Cal Women's Swimming: AD Jim Knowlton Tells Parents Investigation Could Take 6 Months

Parents reportedly were dissatisfied with what Knowlton told them in a video call.

Don’t expect the scandal involving Cal women’s swim coach Teri McKeever to be resolved anytime soon.

In what was described as an often “heated” video call with about 30 of the team’s parents, Cal athletic director Jim Knowlton said the school’s investigation of the situation could take six months, according to the Orange County Register.

Teri McKeever / Photo by Kyle Terada, USA Today

The newspaper, which is affiliated with the Mercury News and East Bay Times in Northern California, reported last week that McKeever, one of the nation’s elite women’s swim coaches, was accused by nearly three dozen current and former athletes of bullying and other abusive behaviors over a long stretch of years.

Knowlton’s meeting with parents on Tuesday night seemingly left few satisfied. An excerpt from the Register’s story:

While Knowlton acknowledged that some of McKeever’s alleged bullying took place on his watch, parents both during the meeting and in interviews on Wednesday expressed frustration and anger over what they characterized as Knowlton and Cal’s failed response to the allegations, the lack of a plan for current team members moving forward and the university’s commitment to investigating other coaches or officials who ignored reports or enabled McKeever’s misconduct.

One unnamed parent of a current Cal swimmer told the Register, “The general take away from the meeting is the lack of urgency on something that should have been taken care of a long time ago.”

There was a sense, according to five parents interviewed, that the meeting was assembled hastily without a clear agenda, as if to get a reading on how parents felt about the situation.

“They seem to be taking a passive approach to investigating, ‘if you have something to say feel free to contact us,’” the parent of a current Cal swimmer said. “That’s not investigating. When you’re investigating you’re proactive. You know who to talk to and you go talk to them.”

The newspapers’ series of stories paints a damning portrait of McKeever, who has coached at Cal at an elite level for 29 seasons and served as a head coach of the U.S. Olympic team.:

Interviews with 34 current or former Cal swimmers, 16 parents, a former member of the Goldens Bears’ men’s swimming and diving squad, and two former Cal athletic department employees also detail how McKeever used racial epithets, and pressured athletes to compete or train while injured or dealing with chronic illnesses or eating disorders, even accusing some women of lying about their conditions despite being provided medical records by them.

The Register said McKeever, 60, has declined requests to be interviewed to provide her side of the story.

The university put McKeever on paid administrative leave last week, within days of the story breaking.

Knowlton told parents that associate athletic director Gordon Bayne, a long-time staff member, will oversee the women’s swim program for the “foreseeable future.”

There has been support from some swimmers and parents, the story said, for putting both the women’s and men’s programs under the leadership of men’s swim coach David Durden. The 2021 Olympic men’s team coach, Durden helped train former Cal swimmers and Olympic champions Missy Franklin and Natalie Coughlin during their post-collegiate careers.

Cover photo of Cal athletic director Jim Knowlton by Kelley L. Cox, USA Today

Follow Jeff Faraudo of Cal Sports Report on Twitter: @jefffaraudo