Friday, January 25, 2013

More on Mark Schubert spying on Sean Hutchison and Arriana Kukors

In a wrongful termination suit filed by Dia Rianda against Mark Schubert and the Golden West Swim Club (GWSC), both Mark Schubert and Bill Jewell; (executive coaches for GWSC), were forced to tell the truth under oath their involvement in what I believe is a serious invasion of Sean Hutchison and Arriana Kukors' privacy.

Back in the day when Schubert was still USA Swimming's National team coach making hundreds-of thousands-of-dollars-a-year, Schubert organized a swim program near his home in Ranchos Palos Verdes called thee Fullerton Aquatics Sports Team (FAST).

Bill Jewell was hired as a lead coach at FAST and later brought in to the GWSC by Schubert. When the program closed it's doors many swimmers were "thrown under the bus" and to their credit never complained openly. As for Arriana Kukors, she was thrown under a "tank" and she probably lost economic opportunities as a result.

One has to asked why Mark Schubert was involved in hiring a paid detective to spy on Sean Hutchison and Arriana Kukors?  Both were adults, both nationally recognized as a coach and a swimmer respectively yet what could these two have been doing to justify thousands-of-dollars in detective fees to fine out?

Well, in 2010 Sean Huthison resigned from his duties at the FAST and soon he disappeared. However much drama ensued before it happened!

For more drama info see this post: [Link]

I suspect the motives on Bill Jewel and Mark Schubert's part were sinister in nature and these two people should be shamed big timed. I think it would be both truly poetic and ironic if Sean Hutchison and Arianna Kukors hired the same attorney that Dia Rianda is using to recoup their lost reputations and rehabilitate their good names.

From the Orange County Register:
Schubert said in his deposition that he was involved in hiring a private investigator to follow Hutchison, according to the letter to USA Swimming. Schubert said at least one photograph taken by the investigator and shown to him by his wife depicted the cars of Hutchison and Ariana Kukors, then 21 and a 2009 world champion swimmer who trained under Hutchison at the USA Swimming/FAST training group, parked close to each other outside Hutchison's apartment around 5 a.m. Schubert's wife works for a private investigation firm. 
[Link]





7 comments:

Anonymous said...

I really feel sorry for Kukors and Hutchinson. They are adults and their alledged relationship was/is nobodies business.

I guess Hutchison and Rianda didn't know what they were getting themselves into when deciding to relocate to the Socal shark tank. Nobody can understand the level of corruption until they are personally affected.

Tony Austin said...

Thank you for posting. I suspect you know you know more than I do?

II agree with everything you say.

Anonymous said...

so, a coach-swimmer relationship is OK for you if they're adults? I seem to recall that crazy claim about how it created conflict that got physical with another swimmer Hutchison was coaching but don't know if that was true. How old was Kukors when Hutchison started coaching her?

Tony Austin said...

Do you mean the love triangle and the broken jaw rumor? That was awesome and cognitively dissonant at the same time!

I don't know when Hutchison started coaching Kukors.

I have said in the past that coaches should not date their swimmers regardless of their ages primarily for HR and/or organizational reasons.

See this link which is a perfect example as to why I feel that way:

http://keithrabois.tumblr.com/post/41463189288/a-note-from-keith

Keith was the COO of Square. Look what happened to his life as a clear example on how it can effect individuals and organizations.

Anonymous said...

Yeah, that sucks. I was just thinking that stuff like that is maybe why Schubert wanted to take it down, especially with all the scandals around US swim coaches in the last few years. I mean, I don't know the full story.

Lucas said...

I'm also a little confused on your position regarding coach-athlete relationships when the athlete is an adult. I believe there was some proposed legislation at the USA-S convention last August that would make any coach-athlete relationship a violation of the code of conduct, and therefore punishable with permanent suspension, and if I recall you were not happy when it was not passed. The main reason I'm confused right now is that to a certain degree it sounds like Schubert was helping Jewell investigate something you would be outraged about.

On a different note, one thing that must also be pointed in this case is how much Dagny Knutson was screwed by this whole fiasco. It is my undertanding that Mark Schubert was directly responsible for convincing Dagny to forgo her college eligibility (when she had already commited to Auburn) and turn pro, going to FAST to train with Hutchinson, side by side with Kukors. Fast forward a few months and he is now trying to fry Sean, who decides to give up coaching, which also causes Ariana to leave; meanwhile Dagny had to bounce around a few other programs, never quite hitting the same level of success she had while in HS, until the recently made public struggle with eating disorders.

Tony Austin said...

I am looking at a document right now about that.

My opinion is that you don't date your swimmers even if it is masters. That is a policy decision I endorse but adults can do what they want and I have to accept that.

You know how I feel about privacy and the fact that photos were taken and these two were stalked disturbs me to the nth degree.