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Longtime Cal women’s swimming coach Teri McKeever allegedly shamed one of her player’s for having suicidal thoughts, telling the swimmer she “ruined” her teammate’s day, according to a bombshell lawsuit that is now allowed to move forward.
An appeals court issued a major reversal Tuesday, allowing the 2024 lawsuit against the University of California Board of Regents to move forward despite originally being dismissed after a judge found the statute of limitations had expired.
The lawsuit is now back in the spotlight and accuses the school of ignoring years of heinous abuse — from trivializing thoughts of suicide to fat shamming and name calling.
“Did you try to kill yourself?” McKeever asked a player before claiming she “ruined” the day of the teammate she had asked for help, according to the lawsuit.
When another plaintiff took time off from swimming following a sexual assault, McKeever told the team she was “weak.”
The ex-Olympic coach was fired in 2023 after an outside law firm substantiated claims from dozens of athletes.
She later admitted to tormenting Cal swimmers for more than 20 years, and received a three-month suspension from US Olympic and Paralympic events and placed on 12 months probation.
The lawsuit goes on to detail how McKeever created a program centered around “public shaming, intimidation, isolation, exclusion, fear, and unsafe training conditions.”
McKeever allegedly called players “pieces of shit” and told them that they looked fat, while forcing them to stay late for practice even though it meant they would be late for class.
A 2022 Orange County Register investigation was the first to report on the alleged abuse and helped many of the former swimmers realize McKeever’s alleged conduct was not simply hard coaching.
The report cited 19 current and former swimmers, six parents, and a former member of the men’s team, who described McKeever as a bully who allegedly verbally and emotionally abused athletes for years.
The three-judge panel from the First Appellate District of California cited the investigation in its decision Tuesday, and said the lawsuit can proceed under the discovery rule — which can pause the clock until plaintiffs reasonably learn they were harmed by alleged wrongdoing.
“Plaintiffs acknowledge that while they were on the team, they knew they were suffering due to McKeever’s coaching,” the decision reads. “But plaintiffs argue they did not know McKeever’s conduct was anything other than legitimate, challenging coaching. That is, they did not know McKeever had committed any wrongdoing.”
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