I filed this complaint against Mitch Ivey on April 5th 2011.
More on that later. Was sent this press release minutes ago:
Suzette Moran confirms that she had an intimate relationship with former Olympic swim coach Mitch Ivey starting when she 16 and that USA Swimming has never contacted her.
SAN JOSE, CA – June 10, 2013 -- Attorney Robert Allard and a former 16 year old swimmer who had an intimate relationship with former Olympic coach Mitch Ivey are calling on Congress to investigate USA Swimming as a result of its failure to investigate and protect swimmers from predators. Allard has learned that the USA Swimming investigation of Mitch Ivey was quietly closed nearly one year ago with no action taken against the coach due to "inconclusive evidence".
According to Nancy Hogshead-Makar, Senior Director of Advocacy, Women’s Sports Foundation and Professor of Law, Florida Coastal School of Law, she provided the names of people that would be helpful in the investigation of Ivey, including Suzette Moran to a USA Swimming investigator in 2011.
Suzette Moran, then 16 years old when she started having a sexual relationship with Ivey, recently confirmed that USA Swimming never contacted her either for this investigation or at any time since her story went public on ESPN's "Outside the Lines" in the early 1990's.
Moran issued the following statement:
"It has come to my attention that over the past few years USA Swimming has been investigating swim coaches for misconduct. After reading articles about various coaches, it appears that USA Swimming is having a difficult time understanding how to conduct comprehensive investigations. I was recently advised that they have cleared Mitch Ivey from any inappropriate actions. It seems that once again they have overlooked several pieces of evidence.
USA Swimming has never contacted me in regards to their investigation of Mitch Ivey. While I do not see myself as a victim, the fact remains that I started having a relationship with Mitch Ivey at 16 and it continued for several years. The relationship was consensual, and completely open to everyone in USA Swimming, family, and friends. It crossed the world of USA Swimming with the ESPN special that I appeared in back in the early 90’s.
The fact that USA Swimming closed their file without trying to contact me is disturbing. It is reminiscent of the Catholic Church. I am very easily located via Facebook, Linkedin, Spokeo, Classmates, and my high school. ESPN found me through the UCLA Athletic Department. It is clear that they made no effort to locate me.
It saddens me that after all of the controversy, Mitch has made the choice to continue to coach, and a team has hired him. It concerns me that the entity who should be investigating and protecting swimmers from predators is still not doing their job, even after such coaches as Andy King and Rick Curl have been incarcerated.
I am publicly asking for Congress to step in and investigate USA Swimming."
Allard stated that "the leadership at USA Swimming continues to demonstrate that it is utterly incapable of resolving the glaring sexual abuse issue within its ranks." Allard pointed to a 2010 email from USA Swimming's Technical Vice President David Berkoff which identifies Ivey and Moran by name as an example of an improper sexual relationship between a coach and his minor swimmer.
"There is absolutely no excuse for USA Swimming to not interview Ms. Moran. We located her with little effort. In our view, USA Swimming’s leadership doesn’t want to know the truth because it doesn’t care about the truth. These leaders would rather boast about what have proven to us to be worthless rules and 1-800 numbers that they have developed and falsely hold themselves out as champions of sexual abuse victims. These leaders have repeatedly failed the sexual misconduct test and need to remove themselves from office. If they don’t voluntarily resign, Congress should intervene and force them to. This simply has gone on for way too long.”
30 comments:
This has been out since 1993.
http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1993-11-14/sports/9311140404_1_mitch-ivey-university-of-florida-administrators-sexual-harassment/2
And Mitch Ivey was never banned or arrested.
Unacceptable.
Both Mitch Ivey and Paul Bergen are featured gleefully at the ASCA website gallery...
How about that for a chilling indictment?
You've got no idea... Mitch Ivey, Paul Bergen and many, many others had relationships with minors back in the 1980's. It was damm near common practice.
Ummm? Busted for what? They had an open relationship. Where are you going with this? Must be a slow day.
Both Paul Bergen and Ivey are featured at the ASCA website at their gallery page and ASCA certifies coaches for a youth based organizations
That is a shocking news story. Ivey's misconduct has been known for 20 years--the fact that USS only now is able to contact an obvious victim is amazing.
And nothing against you or your advocacy on this issue, but why should it take your complaint in 2011 and then another two years before USS can clearly identify someone who was "outed" in 1993.
USS didn't contact the obvious victim, though. It makes no sense. They can't say they didn't know. David Berkoff was sending emails about it in 2010.
I wish I knew what the answer was, but mind boggling to me isn't just this. Like you, I'm wondering why the only people speaking out about it are Bob Allard and various bloggers. I cannot understand why there is no parental outrage.
I just read the Moran interview and I am face palming with my mouth open.
I admire Robert Allard very much but I am bewildered with Mrs Moran rhetoric.
Doing a blog post on it now.
Did some research- looks like berkoff didn't even join USAS until 2011 (a year after he called out their BS)- further looks like he joined to do something to be part of a solution to this heinous problem. Don't get me wrong, I think there are some major problems in the organization but just think the berating of berkoff is getting old.... Place the blame where it lies first and foremost, with the parents and others who knew about this stuff 25 yeas ago and did NOTHING.... How many police reports have been filed? I would think that would be the first step before USAS investigating. These are CRIMES that should be addressed in the proper order- just my opinion. And don't even know what to say about Ms. Moran- she says it was consensual...was she of age to consent (as sick as the situation was)? Wow- we live in a messed up world!!
1.) OK, presuming Berkoff joined in 2011 then he lied about being an "important part" of the organization in the early 1990s which he liberally talks up whenever he can.
2.) I am placing the blame with those who knew. Kelly Currin's parents sold her out.
David Berkoff kept his mouth shut about it ut bragged he knew.
I will not flame Ms Moran parents because I am not necessarily trusting what Ms Moran said or that the sex was "consensual" and that "everybody knew."
Hello! Not one of those "everybody knew" called the cops which seems too incredible to believe in a sport filled with an overwhelming amount of folks who go to church or Temple on Sunday.
3.) Ms Moran was not at the age of consent in 1983 though Florida once had it's age of consent at 10-years-old.
4.) Yes, complaining about Berkoff is getting old. So is the sex abuse banned list. I would rather be blogging about swimming itself but I think swimming has a bigger problem than the public school system proportionally speaking and it needs to be addressed.
The email from victims keeps me going after losers like Mitch Ivey and their enablers like John Leonard and Berkoff
I just Winslow walk and another situation back east where two others had no charges filed as well.
Wow on the Florida bit- like I said, messed up world- whether berkoff is a liar or not I don't know- but he had to be about 20 years old and competing in the 90s so it just doesn't make sense (doing the math) that he could have done anything about it other than gossip about it like numerous others apparently were- regardless, hope with the attention you and others are bringing to the issue that this stops--the justice piece of me just wants to make sure we are going after the "right" bad guys....as a parent, I just don't get it- I don't blame the victims but I do blame the parents- I read in one of the many comments that currin's parents let her continue practicing with curl after the payoff- I hope that's not right.... Will be interesting to see how it all plays out! I'm hoping there is an investigation at the congressional level!!!
Kelly Currin's parents sold her out and never called the police because they didn't want to. They made a deal out of court and settled the way they wanted to. We all knew this and that's the reason nobody touched it. Nothing was ever stopping them from going to the police. Everyone who was swimming at the time knew about Suzette and Mitch. Tony please, you are way out of touch and for you to attempt to go back in time when you weren't even there, and then question who knew is naive. This whole thing is getting bizarre. I am having a very hard time figuring out the motive for Suzette coming forward now. The only thing I can think of is Allard contacted her and there is MONEY in it for her. She doesn't want to press charges and she claims that she was not a victim - so what is it? MONEY. The bottom line with all of this.
What is your take on the coaches?
I think the coaches, the swimmers, and the other parents were all a product of the swimming world at that time. We are talking 30 years ago. There is so much the media, like yourself, is not focusing on in order to educate the parents and victims of abuse taking place today. I am very disappointed we do not hear from Kelley's parents, their decision's and their feelings at the time. This type of information could connect with other parents and the Davies could say, "Hey, we made a lot of bad decision's, but you don't have to". Instead, all this blaming on EVERYONE else is protesting too much. All of us who were there at the time find this very hypocritical and I find it very suspicious that the Davies are silent. Not much has changed with them which leads me to believe they don't really care about any other victims (then or now). For those of us swimming at the time and after, it is very difficult to be convinced that Kelley or Suzette are genuine spokeswomen for abuse victims.
There is a situation that occurred in Southern California that perfectly matched the Ivey/Moran incident and it happened in 2011/2012. I won't go into details but the coach was caught.
People have not changed.
Of course it is about the money. If Suzette was really concerned at all about the victims she would have spoken out a long time ago. Like she herself said, Suzette is easy to find online, and her lifestyle "ain't cheap".
THe Statute of limitations has passed on a lawsuit and any police reaction. Your "money" premise is both cheap and anemic as argument.
No, really it's not cheap. It's reality. Why don't you do some research or tell us what you know about the deal's going on between Allard and Moran? Of course we know there is money involved. Suzette Moran is going to speak NOW!?! Puleeeeez give us all a break. You weren't there.
You made the claim about money, you back it up. I am not going to post any of your drive-bys unless you start contributing.
Mitch and Suzette were in a well known relationship for three years. Great coach, horrible human.
I know Mitch and was married to Suzette. This isn't news.
It wasn't even news in 1987 when I met Suzette.
And although Mitch may have had inappropriate relations with swimmers, this wasn't a case. She was legal consent age and she wasn't swimming for Mitch when they met.
Yes, there was an age difference and arguably this kind of relationship wasn't ok, but it didn't break any law or swim ethics.
This is 26 year old NON NEWS
According to Ms Moran, she was proposed to but never consented.
Mitch Ivey should have his "head on a pike" in front the USA Swimming headquarters in Colorado Springs as an example.
The age of legal consent in CA is 18 not 16.
I'm floored as I read these posts. I was there and lived through this whole thing for years. I was coached by Mitch and witnessed all of this personally, as well as faced his flirtatious advances and even his propositioning me. In the 70's and 80's, we ALL knew what was going on between Mitch and several of the girls. It was very common knowledge and the relationships were not hidden. In this era of swimming, many of the girls fell under Mitch's spell. He was not only a great coach, but also a good looking younger guy. He was fun. He drove a Porsche and had a boat. In his early years of coaching, he was more like the older brother to the Sr. swimmers, but over the years he found that it worked to his advantage when it came to getting female attention. Many of us had grown up in the pool watching him as an Olympian who then turned into being our coach. Not only did he engage in relations with swimmers, but also several of the mothers too. No one said anything because we didn't know what to say. We didn't have the vocabulary to call the cops. Our lives were in the pool and while we knew it wasn't "right," we also didn't know it was illegal either. Times were much different then and we spent more time in the pool with our coaches and teammates then we did with our families and people at school. Pedophilia wasn't in the news or schools at this time.
I would be surprised if Suzette Moran is seeking any financial gain from this at all. I have a great deal of respect for Bob Allard and have spoken with him personally a few years ago. He is a father and youth coach as well and I would guess that the real reason behind Suzette coming forward is that she was willing and had a very open relationship with Mitch that was credible. As with several other victims, our hope is that we increase the screening requirements for these coaches and bring awareness to this issue in order to PREVENT other young girls, and boys, from becoming victims of these predators. It's too late for many of us, but if we can prevent this for just one, then we've done something.
Thank you. That was a very revealing and insightful comment.
I was married to Suzette. I was her partner after Mitch.
The relationship with Mitch was illegal, but she still claims consensual. She also claims that rumors about Mitch and female swimmers were much exaggerated. I bet she would challenge Nancy Hogshead's claim Mitch hit on her. Nancy stayed with her that summer.
Mitch was "nasty rumors waiting to happen." First, he was fit, attractive, charismatic, and accomplished. Second, Suzette aside, he was old school, violated boundaries and said inappropriate stuff. Third, he made lots of enemies. Fourth, then you add in two relationships with swimmers - Noel and Suzette.
I know this situation as well as almost anyone. I don't think Mitch was a pedo or a teen lover. He dated or slept with Cynthia Potter and Joanna Kerns. I heard Dara Torres also.
But he was out of control. Given the rumors, the guy needed to not date ANYONE in swimming, watch his behavior, learn workplace law and proper conduct, and be a professional.
But like his prima dona teammate Mark Spitz, Mitch knew everything and was gonna do whatever he wanted. Eff em!
It isn't 1950. Coaches must grow with the times. Mitch didn't.
As for Mitch Ivey, I suspect the term "sexual predator" is the term you were looking for. The fact that teens were considered "fair game" does not absolved him from being a pedophile.
Moran claims the relationship was consensual today and yesteryear as you mention. I do not know Suzette Moran nor can I make a polite or an intelligent comment regarding her decisions as a 16-year-old. I can say that I think her rhetoric asserting that it was consensual is poisonous and unmeasured.
How many 16-year-olds (male or female) have been seduced believing their sexual encounter was "true love" or an "adult thing to do?"
I am told that Spitz was a "prima donna" or more accurately a "prima uomo" (the male version of the operatic term) by people who knew and who swam with him but Spitz had the "street cred" and the bonafides to be a treated like a "prima uomo."
Well, I went to High School with three of Mitch's victims. Sad that the mother of his son committed suicide. Gee is there a correlation? He brought the Santa Clara Swim Club to disgrace. It would be nice if the swimmers and parents who supported him then would come out and say they were wrong. One parent was trying to get a class action law suit together and other parents were scared and did not want to be a part of it. I wonder what they would say today? ... Mitch was a Perp.
It started long before Suzette Moran. It started at SCSC and he just kept going and going...Shame on you USA Swimming for allowing the pattern to continue for so long. Mitch Ivey's behavior I believe, was at least a contributor to a suicide.
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