USA Swimming Chief Chuck Wielgus Dies of Cancer; Presided Over 20 Years of Sex Abuse Cover-Ups
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April 25, 2017by Irvin Muchnick
Chuck Wielgus, the chief executive of USA Swimming since 1997, has died of cancer at 67. All due sympathy goes to his family and loved ones.
Wielgus had been scheduled to retire in August. Recently, as the Senate Judiciary Committee belatedly began exploring stories of systematic sexual abuse and cover-up at U.S. Olympic Committee national sport governing bodies, including USA Swimming, there were calls from victims’ advocates to fire Wielgus before he could retire.
Some major news media accounts, such as that of the Los Angeles Times, have noted the abuse controversy. Most accounts rested at chronicling the growth of revenue and sponsorships in swimming on Wielgus’s watch.
Lots of money and gold medals, plus a little — or a lot of — unchecked sex abuse of youth athletes on the side: that is the Wielgus legacy. Readers interested in exploring this topic in depth can plug his name into the search engine at this site for links to our historical coverage.