ASU and Utah’s Failure to Communicate About Abusive Swim Coach Greg Winslow at End of Long Trail of Swimming’s Negligent Disregard of Athlete Safety
March 18, 2013More Details on ASU Police Moves in Greg Winslow Sex Abuse Investigation
March 18, 2013
The president of the first youth swim team coached by Greg Winslow knew nothing about the recent widely publicized charges against him for sexual molestation, until he was informed by Concussion Inc.
That is the first finding of an investigative project exploring how USA Swimming circulates or suppresses basic public information about accused pedophile coaches.
In an email exchange, Terry Martinez, president of the Valley Dolphins Swim Team in Colorado Springs, Colorado, wrote, “I started as a board member of the Valley Swim team 2 years after Greg Winslow left our team approx. 14 years ago. I have no knowledge of any issue or any current allegations.”
We asked Martinez two questions: “Were you contacted by either the University of Utah or Arizona State University or Sun Devil Aquatics regarding the recent news about Winslow?” And “Have you communicated anything to past or present Valley Swim members or families? If yes, what have you said to them?”
Martinez replied, “No one from either of these teams have contacted us. I had no knowledge of the allegations, but will be contacting USA Swimming Athlete Protection to verify our next actions. Thanks for the heads up.”
Winslow took the Valley Dolphins Swim Team job following an All-American swimming career at the University of North Dakota. Winslow was dismissed as head coach at the University of Utah following our report last month that Arizona State University police are recommending prosecution of him on two counts of sexual abuse of a minor while working as an assistant coach at ASU and as head coach of the campus-based youth club, Sun Devil Aquatics.
USA Swimming refuses to explain how it disseminates information about abusive coaches, and does not respond to inquiries from these reporters. The organization’s only known initiative is the publication on its website of a list of coaches permanently banned for conduct code violations. There were 79 names on the latest update of that list.
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