Safe4Athletes

When did the system fail Kelley Davies Currin and the Rest of us?

Today Rick Curl was sentenced for 7 years for the sexual abuse of Kelley Currin that happen almost 30 years ago.  Rick has been a free man and participating in life like the rest of us for the past 30 years without any consequence for his actions of sexually abusing this minor swimmer at the time in question.

Why didn’t something happen sooner?  Something did happen.  The family settled a confidential case with an undisclosed amount and a gag order was imposed to prevent anyone from discussing the case. Life was meant to go on as normal and all is good. After all Rick Curl was a good coach.   He produced Olympians and successful swimmers throughout the collegiate system.

Another reason why this didn’t happen earlier is that the type of sexual abuse Rick Curl specialized in orchestrating is considered to be a consensual relationship.   There is nothing consensual about  a minor athlete falling in love with their coach, a significant power figure whose coaching attention can make the difference between an Olympic medal or national record and failure.    The notion of an acceptable consensual romantic relationship between a teacher and student or coach and athlete   violates every legal, moral and ethical principle in our society. Yet these relationships and their acceptance are commonplace in our competitive sports environment especially with our female athletes.  While this is something that everyone would openly say is appalling and should be stopped at all costs especially when it the relationship begins with an under age athlete (under the age of 18).  Yet there are such famous athletes as Lindsay Vonn who started dating her coach at the age of 16, whom she went on to marry and now, recently divorced, is currently in a relationship with Tiger Woods.

When the emotionally immature athlete does not cry “foul”, is being a successful performer and the coach is winning, the rule appears to be “ all good, no harm, no foul”.   A sexually abused athlete may not be able to deal with the reality of such a relationship until twenty years after the fact.   During that period, only that athlete suffers a pain that is so great, they cannot discuss it with anyone.   When the dust settles and the truth of the destruction of the athlete’s life is revealed, the artful acquaintance pedophile still receives sympathy from those who respect his success as a coach.  Worse yet, there are those who believe there is such a circumstance as “consensual” and see no “victim’.   

What is more troubling is that the amateur sport system has failed to clearly state the absolute impermissibility of any romantic relationship between a coach and his athlete.   This coach-athlete relationship issue and other sexual abuse issues are   rampant in sports and considered to be the worst kept secret.

When the next big story hits, and there will be one, and when everyone says, “How could this have happened? Why didn’t someone say something?”  Someone did say something.   We just haven’t been listening.  Many athletes have said something.  US Swimming and other open amateur sports governing bodies just haven’t been listening. Worse yet, turning a blind eye. As the management of USA Swimming has been doing for years. The 30 year time lapse is clearly proof of that.

Since starting Safe4Athletes, I have continued to witness this failure in the system, where speaking up is fought against with public and administrative disbelief, blaming of the victim and victims seeking justice encountering extreme difficulty at every turn.  Parents of these young athletes that have been victims of sexual abuse, come to me and share their stories and all of the extreme efforts that they have gone to protect their child and attempt to “right” the system that has harmed them in unspeakable ways. The efforts of these parents and children are   the most heroic displays of courage that I have ever witnessed   while the  response of those with the power to fix the system simply adds to   their heartache, allows ridicule and fails to deliver justice.    

The system is broken.  Cases of sexual abuse and coach misconduct break our athlete heroes and  reward coach perpetrators.  Sport governing bodies care more about producing winning athletes than their obligation to enforce legal, moral and ethical guidelines established by our society.  . 

We talk about “not doing enough” to protect our young athletes, yet everyone around the situation makes it very difficult to do “anything” let alone enough. 

No coach at any age should be sexual engaged with an athlete. No Olympic dream is worth the lifetime of pain, destruction that sexual abuse brings.  An athlete’s hope and  dreams is all it takes to be vulnerable to the coach pedophile and the failures in this system.

When enough is really enough, when sexual abuse is clearly defined and unacceptable under any circumstance between a coach and an athlete, only then will our sports training environments be safe for children and adult athletes.  Nothing can be more important than our humanity.  We cannot allow  the system to continue to failure us. 

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ALEXANDRIA, Va. (WUSA9) -- Katherine Starr was an Olympic swimmer who was sexually abused by her coach starting at the age of 14. 

Out of 20 elite swimmers during her time, she says four were sexually abused by their youth coaches.   

Her story is one of many in a shameful history that reached a boiling point with Penn State's Jerry Sandusky, convicted of sexually abusing children in the so-called charity organization 'The Second Mile' foundation he created.   

 Part of the shame comes from that fact that people who knew looked the other way.  Crime Fighter John Walsh says that needs to change. 

"Look what happened with Sandusky.  Here's a 60 year old man, 6'3", sodomizing a 10-year-boy in a locker room at 10:30 at night and the University doesn't do anything about it when a coach reports it.  They decide, 'Let's not tell the campus police,'" said Walsh, whose son Adam was kidnapped and murdered in 1981.

He added, "We've got to get over this culture of, "It doesn't involve me, I'm not going to say anything, I'm going let it happen, I'm going to hope it goes away, there's too much money involved.  All of that is  B-S. Those are all excuses,"  

He says all youth organizations need to have mandatory background checks for starters. Walsh  is a guest speaker at The Safe To Compete Summit, hosted by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children in Alexandria and the Cal Ripken Sr. Foundation. 

"After the events of Penn State, our foundation realized that as we grew, that those interacting with children were the right people," said Ripken. 

The Center's CEO John Ryan says  65 percent of predators who sexually abuse children are in positions of trust.  They are often family members, neighbors, clergy or coaches and thought to be outstanding members of the community.

"Youth centered organizations are a popular hunting ground for people who want to abuse children, especially those who have their guard down," said Ryan.  

He said the summit will put together a check list of sound policies to help youth organizations everywhere keep kids safe.

 

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Sports and Abuse: Help Kids Speak Up

BY: RACHEL STURTZ

Colorado is helping make private sports teams and clubs safer for children. Senator Rollie Heath introduced Senate Bill 13-012 in January, which seeks to hold employees of private sports programs responsible for reporting child abuse or neglect:

The bill adds directors, coaches, assistant coaches, and athletic program personnel for private sports programs or organizations to the list of persons required to report suspected child abuse or neglect to the county or district department of social services or local law enforcement agency. 

The bill will add legal ramifications for organizations that have historically had little (or done little) in the way of protection for kids. Oftentimes, coaches are reprimanded for their misconduct and then allowed to quietly resign, moving from school to school undetected. In one prominent California case, swim club coach Andy King moved around California abusing more than a dozen girls and impregnating one before he was finally reported to police. And the problems aren't far from home, as in this case:

The most prominent name on the [USA Swimming secret] banned list is former national team director Everett Uchiyama, who quit in 2006 after being accused of having a decade-long relationship with a swimmer that began when she was 14. He never faced criminal charges and turned up less than a year later as the aquatics director at the Country Club of Colorado, only about five miles from USA Swimming's headquarters in Colorado Springs.

The bill is on the Governor's desk, waiting to be signed into law. But we also need to attack this problem on the front end. Not enough schools and clubs have clear and deliberate guidelines on how to deal with these kinds of situations when they arise or to prevent them in the first place. That begins with a thorough check of past employment.

When resignations are doled out behind closed doors, other clubs and organizations are at a disadvantage to protect themselves and their athletes. There is no national database for these kinds of predators and unless a coach was prosecuted, their criminal background check will come back clean. Some national governing bodies have made public their list of banned coaches, but they do not include those found guilty of misconduct. The priority of any club or team should be to interview former employers to find out why the coach left their former posts.

Then, the start of any season should begin with an education for both team and coach on what's appropriate and what's not. No closed-door practices. No alone time between a coach and an athlete. No rides home after a workout. No texting other than practice details or location changes. The list goes on. And when a coach crosses the line, children and teens—even elite athletes—need to already have a support system in place.

One of the many reasons athletes fail to report abuse is because the person they have to tell is usually intimately involved with the organization and has close ties to the coach. And a winning coach is a more powerful coach. Kids need to know that if they're uncomfortable telling their parents, they have someone else they can trust who will take their allegations seriously with no concern for a program's reputation. A liaison like this offers children a safe harbor while their claim is investigated. Abuse doesn't always have the advantage of corroborating evidence, and the more time an athlete has to build their story before having it officially reported is incredibly important for their emotional health and their case against the coach.

This kind of athlete-first mentality was put into practice by Olympic swimmer Katherine Starr last year when she started Safe4Athletes, a program that advocates for athlete welfare and shifts power away from coaches. As an athlete who endured sexual abuse for the entirety of her 10-year career, Starr created this program to give athletes a confidential resource to have conversations about their issues. The program helps sports organizations create policies, procedures, and education for sexual harassment, bullying, and other inappropriate behaviors at no cost to schools or clubs. It's a comprehensive program that has coaches sign a code of conduct agreement that if broken, will put their name on the site's list of banned coaches.

Safe4Athletes also helps teams and clubs designate a third-party athlete welfare advocate (a pivotol difference between this program and others), a fact finder to help with investigation, and an ethics panel made up of representatives for the coach and athlete to review the findings. They also provide legal assistance for parents and counseling for athletes. 

It's an important step to take the power out of the hands of the schools and clubs, because when dealing with serious issues like this internally, history has proven that the best interests of the school and its coach can come first. SB 13-012 is a great step towards prosecuting those who stay silent. A program like Safe4Athletes or a school's committment to designating an athlete advocate is how we'll give children a voice.

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O.C. swim coach banned for life; other coach resigns

By SCOTT M. REID / ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

 Former Mission Viejo Nadadores coach Daniel Ad'm Dusenbury has been banned for life by swimming's national governing body after acknowledging having an inappropriate relationship with a female teenage Nadadores swimmer, the Orange County Register has learned.

Another prominent Orange County swim coach, Bill Jewell, has resigned his coaching position at Golden West Swim Club in the wake of a Register story detailing allegations of his inappropriate conduct toward female teenage swimmers, the Register also has learned.

 
Former Mission Viejo Nadadores coach Ad'm Dusenbury was banned by USA Swimming.
 
GWSC has also implemented a series of policies and programs through Safe4Athletes, a non-profit foundation that advocates for athletes and helps sports organizations adopt effective policies, procedures and educational programs designed to prevent inappropriate behavior toward athletes.

USA Swimming banned Dusenbury after an investigation into allegations that he had a long-term sexual relationship with a teenage swimmer. Nadadores officials told the Register last year that as early as 2006 Dusenbury, then 28, was involved with a then 15-year-old Nadadores swimmer, who also attended Aliso Niguel High. The relationship lasted for more than four years, officials said.

Telephone messages to Dusenbury seeking comment were not returned.

A DVD provided to Nadadores officials and obtained by the Register contained photos of a 2006 diary in which Dusenbury and the girl purportedly chronicled their relationship, in often intimate detail, including dates and places where sex acts occurred. The diary also revealed that as early as May 2006, Dusenbury, who goes by Ad'm, believed Nadadores coaches were suspicious of his relationship with the girl, but continued to become more involved with her. The DVD also contained photos of a teenage girl in her underwear in Dusenbury's apartment and seated on his bed. Club officials and Nadadores parents have identified the girl as the former Aliso Niguel student.

"USA Swimming has suspended for life former Mission Viejo Nadadores coach Daniel Ad'm Dusenbury and has added his name to the public list of banned individuals," USA Swimming said in a statement released to the Register. "USA Swimming's case centered on Mr. Dusenbury's inappropriate relationship with a swimmer he coached while she was 15 and 16-years-old. The swimmer involved did not file a complaint with USA Swimming, denied any impropriety, and refused to participate in its investigation; however, Mr. Dusenbury concedes based on other evidence that an inappropriate relationship took place which violated USA Swimming's Code of Conduct. Therefore, Mr. Dusenbury elected not to contest the sanctions requested by USA Swimming, including a lifetime ban and publication of his name on USA Swimming's list of 'Individuals Permanently Suspended or Ineligible.'"

Jewell also is under investigation by USA Swimming for improper conduct involving teenage female swimmers at both the Fullerton Aquatic Sports Team and GWSC.

Jewell, who was fired by FAST in June 2011, did not respond to requests for comment. He has previously acknowledged making some improper comments but largely denied having inappropriate behavior toward young female athletes.

In sworn depositions, police reports, memos, letters and emails obtained by the Register, young female swimmers and Jewell's fellow coaches allege a pattern of inappropriate behavior by Jewell at both FAST and Golden West ranging from repeated sexual comments to improper touching of teenage female swimmers.

According to the documents, Jewell described one teenage female swimmer's breasts as a "nice rack," made comments to a 13-year-old girl about her virginity and sent text messages to female swimmers after hours, according to the documents. He showed up late for practices in the company of an underage female swimmer and repeatedly was seen leaving practice with a teenage swimmer.

As part of GWSC's adoption of Safe4Athletes policies and programs, the club has created an athlete welfare advocate position. The advocate will not only run background checks on GWSC employees and volunteers but also will be available to athletes or parents who have concerns about potential inappropriate behavior. Swimmers and coaches at the club were also briefed about inappropriate behavior by Safe4Athletes founder Katherine Starr.

"They're very clear on athlete-on-athlete abuse as well as coach and athlete relationships," said Starr, a former Olympic swimmer for Great Britain, who was raped when she was 14 by the British national team coach.

GWSC head coach Mark Schubert, the former U.S. national team director, has been criticized for not addressing complaints about Jewell sooner. Jewell and Schubert are longtime friends and Jewell was also an assistant coach under Schubert at USC.

Schubert did not respond to a request for comment.

"I do believe he's trying to do the right thing," Starr said of Schubert. Starr swam for Schubert at the University of Texas in the 1980s. "I think he went to his breaking point. I think he struggled between friendship and doing the right thing. And (the scandal) forced him to step outside and take a look (at the situation). It always gets clouded in personal relationships."

View original article here

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Attention, Open Amateur Sports Sex Abuse Victims — A New Federal Government Resource

By Irv Muchnick

Through two different sources who are working hard to detox open amateur sports, I have learned of a new federal government investigative resource for victims of sexual abuse inside these sports — including but not limited to swimming.

If you are a victim, please call FBI Special Agent Randall Devine at 310.477.6565.

Quite apart from any legal or legislative ramifications, this is a welcome and hugely important development for those who have not received sufficient support for crimes against them.

As it was explained to me, the investigator is only interested in speaking directly to victims. Please don’t come forward if you are just a relative or a witness. The purpose here is to develop a comprehensive file establishing the systemic nature of this problem. Therefore, the statute of limitations doesn’t matter. Nor does it matter if the victim has already settled a tort law case. Complete confidentiality is assured for this project — which is focused strictly on fact-finding and -gathering.

Original Article Click here

Please also see our therapists if you would like to discuss this before making this important step towards your healing.  If you can't afford a therapists there are resources to help, call or email for additional information.

 

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