What USA Swimming Chief Chuck Wielgus Swore, on Penalty of Perjury, About Statutory Rapist Coach Rick Curl

Below is an excerpt of the May 12, 2010, deposition transcript of Chuck Wielgus, the executive director of USA Swimming, in a sexual abuse civil suit against the organization and Brian Hindson, a former club coach. More commentary will follow, but sometimes a document should be allowed to speak for itself. Here the head of swimming’s Congressionally authorized national governing body flashes the form for which he is paid $750,000 a year.

Q Next person I want to talk about is Rick Curl. What do you know about him?

A Not much. I met Rick Curl for the first time probably early in the last decade, when he was — he was a fairly high-level coach, had been a coach of a couple of National Team — or at least one National Team-level athlete. And that was really about my — my only interaction was him was just meeting him and seeing him and talking with him just in a casual manner on a few pool decks.

Q Do you know why he got fired from the University of Maryland?

A I never even knew he worked at the University of Maryland.

Q Did you ever get any information about him having an inappropriate sexual contact with one of his swimmers?

A I have never received any information about that.

Q Is there a file on Rick Curl?

A Not — not that I’m — not that I’m aware of.

Q Are you aware of any settlement that Rick Curl made with his alleged victim?

A I have — I have heard, just within the past three to four weeks, that there was some sort of a settlement between Rick Curl and a victim or a victim’s family. And that’s the first I heard of that.

Q Do you know why he moved to Australia?

A I don’t.

Q Do you know if he moved to avoid criminal prosecution?

A I’ll give you the same answer I gave to the last question.

Q Okay. And you said you learned in the last three to four weeks about some kind of settlement?

A I shouldn’t say I learned. I heard a rumor. I — I would equate learning as knowing for sure, as opposed to –

Q Heard a rumor?

A — hearing something. Right, heard a rumor.

Q Who did you hear the rumor from?

A That’s a good question. I don’t recall who I heard the rumor from, but it — I don’t recall who I heard the rumor from. I can’t say.

Q But the rumor was just to the extent that he paid — he paid a settlement himself, personally? Is that what the rumor was?

A No, no. I just — I — I think I heard it in the context of somebody saying that they had seen his name on a blog or something to that effect.

Irv Muchnick