Chrissi Rawak Out as USA Swimming CEO Because of Previous SafeSport Complaint
Less than 24 hours since USA Swimming announced that Chrissi Rawak would no longer be taking over as its new CEO due to “unforeseen personal circumstances,” the organization has confirmed that Rawak resigned from the role because of a SafeSport complaint. The complaint regards a past event but only was reported to SafeSport after Rawak’s hiring was announced. USA Swimming was made aware of the complaint earlier this week, and when asked about the issue, Rawak chose to resign from the role. SwimSwam first reported the news.
Previously, a text message sent from Rawak to staffers at the University of Delaware, where she had been athletic director, indicated that she decided to depart USA Swimming because of family concerns, including the recent death of her mother-in-law. She had been initially hired to helm the national governing body on February 19. The previous leader of the organization, Tim Hinchey, departed in August following the Paris Olympics while Shana Ferguson has been the interim CEO since then.
USA Swimming confirmed the reason for Rawak’s departure in a statement sent to Swimming World on Saturday afternoon. USA Swimming, which did not reference the SafeSport issue when announcing Rawak’s resignation on Friday night, called the news “concerning and disappointing.” The organization defended its hiring process that resulted in Rawak’s selection.
The full statement from USA Swimming is available below:
“Today’s news is concerning and disappointing to USA Swimming and our broader community. The fundamental responsibility of USA Swimming, above all else, is to protect the safety and well-being of our athletes.
“In the past few days, USA Swimming was made aware, for the first time, of the existence of a report that was filed with the U.S. Center for SafeSport after Chrissi Rawak’s appointment was announced. These matters, which we are only now coming to understand, were previously unknown and were not disclosed to USA Swimming during the rigorous vetting process of Ms. Rawak. This process was led by a reputable search firm and a dedicated stakeholder task force, followed well-established best practices, and was conducted with the highest possible degree of due diligence, including external reference and background checks.
“Immediately upon receiving limited information from the Center earlier this week, USA Swimming raised the matter with Ms. Rawak (with approval from the Center, which has exclusive jurisdiction over this claim), at which point Ms. Rawak informed us of her decision to resign. We are and remain bound by confidentiality obligations under the SafeSport Code, which we take very seriously in order to protect the integrity of the reporting process and of any athletes involved. This matter remains exclusively with the Center. “
In the mid 90s we all knew she was dating a girl on the team Somehow it was ok back then and an open secret. Scary she got even more power after this job. Wonder what else she did.