UC Berkeley fires swim coach McKeever over misconduct allegations

BERKELEY, Calif. — Longtime University of California women's swimming coach Teri McKeever was fired Tuesday following an investigation into alleged harassment, bullying and verbally abusive conduct, the school said in a statement.

McKeever led the Golden Bears to four NCAA team titles over 29 years. She coached the U.S. women's swim team at the London Olympics in 2012, the first woman to serve in that role.

Cal Director of Athletics Jim Knowlton said in a letter to team and athletic staff that an investigative report by an independent law firm detailed "numerous violations of university policies that prohibit race, national origin, and disability discrimination. ... The report also details verbally abusive conduct that is antithetical to our most important values."

Knowlton said the 482-page report substantiated many allegations of unacceptable behavior and said it was in "the best interests of our student-athletes, our swimming program and Cal Athletics as a whole" that the program part ways with McKeever.

The investigation followed a Southern California News Group probe in May that said McKeever "allegedly verbally and emotionally abused, swore at and threatened swimmers on an almost daily basis, pressured athletes to compete or train while injured or dealing with chronic illnesses or eating disorders."

Copyright 2023 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.