Lawsuit over Teri McKeever Abuse Allowed to Proceed
A lawsuit brought by 18 former University of California swimmers alleging abuse by former coach Teri McKeever was allowed to proceed by a court last week.
The case is being brought against the Regents of the University of California, alleging that the institution didn’t do enough to shield them from verbal and psychological abuse by McKeever.
McKeever was investigated by the university in 2022 and was fired in January 2023. An investigation into conduct by administration, including then athletic director Jim Knowlton and associate athletic director Jennifer Simon-O’Neill, was launched in 2023. The results of that probe have never been released.
The lawsuit was filed in 2023, alleging abuse by McKeever from a period from 2000-20. The university contended then that the statute of limitations had expired, filing a demurrer that did not dispute the truth of allegations but sought to dismiss the suit on procedural grounds.
A court agreed, but it was overturned last week on appeal by a three-judge panel based on discovery rule, which finds that the clock on a claim begins when victims discover the supposed harm.
“Since at least 1994 — before any plaintiffs joined the team — UCB had notice of McKeever’s abusive coaching style,” wrote Justice Monique Langhorne Wilson. “Some plaintiffs or their parents complained, or attempted to complain, to various UCB officials, including the athletics director. They were often met with silence or told that McKeever was a good coach.”
McKeever led Cal to four national championships. She was named the coach of the U.S. women’s Olympic team for the 2012 London Olympics. An investigation by the Orange County Register in 2022 found that she discriminated against swimmers on the basis of nationality, race and disability – including against athletes expressing psychological distress and eating disorders. She showed a pattern of sustained verbal abuse of athletes and fostering a negative team climate.
Langhorne Wilson wrote in her decision that UCB, “ignored and concealed any complaints about McKeever” in continuing to employ her. She was joined by justices Kathleen Banke and Charles Smiley.
“Given how much Coach McKeever was promoted within the swimming community and the constant reminders of Cal’s Olympic heritage, Plaintiffs felt that enduring her abuse was the price they paid to be on an elite team,” the plaintiffs alleged in the original complaint. “Plaintiffs began to believe that they (were) subjected to degrading treatment because they were not living up to the Cal standards of excellence.”