Flashback: My 2003 Los Angeles Times Magazine Article ‘Welcome to Plantation Football’
October 1, 2019Flashback: Concussion Inc.’s Early 2019 Coverage Anticipated New Reports of Federal Grand Jury Investigation of Swimming’s Insurance Practices
October 7, 2019by Irvin Muchnick
Giving even more teeth to Concussion Inc.’s years of reporting on the irregularities of USA Swimming’s Barbados-based subsidiary, the “United States Sports Insurance Company” — as well as to our suggestions that federal investigators are closing in on disgraced former Irish Olympic swimming coach and notorious sex abuser George Gibney — the Wall Street Journal today dropped this bombshell:
“Federal prosecutors in New York are investigating USA Swimming, including allegations that the organization stifled athlete sexual-abuse claims, concealed its assets and improperly reaped hundreds of thousands of dollars in rebates from its in-house insurance company, people familiar with the matter said. Over the past year, a federal grand jury in Manhattan has heard evidence in the investigation, which is being led by the Manhattan U.S. Attorney’s office and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.”
The Journal story, whose full text can be read online by subscribers at https://www.wsj.com/articles/usa-swimming-faces-probe-into-sex-abuse-claims-business-practices-11570017600?mod=e2fb&fbclid=IwAR18eF7H3rbSxwaSpkk7nr3FszBfFp3ITXK1Of6M_pwN_3oRI53zWpkIfBw, builds on last month’s confirmation, by the Orange County Register, of the existence of federal probes of swimming, USA Gymnastics, and other U.S. Olympic Committee entities.
Next, we’ll review how this relates to the campaign to get resident alien Gibney deported and extradited to Ireland to face revived criminal charges. We’ll also provide complete headline links to our historical coverage of swimming’s shady offshore insurance operations — now the target of a criminal investigation.
PREVIOUSLY:
Report of Multi-Pronged Federal Grand Jury Investigation of USA Swimming, Other National Sport Governing Bodies. Is George Gibney’s Fate in the Mix?
Published September 17th, 2019