SAN FRANCISCO (KCBS RADIO) – University of California Berkeley women’s swimming coach Teri McKeever has been placed on administrative leave following a bombshell report in which 19 of her current and former swimmers alleged the 60-year-old bullied and verbally abused them.
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Jim Knowlton, the school's athletic director, told Southern California News Group on Wednesday that McKeever was on paid administrative leave, a day after the publisher reported the swimmers' allegations and hours after it reported that a number of swimmers walked out of practice that morning.
"As reported, these allegations run counter to our core values and the expectations we have for every member of our department," said Knowlton is a statement provided to KCBS Radio by UC Berkeley on Thursday.
"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," he said. "We will follow all university policies and protocols for investigating and addressing these allegations."
Initially reporting that 19 current and former women's swimmers, six parents and a member of the men’s team described McKeever as an emotionally and verbally abusive bully, the publisher's reported total swelled on Wednesday to 24 current and former swimmers, seven parents and a member of the men's team.
Knowlton said he informed the team on Wednesday afternoon that McKeever had been placed on leave, and a number of "former student-athletes and parents" had already reached out to the school's athletic department following the report.
"We are now, as always, encouraging current and former students to report behaviors and incidents that run counter to our policies and our values," said CAL Athletics in Thursday's statement to the station. "We are now, as always, encouraging current and former students who may have been impacted to seek out support. We stand ready to offer support and guidance to any student in need."
"Unfortunately, due to stringent laws and policies protecting personnel issues and privacy, we are unable to comment on these allegations," the statement added. "We wish that were not the case given how serious these allegations are."
McKeever, the coach who led the 2012 U.S. Olympic women's swimming team to a combined 13 medals as the first woman in the role, just completed her 30th season in Berkeley. During that time, the current and former swimmers said she fostered a toxic, abusive culture.
The 19 swimmers who originally spoke with the publisher said McKeever routinely – and profanely – berated and screamed at her swimmers, alleging that she also picked one, two or three swimmers to target with daily abuse each season.
Six women's swimmers have experienced suicidal ideation or otherwise obsessed about suicide, according to the report.
"I didn't want to exist in a world where I had to see Teri every day," former swimmer Chenoa Devine told the publisher. "I didn't want to be alive. I didn't want to exist."
Five current swimmers told Southern California News Group that McKeever used a racist slur and profanities to criticize rap music, and five said she complained that a current Black swimmer had too much "attitude." The publisher obtained documents indicating the university had opened an investigation into her use of the slur as potential racial discrimination, and the probe could expand its focus into possible discrimination based on national origin and sexual orientation.
Of the 12 women of color who joined McKeever's between the 2013-14 and 2020-21 seasons, half left the program while they were still eligible to compete.
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