Bullying Allegations At UC Berkeley: Coach On Administrative Leave

BERKELEY, CA — UC Berkeley women’s and former U.S. Olympic women’s swim coach Teri McKeever was placed on administrative leave the day after a Southern California News Group Investigation ran a lengthy exposé on alleged bullying, SCNG reports. McKeever is also being investigated by the U.S. Center for SafeSport, SCNG said.

McKeever is accused of bullying and verbally abusing multiple swimmers over the course of many years, according to the exposé. Nineteen current and former swimmers, six parents, and a former member of the Golden Bears men’s team allege that McKeever swore at and threatened swimmers on an “almost daily basis,” used racial epithets and discriminate based on race, ridiculed an athlete who attempted suicide, forced athletes to compete when injured, and more.

At least six women’s swimmers considered suicide as a result of McKeever’s actions, the report alleges.

“Today, Coach McKeever was placed on paid administrative leave,” Cal athletic director Jim Knowlton told SCNG in a statement. “This afternoon, in a meeting I held with team members I shared this news and expressed our commitment to support them in any way we can going forward. As reported, these allegations run counter to our core values and the expectations we have for every member of our department. As the person entrusted with the well-being of more than 1,000 student-athletes, coaches and staff, I have no greater responsibility than ensuring we do the right things in the right way. We will follow all university policies and protocols for investigating and addressing these allegations. We are replying to everyone, including parents and former student-athletes, who has reached out to us as quickly as we can, while we are also providing resources for members of the program who are in need.”

The decision comes after the majority of the swim team walked out of practice Wednesday morning to protest the school’s handling of bullying allegations against Coach Teri McKeever.

The day after the report was released, assistant coach Jesse Moore told swimmers that there would be a team meeting to address the report, according to a followup report by SCNG. Athletes told OC Register reporter Scott Reid that at the meeting, McKeever said she had already read a statement, then read a “basic statement.” She then asked athletes, “Who’s ready to swim?” At that point, the majority of the team reportedly walked out.

The university released a statement following the report that declined to address the allegations due to “stringent laws and policies protecting personnel issues.”

“We wish that were not the case given how serious these allegations are. Due to campus polices and confidentiality requirements, the campus cannot comment on matters of this nature (including whether a case does or does not exist) unless that case has resulted in a finding of violation of campus sexual violence/sexual harassment policy or nondiscrimination policy, and that case has resulted in disciplinary action,” UC Berkeley wrote in a statement.

“Every member of our staff shares a strong commitment to the success of our student athletes – academically, athletically and developmentally. We have in place best-practice policies and procedures that enable Cal Athletics and the university to respond quickly and comprehensively when there are allegations of misconduct by coaches that are inconsistent with our values or applicable rules and policies.”