Just got a release from Vox Populi communications. Will share some info from it shortly
Full release:
[Columbia, Missouri, July 15, 2019] After a comprehensive, nine-month investigation of University of Missouri Head Swimming and Diving Coach Greg Rhodenbaugh for violations of Title IX involving alleged “team mismanagement”, the University officially closed the investigation last week without any findings of wrong-doing.
Under Rhodenbaugh’s nine-year tenure, the MIZZOU swimming program went from the bottom of the Big 12 Conference to a SEC national swimming powerhouse. In 2016 and 2017, the Tiger Men’s program finished top Ten at NCAA Championships with the Women finishing in the top 15 both years. Rhodenbaugh’s and his assistants were subsequently acknowledged as one of swimming’s top coaching staffs and in 2017 Rhodenbaugh was voted Coach of the Year by the University’s Athletic Department.
Over the nine years of Rhodenbaugh’s coaching, the Tigers turned out dozens of All- Americans, National Champions, National Team members and a World Champion. In fact, when the allegations surfaced in 2018, Mizzou had just negotiated a five- year extension of Rhodenbaugh’s contract.
The official closing of the investigation was issued late Wednesday, July 3rd, before the July 4th weekend. The notice followed Rhodenbaugh’s retention of former USA Swimming defense attorney Gregory A. Anderson, who notified the university’s General Counsel’s office that after nine months of waiting, Rhodenbaugh was filing suit for defamation of character, termination without notice or cause and other theories. Anderson alleged the never-ending investigation was intentionally interfering with negotiations between Rhodenbaugh and another premier Division 1 university to become its head coach for the 2019-2020 season.
During the nine months of investigation, Andy Hirth, Rhodenbaugh’s local attorney made repeated demands for Mizzou to disclose the factual basis for the allegations against him, to complete its investigation in a timely manner as required by university rules and to hold a hearing for Rhodenbaugh to present evidence in his own defense as guaranteed under his contract.
Anderson told the university that “...while I’ve reviewed allegations of misconduct against any number of coaches over the past thirty years, these allegations remain some of the most perplexing... We reviewed the statements of the athletes involved and noted the complete absence of anything that could be termed ’factual’. It was hard to even understand why an official investigation was held.”
Anderson concluded by noting, “Far from discriminatory, Coach Rhodenbaugh’s statements encouraged his swimmers to overcome hardships and make good choices in their lives...swimming is an extremely difficult sport in terms of the physical and mental demands on the athletes. Encouraging your swimmers to overcome obstacles is not discriminatory.”
During the investigation, countless former and current swimmers came forward to support Rhodenbaugh. Annie Grevers who swam for Rhodenbaugh during his tenure at Arizona and is the sister-in-law of current MIZZOU head coach Andy Grevers and wife of 2016 Olympian Matt Grevers, said, “This is a man perpetuating good. He’s one of the most respected, empathetic men in college coaching.” As the investigation went on, numerous athletes were recruited to corroborate the allegations and instead refuted them. Not a single assistant coach, most of who were there on the deck during the supposed discrimination, supported the allegations. One assistant coach, Kristen Pritchet, who coached with Rhodenbaugh from 2013 through 2016 -when some of the supposedly discriminatory statements were made- said,”...[H]is [Rhodenbaugh’s] demeanor was the same with all of his athletes, regardless of their performance capabilities, gender, race or sexual orientation. Never once did I hear him yell, demean or belittle an athlete....” Nearly 300 past swimmers and coaches across the nation wrote the university in support of Rhodenbaugh.
However, under Mizzou Title IX rules, the accused is not allowed to defend him or herself. Calling defense witnesses or even cross-examining the accusers is considered “oppressive” and not permitted. But even if a defense were allowed, there would be no forum to do so: “The Mizzou Title IX department doesn’t allow a formal hearing on the charges” Anderson explained, “...it is a system laden with confirmation bias at its core.
“There was no due process” Anderson concluded, “It was only when we made clear our plan to challenge these procedures in federal court that the Title IX director’s enthusiasm evaporated.”
When asked about the allegations brought against him, Rhodenbaugh responded, “I was stunned. In my 34 years of coaching collegiate athletes, I think everyone I coached recognized that I deeply care about them and would do anything to help them achieve their goals and dreams - in the pool and out. My assistant coaches and I were the strongest advocates for sixty swimmers. From the sidelines, I encouraged the swimmers to stay focused on their goals and to not get sidetracked by all this.”
When asked about his experience at Mizzou, Rhodenbaugh stated,
“I came to MIZZOU nine years ago to invest in the lives of young men and women who came here to swim and to build a top ten swimming and diving program and we did that. Along the way, I have always been conscious of the personal needs and academic goals of my student-athletes. While building a top team was incredible, that goal never outweighed my desire to help my athletes personally grow as they work through life issues. The other coaches and I know that being part of an SEC D1 swim program is challenging and transitioning from high school to college is tough. We were always conscious of the total well-being of the athletes and I am sorry that a few athletes didn’t realize the depth of care that all of the coaches had for them.”
When asked about the ordeal finally coming to an end, Rhodenbaugh stated, ” As I have stated before, the men and women who came here to swim under our coaching team were part of an incredible story of building a swimming powerhouse and I am proud of every one of them. Leaving the swimmers here will be tough, but I am excited for my next coaching opportunity so that I can get back to my passion for helping young women and men achieve their dreams and aspirations at the highest level.”
Full release:
[Columbia, Missouri, July 15, 2019] After a comprehensive, nine-month investigation of University of Missouri Head Swimming and Diving Coach Greg Rhodenbaugh for violations of Title IX involving alleged “team mismanagement”, the University officially closed the investigation last week without any findings of wrong-doing.
Under Rhodenbaugh’s nine-year tenure, the MIZZOU swimming program went from the bottom of the Big 12 Conference to a SEC national swimming powerhouse. In 2016 and 2017, the Tiger Men’s program finished top Ten at NCAA Championships with the Women finishing in the top 15 both years. Rhodenbaugh’s and his assistants were subsequently acknowledged as one of swimming’s top coaching staffs and in 2017 Rhodenbaugh was voted Coach of the Year by the University’s Athletic Department.
Over the nine years of Rhodenbaugh’s coaching, the Tigers turned out dozens of All- Americans, National Champions, National Team members and a World Champion. In fact, when the allegations surfaced in 2018, Mizzou had just negotiated a five- year extension of Rhodenbaugh’s contract.
The official closing of the investigation was issued late Wednesday, July 3rd, before the July 4th weekend. The notice followed Rhodenbaugh’s retention of former USA Swimming defense attorney Gregory A. Anderson, who notified the university’s General Counsel’s office that after nine months of waiting, Rhodenbaugh was filing suit for defamation of character, termination without notice or cause and other theories. Anderson alleged the never-ending investigation was intentionally interfering with negotiations between Rhodenbaugh and another premier Division 1 university to become its head coach for the 2019-2020 season.
During the nine months of investigation, Andy Hirth, Rhodenbaugh’s local attorney made repeated demands for Mizzou to disclose the factual basis for the allegations against him, to complete its investigation in a timely manner as required by university rules and to hold a hearing for Rhodenbaugh to present evidence in his own defense as guaranteed under his contract.
Anderson told the university that “...while I’ve reviewed allegations of misconduct against any number of coaches over the past thirty years, these allegations remain some of the most perplexing... We reviewed the statements of the athletes involved and noted the complete absence of anything that could be termed ’factual’. It was hard to even understand why an official investigation was held.”
Anderson concluded by noting, “Far from discriminatory, Coach Rhodenbaugh’s statements encouraged his swimmers to overcome hardships and make good choices in their lives...swimming is an extremely difficult sport in terms of the physical and mental demands on the athletes. Encouraging your swimmers to overcome obstacles is not discriminatory.”
During the investigation, countless former and current swimmers came forward to support Rhodenbaugh. Annie Grevers who swam for Rhodenbaugh during his tenure at Arizona and is the sister-in-law of current MIZZOU head coach Andy Grevers and wife of 2016 Olympian Matt Grevers, said, “This is a man perpetuating good. He’s one of the most respected, empathetic men in college coaching.” As the investigation went on, numerous athletes were recruited to corroborate the allegations and instead refuted them. Not a single assistant coach, most of who were there on the deck during the supposed discrimination, supported the allegations. One assistant coach, Kristen Pritchet, who coached with Rhodenbaugh from 2013 through 2016 -when some of the supposedly discriminatory statements were made- said,”...[H]is [Rhodenbaugh’s] demeanor was the same with all of his athletes, regardless of their performance capabilities, gender, race or sexual orientation. Never once did I hear him yell, demean or belittle an athlete....” Nearly 300 past swimmers and coaches across the nation wrote the university in support of Rhodenbaugh.
However, under Mizzou Title IX rules, the accused is not allowed to defend him or herself. Calling defense witnesses or even cross-examining the accusers is considered “oppressive” and not permitted. But even if a defense were allowed, there would be no forum to do so: “The Mizzou Title IX department doesn’t allow a formal hearing on the charges” Anderson explained, “...it is a system laden with confirmation bias at its core.
“There was no due process” Anderson concluded, “It was only when we made clear our plan to challenge these procedures in federal court that the Title IX director’s enthusiasm evaporated.”
When asked about the allegations brought against him, Rhodenbaugh responded, “I was stunned. In my 34 years of coaching collegiate athletes, I think everyone I coached recognized that I deeply care about them and would do anything to help them achieve their goals and dreams - in the pool and out. My assistant coaches and I were the strongest advocates for sixty swimmers. From the sidelines, I encouraged the swimmers to stay focused on their goals and to not get sidetracked by all this.”
When asked about his experience at Mizzou, Rhodenbaugh stated,
“I came to MIZZOU nine years ago to invest in the lives of young men and women who came here to swim and to build a top ten swimming and diving program and we did that. Along the way, I have always been conscious of the personal needs and academic goals of my student-athletes. While building a top team was incredible, that goal never outweighed my desire to help my athletes personally grow as they work through life issues. The other coaches and I know that being part of an SEC D1 swim program is challenging and transitioning from high school to college is tough. We were always conscious of the total well-being of the athletes and I am sorry that a few athletes didn’t realize the depth of care that all of the coaches had for them.”
When asked about the ordeal finally coming to an end, Rhodenbaugh stated, ” As I have stated before, the men and women who came here to swim under our coaching team were part of an incredible story of building a swimming powerhouse and I am proud of every one of them. Leaving the swimmers here will be tough, but I am excited for my next coaching opportunity so that I can get back to my passion for helping young women and men achieve their dreams and aspirations at the highest level.”
