Tuesday, September 18, 2012

If Mark Schubert signed a secret settlement worth $625,000 with USA Swimming to keep quiet - what was he keeping quiet about?

Was Mark Schubert given a buyout on his contract or a secret settlement worth $625,000? If it was a buyout it should have been declared as such and both parties would have moved on. If it was a confidential settlement one has to ask why?

Perhaps it should be phrased this way: If Mark Schubert with his past knowledge of Coach Rick Curl's serial child rape of swimmer Kelly Davies Currin, and Sean Hutchison's relationship with an adult swimmer and then used that as leverage to garner that $625,000 settlement from USA Swimming, that means USA Swimming knew about Rick Curl and his victim Kelly Davies Currin well before 2012.

Thus, why was Rick Curl not flagged, suspended, or otherwise a year-or-so ago? Maybe we will find out this Wednesday when Curl has his Board of Review hearing?

Here is a suggestion to USA Swimming that they should take seriously. When I sign an End User License Agreement (EULA) with Facebook, iTunes, or other online services, I am essentially signing away some or all of my fourth amendment rights. These rights include the right to sue the offending service if they intentionally install spyware or even intentionally hurt my computer. They have the right to forward all postings, emails, and text messages I sent on that online service to the police or government agency without a warrant. They have right to delete files, sell my files, profit from any of my ideas, anything. So why is it that USA Swimming is so moving so slowly?

All this tip-toeing around the possibility of offending coaches or getting sued for suspending a coach or banning a coach is not changing the swimming culture for the better. If the American Swimming Coaches of America or USA Swimming had each coach sign an agreement that favored the swimmers it would benefit all. This sort of policy would would encourage clubs to include no one-on-one policy, a parent rep at workouts etc. etc.

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