I am relatively new to the swimming culture, so I hope I can get some insight from you more experienced folks. My kids swim for Curl Burke in the DC area. Many of you may be aware of the new allegations against Rick Curl (cofounder and president of CuBu), as well as the recent allegations against another prominent coach and franchise owner on the team, Noah Rucker.
I'm in a little bit of a quandary because my wife and two other moms, parents of three best friends on the team, are very antsy about continuing with the team for a few reasons, not least of which are the recent allegations of improper behavior. I realize that this probably has occurred or does occur on a widespread basis, and in the case of Rick Curl the alleged period of impropriety was 30 years ago. All 4 of us had a discussion last night and I said I didn't believe that Curl Burke, even if the allegations are true, would be more likely to hire child molesters than anyone else. The organization is larger than Rick Curl. My wife and the other moms seem to believe the opposite, that a child molester would be less stringent with hiring policies.
I tend to believe that some of these situations are the fault of parents, who freely let their children go to out of town swim meets alone with coaches, or who let them give rides, etc. I would like to believe that I could protect my child whether a coach has done something wrong in the past or not.
My son really loves (in an appropriate way) his swim coach, they have a great rapport. His swimming has taken off with this guy. I see potential conflict with my wife on this. i don't think my daughter would care what team she swims on, as long as she is with her amigas. But I'm pretty adamant that my son should swim with the team he prefers. Am I off base on this? Any advice for me?
Thanks.
You know, one of the things that really upset some of the parents is that one of the coaches went into a diatribe (when asked) about the allegations, saying how Rick Curl is an outstanding citizen, etc. I think a more measured response should be given by all associated with CUBU. The fact is, nobody really knows anyone solely by their public face. I've seen men who look like the nicest guys in the world turn out to be spouse abusers. Joe Paterno was worshipped by many of his players, but we know how that went. While I cannot say with 100% certainty that Rick Curl is guilty, whatever outstanding citizenship he has displayed means nothing in his defense. If someone falsely accused me of inappropriate behavior with a kid, no way on earth I would do anything but fight it. The truth usually comes out. That payoff is indefensible.
You know, one of the things that really upset some of the parents is that one of the coaches went into a diatribe (when asked) about the allegations, saying how Rick Curl is an outstanding citizen, etc. I think a more measured response should be given by all associated with CUBU. The fact is, nobody really knows anyone solely by their public face. I've seen men who look like the nicest guys in the world turn out to be spouse abusers. Joe Paterno was worshipped by many of his players, but we know how that went. While I cannot say with 100% certainty that Rick Curl is guilty, whatever outstanding citizenship he has displayed means nothing in his defense. If someone falsely accused me of inappropriate behavior with a kid, no way on earth I would do anything but fight it. The truth usually comes out. That payoff is indefensible.
