Utah Assistant Swim Coach Professes Innocence: ‘I Didn’t Even Give the Swimmers Hugs’

Matt Fiascone, father of whistleblower Utah swimmer Austin Fiascone, is rightly expressing skepticism about the good faith of the latest iteration of the university’s recursive investigations into the downfall of coach Greg Winslow, who faces felony sex abuse charges in Arizona.

The senior Fiascone points out that justice delayed for the victim athletes of the Winslow regime is not only justice denied, but also the proximate cause of emotional stress and damage, whose extent those of us on the outside can only imagine.

In that context, we raise another matter: whispers of improper conduct are swirling in Salt Lake City in regard to another coach. We report this now — but not his name or those of potential accusers — only because our Tim Joyce just finished a phone conversation with him.

“He wouldn’t stop talking,” Joyce reports.

The interview was mostly a series of statements along the lines of “I have nothing to hide…. This is terrible, now they’re trying to drag my name through the mud because of Greg.”

Asked about physical interactions with swimmers, the coach said: “I do high-fives, I’ve never even hugged a swimmer, hugs are off-limits….. I’m a stand-up guy on the pool deck.”

When Joyce asked him point-blank if he ever behaved inappropriately or crossed the line with a swimmer, the coach said, “Absolutely not, never. I would never break that trust, never done that.” He then urged us to call “my administrators, my fellow coaches, they’ll vouch for me.”

The coach added that he will be calling a lawyer.

 
[email protected]