Wednesday, December 29, 2010

Sean Hutchison resigns Fullerton Aquatic Sports Team (FAST) - Bill Jewel: "I didn't ask him to leave. I asked him to solve this problem. . . . "

Wow! A relationship with a swimmer? Bill Jewel confronted Hutchison about it and he apparently resigned.

Right now at Colorado Springs - USA Swimming headquarters, I bet the majority of execs there are flipping out right now as you read this - in fact they may have been the last to know.

Sean Hutchinson denies any relationship with a swimmer so we must give him the benefit of the doubt, but Bill Jewel... What does he think?

From Amy Shipley at the Washington Post:

"...Hutchison acknowledged that his decision to leave came shortly after a club official confronted him about rumors that he was having a relationship with one of his female swimmers, but he said the rumors were untrue and did not compel his departure. ..."

[Link]

UPDATE: From USA Today:
"... Jewell insisted Hutchison wasn't fired, though he did acknowledge "rumors surfaced that made me feel really uncomfortable."

"I brought these issues to Sean's attention, and Sean denied these things," Jewell said. "I, in turn, was relieved with his denial. But still, I'm a guy running this club and I've got rumors flying around out there. I've got parents saying, 'Is my child safe in your place?' I have to address these kind of issues." ..."

[Link]
I don't know if it is me but both the Washington Post and USA Today keep alluding to Ariana Kukors and Katie Hoff in a "dog whistle" sort of way.

8 comments:

Meredith Vinger-Roach said...

Well..WHY in the WORLD would Hutchison want to stay at FAST when Jewell is basically discrediting him publicly without ANY proof? Moreover, why would any coach of any calibre want to work for Jewell again?!?

Tony Austin said...

The truth will come out

Unknown said...

I think a lot of coaches would work with Jewell due to the caliber of athletes at FAST.

I hope these allegations are false, another high publicity debacle is the last thing the sport needs.

Tony Austin said...

Where is ASCA in all this?

TedBaker said...

Allegations of this nature, once made, are impossible to defend. They're the social equivalent of scorched earth.

Sean Hutchison, guilty or no, had no choice but to leave. If he is innocent, then - hopefully - he's got a good lawyer and thick skin 'cos he'll need both.

Tony Austin said...

First off, I suspect Bill Jewel is not exactly practiced in the dark arts of handling reporters. I also suspect the reporters or reporter confronted him with rumors and in error confirmed they were a topic. That is what I suspect.

You or I would have said, "FAST does not discuss rumors real or imagined..." or something along those lines. Bill Jewel answered the question straight up and the worms starting leaping out of the can.

If this quietly goes away it probably means the allegations were either a purposeful character assassination attempt, a misunderstanding, a real issue or a combination of the three.

So, if we see a particular FAST, A-List, swimmer suddenly driving a Mercedes S-Class sedan while wearing a mink parka while driving out of the parking garage of a Beverly Hills lawyer, that could be a clue too.

CHRISTINE O'LOUGHLIN said...

I'm so pleased this turned out well for Sean as I knew it would.

Tony Austin said...

Yes it did, and he should always be presumed never to have broken any rules. :-)