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March 22, 2018James Scott MacFarland — Accused Groomer-Abuser of Sarah Ehekircher — Is Scrubbed at Houston’s Magnolia Aquatic Club
March 26, 2018by Irvin Muchnick
The Houston Chronicle, hometown newspaper of USA Swimming’s Magnolia Aquatic Club where James Scott MacFarland now coaches, has readied an article about Sarah Ehekircher’s account of being groomed and abused by him more than 30 years ago — the subject of a reopened investigation by the U.S. Center for SafeSport.
Though the Chronicle story has not been published, its existence leaked out due to an online glitch late Friday, at a point when it appeared the coverage would be in the newspaper’s Saturday print edition under the headline “Area swim coach faces new investigation.” However, the MacFarland-Ehekircher article then got pushed back because of breaking news, but not before it hit the Google news search database. The online tease has since disappeared.
Chronicle sources said the article, for the sports section, was completed and reflected comment sought from all concerned parties, including Ehekircher, MacFarland, and Magnolia Aquatic. It will run in the newspaper and online shortly.
Below are complete headline links to this story, which Concussion Inc. broke on March 6.