Schubert-Jewell Whistleblower Dia Rianda’s Attorney Demands Apology From Golden West College President

Dia Rianda, the USA Swimming philanthropist who last year sued former Olympic coach Mark Schubert and his Golden West Swim Club after Schubert fired her there, wants the president of Golden West College, Wes Bryan, to retract statements about its private investigator’s report on misconduct allegations against Schubert and his now-departed associate, Bill Jewell.

Concussion Inc. has a copy of an email dispatched today to Bryan’s lawyer by B. Robert Allard, who represents Rianda, demanding “a public apology from the College for smearing” her. Allard says Bryan defamed Rianda by with his claim that the college’s investigation was “extensive” and by falsely implying that swim club families, as well as athletes of just the college program, were interviewed by the investigator.

The Golden West probe, in Allard’s words, was “not a ‘fact finding’ mission but rather a quest to repair the image of persons in the public eye to the detriment of another. Not a single one of the four other assistant coaches … who observed and/or reported about Mr. Jewell’s inappropriate behavior to Mr. Schubert were contacted, much less interviewed.”

Bryan told us, “I am not able to make any comment on matters that are presently in litigation that involve the College.”

I think Allard raises an important point about public institutions using taxpayer money to conduct “independent” private investigations, which are set up from the get-go to be whitewash jobs.

Bill Jewell was “exonerated” by the Golden West College report, but after the Orange County Registercovered the misconduct allegations in greater depth — the reporting of which had cost Rianda her job in a clear act of retaliation on Schubert’s part — Jewell resigned from the swim club. Funny how those exonerations work.

Irv Muchnick
tips@muchnick.net