‘Missoula swim coach mired in national sexual abuse case’

“Denying knowledge of Rick Curl, Mitch Ivey and others banging their swimmers! It’s a flat out lie. They knew about it because we (coaches and athletes) were all talking about it in the late 1980″²s and early 1990″²s. I was told by several of Mitch Ivey’s swimmers that he was sleeping with Lisa Dorman in 1988. I heard the whole Suzette Moran story from Pablo Morales over a handful of beers and nearly threw up. I was told Rick Curl was molesting Kelly Davies for years starting when she was 12 by some of the Texas guys. That was the entire reason I formed the abuse subcommittee. I was sick and tired of this crap. No one was standing up. No one was willing to take on these perverts.”

There again is the text of the July 26, 2010, email by Hall of Fame swimmer David Berkoff — now USA Swimming technical vice president David Berkoff. It is Exhibit A in Kelley Davies Currin’s contention — following last Thursday’s sentencing hearing for her abusive coach, Rick Curl — that Berikoff has to go, along with USA Swimming executive director Chuck Wielgus and prominent coach Mark Schubert.

Currin also believes that the U.S. Congress — which created the structure of the U.S. Olympic Committee in the Amateur Sports Act of 1978 — should investigate. The Washington Post, among others, agrees.

Meanwhile, Berkoff is “mired in national sex abuse case,” according to his hometown newspaper, the Missoula Independent of Montana. See http://missoulanews.bigskypress.com/IndyBlog/archives/2013/05/28/missoula-swim-coach-mired-in-national-sexual-abuse-case.

“I didn’t know. I heard rumors,” explains “Backoff” Berkoff.

Re-read the text at the top of this post and see if you agree with this self-servingly languid assessment.

Irv Muchnick
tips@muchnick.net