As the Pac-12 Conference era comes to an end after more than a century, we count down the top 50 moments in University of California sports.
moment: On Friday, May 24, 2022 at 5:00 a.m., the Orange County Register Story by Scott M. Reed The report accused University of California women’s swimming coach Teri McKeever of severely emotionally abusing the university’s swim team members over a period of years. As a result of the report, McKeever, the former head coach of the U.S. Olympic swimming team and head coach of four NCAA championship-winning women’s swimming teams at the university, was suspended and ultimately fired.
story: Teri McKeever is widely regarded as one of the best swim coaches in the country and perhaps the most successful women’s swimming coach in U.S. history. McKeever served as the UC women’s swimming coach for 29 seasons, winning four NCAA team titles. Her UC teams finished in the top five in the nation for 15 consecutive years until finishing eighth in 2022.
During her time at UC, she coached 26 Olympians, including Natalie Coughlin and Missy Franklin. McKeever became the first woman to coach the U.S. Olympic swimming team, and her swimmers won 13 medals at the 2012 London Olympics.
The applause for McKeever will stop on Friday, May 24, 2022. Article by Scott M. Reed The Orange County Register story was published by the Southern California News Group. It was a scathing piece that chronicled allegations by UC swimmers and their parents who alleged that McKeever was a bully who verbally and emotionally abused his players for years, using racist slurs and leading six women on the Bears’ swim team to consider suicide.
The swimming world was shocked.
The following is an excerpt Long Lead Report:
“Interviews, emails, letters, university documents, recordings of conversations between McKeever and swimmers, and diary entries reveal an environment in which swimmers – from Olympians, World Champions and All-Americans to non-scholarship swimmers – were hell-bent on avoiding McKeever’s wrath. This preoccupation led to panic attacks, anxiety, insomnia, depression, loss of confidence, suicidal thoughts and plans and, in some cases, self-harm.”
The swimmers complained about McKeever’s behavior to UC athletic officials but received little response, according to the report.
Two days after the incident was reported, McKeever, who was 60 at the time, was placed on administrative leave by the University of California. After an eight-month investigation into McKeever’s conduct, she was fired on Tuesday, Jan. 31, 2023.
December 29, 2023, Reported McKeever admitted for the first time to abusing former athletes and agreed to a three-month suspension from all United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee-sanctioned competition. McKeever was placed on probation for 12 months and banned from having any contact with his former University of California athletes.
*Top 50 Moments No. 25: The Absent Crowd, 2020
* Top 50 Moments No. 26: Oski vs. Tree’s Battle, 1988, 1995
The Top 50 list only considers specific acts that occurred while a team or athlete was enrolled at UC and does not include season-long or career-long accomplishments.
Leslie Mitchell of the California Bears History Twitter site helped select the Top 50 moments.
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