USA Swimming’s ‘Complex’ Problem of Letting Alcoholic Rapists and Con Men Coach Kids, and Hiring the Owner of ‘HookingUpWithTawnieLynn.com’ To Design Its Background Check System

by Irvin Muchnick

“There are also other issues that need to be addressed (such as background checks and screens for coach-owned clubs), but these are more complex and we’ll need time to determine how best to address them.”

So stated USA Swimming’s chief, Chuck Wielgus, in his internal memo outlining the organization’s “significant shift in our strategy” for dealing with the “increasing unfortunate fact of life for all youth-serving organizations” that widespread sexual abuse of underage athletes is bad for the ol’ image.

And if anyone would know how long these reforms take, it’s Wielgus — he has been at the helm for a decade and a half, and he has been committing perjury about his work in sworn statements to courts for at least three years.

As for the “complex” issue of background checks, readers who are new to this site are invited to peruse this past coverage:

Background Checks? Washington State Judge, Convicted of Assaulting Woman Who Had Appeared in His Court, Went on to Become USA Swimming Coach and Official in South Dakota