Wednesday, May 26, 2010

Well so much for background checks and 'USA Swimming' keeping a sharp eye on who gets to coach!

USA Swimming gives a good reference to someone they had fired for sexual misconduct so he could go coach some kids.

This is becoming "Hurricane Katrina meets the Vatican" for Chuck Wielgus. Time for the USOC to step in and put them ion probation.

Former USA Swimming national team director Everett Uchiyama no longer works for a Colorado club after his named turned up on a list of those under a lifetime ban from the national governing body.Uchiyama was the aquatics director at the Country Club of Colorado, located about five miles away from the USA Swimming headquarters in Colorado Springs. He landed a job at the club after resigning from USA Swimming over allegations that he had a sexual relationship with an underage swimmer.

The club released a statement late Wednesday afternoon saying that Uchiyama had "resigned" effective immediately.The statement says that USA Swimming gave Uchiyama a positive reference, and he didn't show up on any background checks since he was never charged with a crime.

[Link]

This is an example of a potential situation that can occur when no crime has ever been committed before employment. Hence, USA Swimming has to adopt a policy of no one-on-ones without a parent or parent representative being the "watchman" watching the "watchman."

This simple idea is so "sturdy and industrial" in that everyone is protected, everyone is responsible, and everyone is safe.

Thank you Ken S. for sending me this.

10 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hopefully the Country Club has a written statement that gives Everett Uchiyama a positive recommendation and or the person they spoke to. Most of the time, previous company's give dates of employment only and do not give personal recommendations. In either case, USA Swimming should come out with a statement.

flipdip said...

Makes you wonder what else they cover up..

Anonymous said...

They were trying to hide it on their site. Why dont they put in on Swimnetwork.com or in Splash? Heres why. Unless your reading blogs and going online, your not really getting exposed to what is going on. Ive had conversations with parents trying to get their opinion and to my surprise all the info i tell them is new to their ears. Have any LSCs posted anything? Mine hasnt. Most people who are typically web savvy probably miss it. If this stuff was really out there they would have to explain themselves. But if the "Base" was built stronger, then they could collect themselves and bring down the top. Whats even more sad, is that i have write this anonymously for fear of retribution from the "establishment." Anybody remember this ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fJxaWLNRz-k ) from South Park. Oh the irony that the cartoon is based in Colorado.

Tony Austin said...

Well, it's bad, they have even removed all references to Mike Saltzstein

Anonymous said...

One thing to consider, is that the USA Swimming could be held liable for slander if they had given a bad reference. Most companies can't give real feedback on a previous employer whether or not they were good, because that employee could sue them for slander.

The question would be, did USA Swimming give him a letter of recommendation, or did The Club just call his previous employer and they just didn't disclose the allegations.

Tony Austin said...

OH MY GOSH!

When I was the senior artist for the Disney Store Online I was told that Disney would not give references both positive or negative. (Someone had left and I had asked). Now I know why.

billy swims said...

Tony,
Careful who you trust for your information. Ken S. is not reliable nor honest nor an ethical coach. The truth will come out

Tony Austin said...

Hi Billy, I generally trust people till they are proven wrong. If you know the truth, tell me.

Chris DeSantis said...

Excuse me if I don't correctly understand slander/libel. Wouldn't it be possible for a previous employer to state "We had someone allege sexual misconduct with a minor against this man". Isn't that different than saying "He raped a 14 year old girl" which would be defamation should it prove untrue.

Someone with a law background chime in.

Tony Austin said...

If they have the emails, sure they could but it is easier to say we don't give references rather than creating banned coaches lists. However, they actually gave his a good reference! Hello?

I was once asked to give a reference to somebody I did not like working with. I said, "I am not going to say anything good, Mr. So-and-so. [pause] and I am not going to say anything bad!" They got the idea after a pause in between the lines