” Woessner explained that she had a single encounter with Hutchison and no romantic relationship with him or any other USA Swimming coach.
In 2011, as USA Swimming’s Athlete Protection Officer, Woessner was involved in an investigation of a potential relationship between Hutchison and swimmer Ariana Kukors. During that investigation, Woessner claims she was to “provide contact information for potential witnesses to the investigator, provide status updates from outside legal to then-Executive Director Chuck Wielgus and at the request of outside legal, contact potential witnesses and ask them to speak with the investigator.
Kukors, who recently accused Hutchison of sexual assault, wrote that she lied to a USA Swimming investigator that called her asking about a relationship with Hutchison and that no one ever visited her in person to interview her.
Woessner explained that she was proud of her work with Safe Sport, but “in order to keep the focus on the tremendous efforts of my friends, colleagues and personal heroes working every day to keep kids safe, I have submitted my resignation…”
USA Swimming stated in a release that “the incident in question did not conflict with any organizational rules prior to her subsequent position working in Safe Sport in 2010. Considering Woessner’s Safe Sport role, a disclosure of this interaction should have preceded an investigation involving Hutchison in December 2010.”
Also in the release, USA Swimming CEO Tim Hinchey explained that the organization remains committed to Safe Sport.
“Since its inception, the effort and work of the Safe Sport program have been among the leading initiatives in amateur sport,” Hinchey said. “We are committed to carrying on with the efforts Susan led, supported by the Board of Directors and the organization, to create a safe environment for children and swimming families across the country.”
Read her full letter below or by clicking here
Good grief!
Figures. Accusing others of such things and she did it herself. Isn’t this a case of the pot calling the kettle…
Thank You for doing the correct thing.
Here is the basic problem… safe sport has to become a number one priority. So far this year USA swimming has dropped a boatload on a study to determine if they should allow age group swimmers to wear tech suits. Now think about that… they are more concerned about the race suit that my daughter wears then the pedophiles that are grooming girls and boys alike to provide them sexual favors. These children idolize there coaching staffs, listen to what they say and act on their requests because they trust them and want to keep getting better in the sport they love. This is heat breaking!
Sorry to be losing the good work you have done. Not sure you need to resign, admirable you are willing doing this to preserve the dignity of your position. Wish you well going forward. Don’t let this dictate your future.
It is about time she resigned. The only actions she ever took with many teams who had alleged abuse and bullying complaints was to talk with the head coaches and brush it off. Susan in no way was interested in the safety and security of the children who swim for USA Swimming. For many years I have been disappointed in the USA Swimming Organization, and my experiences were one of the reasons why I became disassociated with the organization. With the new CEO, Tim Hinchey, I finally am seeing the right things being done.