I feel like pushing some buttons today. Why do I like Attorney, Robert Allard? He has essentially been the "ethics police" for USA Swimming ever since the Andy King scandal broke. It is demonstrable before both god and the courts that USA Swimming can't police themselves. Yes, demonstrable and documented. USA Swimming can't police themselves and it takes the courts the time and effort to fine them and scold them for all their screw-ups and their intentional withholding of evidence within the discovery process:
From Beyond Chron:
"... Last fall, in the case involving “Jane Doe,” a 15-year-old rape victim of the heinous serial sex offender-coach Andy King – now doing a 40-year prison term on counts dating back a quarter of a century – USA Swimming lost an appeal of a $5,250 sanction imposed by Judge Mark Pierce for rope-a-dope responses in the discovery process. Jane Doe then was offered, and accepted, a monetary settlement. With the condition that the settlement be sealed from public view: the favorite terms of swimming’s deniers and cover-up artists, which include USA Swimming’s Barbados-based insurance carrier, a wholly-owned subsidiary.
Obviously, a $5,250 fine for withholding relevant discovery documents won’t change much. Allard estimates that there have been sanctions totaling around $25,000 against USA Swimming in the half-dozen cases in which he has been involved so far. That’s taxicab money for long-time executive director Chuck Wielgus’s $20-million-a-year operation. ..."
[Link]
Sealed settlements is a euphemism for "secret deal" don't you think?
Every lawsuit Allard files in the name of an abuse victim means USA Swimming tightens up it's standards not because it wants to but because it has to and thereby is forced to do a better job. His lawsuit are not the frivolous sort where the accuser states that the "McDonald's-coffee-was-too-hot" but rather they are usually filed against specific individuals which means that an assailant and an underage victim were involved
There would be no need for an attorney to be a quality control "mercenary" if USA Swimming didn't retain certain executives in their ranks. Especially post these past scandals. Thus, I appreciate his scrutiny and vigilance.
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