Yep, I consider that a dodge alright. Here is why: There is a saying by some Greek guy named, Plato, that goes something like this: "That which is owned by all is cared for by none!" Saying it is everyone's responsibility is like saying, that you are just as guilty as us if something goes untoward. I don't buy it. In my opinion he should acknowledged the skills and department of Susan Woessner which he did not do.
Visualize me doing a face palm. You protect kids by getting parents involved, by allowing no one-on-ones, policies about travel accommodations etc. etc. The Boy Scouts of America solved its problems after their lawsuit with sweeping changes, why won't USA Swimming adopt the same plan?
In regards to the Fran Crippen death: We do agree on air and water temps but it was a political answer about rules and organizations.
Perhaps I have a bitter taste in my mouth after routing John Leonard's legal threats but Swimming organizations that represent both coaches and swimmers in this country seem to exist in a fog of politics that is so thick and full of foreboding that they have mastered the art of the non-answer.
Snippet from ESPN:
".... Busch: I think it's everyone's responsibility. It's a huge responsibility. I just came from Tucson where the shooting happened with [Congresswoman] Gabby Gifford. As things have unfolded, the emphasis has been put on mental health. Is there a way in which you can identify it at an earlier time and keep an individual from doing what they did? And the answer to that right now is, I'm not sure. I don't want to say no, but the probability is pretty slim, because there's a lot of people who struggle with life out there. I'm sure there are unstable coaches. We're doing background checks and doing [training in] coaches' ethics and making sure we follow that up. I don't know if anyone is ever going to be as tight on this as USA Swimming. ..."[Link]
Visualize me doing a face palm. You protect kids by getting parents involved, by allowing no one-on-ones, policies about travel accommodations etc. etc. The Boy Scouts of America solved its problems after their lawsuit with sweeping changes, why won't USA Swimming adopt the same plan?
Passing the buck stating you can't look inside the souls of men or women to decide who can coach is a rhetorical device I do not accept. USA Swimming policies should be so rock solid that even if a "freak" did mange to game and/or breech the system and become a coach, there still would be no opportunity for said "freak" to act.
Also policies such as these would protect coaches from fake accusations. Coaches should be demanding policies such as these as well.
UPDATE:
Here is a comment I would like to add within this post from an anonymous poster to this article:
He's a nice guy and a great coach.
That was a bad interview though. He's probably not used to answering the tough questions since he is such a great coach, he doesn't get asked them very often. Give him some time and he will adapt.
Also, send him your thoughts. Although the national team director is focused on winning golds, a former swimmer of his and former Tucson coach just got added to the banned list so maybe it will hit close to home.
5 comments:
He's a nice guy and a great coach.
That was a bad interview though. He's probably not used to answering the tough questions since he is such a great coach, he doesn't get asked them very often. Give him some time and he will adapt.
Also, send him your thoughts. Although the national team director is focused on winning golds, a former swimmer of his and former Tucson coach just got added to the banned list so maybe it will hit close to home.
You make so very good points. I am going to post you comment within the post.
Tony,
I appreciate your well intentioned support for Susan Woessner and the Athlete Protection Program but I am afraid that you are giving USA Swimming too much credit for a program that will soon be shown to have major flaws and failings in both design and execution.
Despite sounding good, the current Athlete Protection Program is just window dressing on the same old policies. Susan Woessner either lacks the leadership and judgement to take clear action or doesn't have the authority necessary to enforce the policies she is responsible for. All complaints are still going through Chuck Wielgus and the review process is largely unchanged. I would advise anyone with a complaint to deal with the police first and let USA Swimming just handle the fallout. USA Swimming has demonstrated an inability or unwillingness to enforce their own rules even after the creation of the Athlete Protection Program and will offer you no protection. Dig enough and you will find ample evidence of this.
Is the organization committed to change? Real change means doing the right thing even when it comes at a price. Chuck Wielgus would have to admit that USA Swimming does have coaches who continue to abuse their authority and access to children. He would also have to acknowledge that not enough has been done to address the issue and that USA Swimming has mishandled far too many cases during his tenure. Known failures like the wreckage left behind in the career of convicted felon John King make clear the extent of the problem. Admission of this would likely mean an end to Wielgus tenure (and the termination of his $750,000+ paychecks). Not likely that Chuck will ever cop to that. The present administration will continue to spend your dues money to support their legal defense when so much more could be done to afford our children some actual protection.
I almost attached this to the post as a rebuttal but I fear the original topic was Frank Busch so I am going to let you have your say in the comments section.
I think that your reader is confusing Andy King with "Irish John" Gibney. Yes, with so many sexual predators in our midst it is easy to get them jumbled up.
Nice to hear that not everyone is taking USA Swimming's "Look, it's all better now!" rhetoric at face value. I don't know much about Susan Woessner, but if she is a young protege of Misters Wielgus and Young then we can certainly expect more talk than substance from her.
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