Did Utah Monitor Accused Rapist Swim Coach Greg Winslow in Activities With Campus-Based Youth Club? Question a Parent Asked University and NCAA — Neither Answered

“… I know that some of the swimmers continued to train under Greg for the summer under at USA Swimming club team called Crimson Aquatic Racers last summer. How is this set up? When does swimming for University of Utah end? and summer swimming under CAR begin? Will you be monitoring this summer time with Greg? Is Greg USS certified (safety training etc) to coach a club team — my understanding that this is needed to cover the team for group liability. How does that all work? Should we be talking with USA Swimming now? Will USA Swimming or the Utah LLC be informed of the ongoing concerns?”

The above passage is from a detailed and comprehensive email sent to University of Utah athletic director Chris Hill and assistant athletic director Pete Olisczazk, by a parent of one of the many swimmers who were subjected to Greg Winslow’s abuse.

By the way, the email is dated MARCH 28, 2009.

The mother hits the nail on the head here. She reinforces our point that the various governance groups and jurisdictions — university as pool landlord, university and National Collegiate Athletic Association as regulators of a coach’s outside activities, USA Swimming as the purported “safe sport” steward of competitive youth swimming — share ownership of the Winslow mess. As they do at Arizona State University’s Sun Devil Aquatics, Winslow’s previous professional stop (where he now stands accused of molesting a then-15-year-old swimmer who would follow him to Utah), and in all the cases where sex abuse and cover-up are commingled among all the alphabet-soup entities.

Our careful reading of all the correspondence does not turn up any response by Utah to the mother on this point.

ASU, meanwhile, is on the record as stating that “Winslow is accused of allegedly kissing and fondling a female swimmer while employed as head coach for a swimming club that was not, and is not, affiliated with ASU.” In case we didn’t get the point that ASU was deflecting any suggestion of institutional responsibility, the statement reminded us that “the victim in the case was a teenager at the time and was not, and has never been, a student at the university.”

The Utah mother also sent her material to the NCAA four years ago. The NCAA told her Utah would handle it. The woman followed up with the NCAA today.

According to the Utah, athletic director Chris Hill is not responding to queries as this time due to his attendance at the Pac-12 basketball tournament in Las Vegas.

Tim Joyce
joyce.timothy@gmail.com