Last October 26, 52 of the fastest and most promising teenage female swimmers in America gathered on the pool deck of the Olympic Training Center aquatic facility in Colorado Springs for the start of USA Swimming’s Girls National Select Camp.
The purpose of the camp in large part was to identify and prepare a new generation of medal contenders for the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles or perhaps in a case or two even the Paris Olympics later this summer; to find the next Katie Ledecky or Lilly King.
Indeed earlier editions of the camp for girls 14 to 16 helped launch the gold medal-winning careers of Ledecky and King.
The camp, USA Swimming told participants, was the opportunity “to do something that very few get to do: train at the US Olympic and Paralympic Training Center. Through a series of pool sessions and classroom facilitations, you will experience what it means to be a part of Team USA. From (four-time Olympic gold medalist) Ryan Murphy to Katie Ledecky, various athletes representing our country on the world’s largest stages have gone through this very same camp and used the knowledge, experiences, and life-long friendships to transform their approach to the sport of swimming.”
At the time, Mariejo Truex, USA Swimming Senior Director of Team Services, Coach and Athlete Development, said, “We are excited to welcome this well deserving group of athletes, coaches and staff to the Olympic Training Center. Being able to provide a one-of-a-kind experience for athletes to develop both on and off the pool deck has always been a top priority of this camp.”
The person in charge of that development in the pool was Nick Rice, the 40-year-old National Select camp head coach and considered one of American swimming’s rising coaching stars.
Exactly two years to the day earlier, Rice’s then-wife filed a sworn affidavit in Hampden County (Massachusetts) Probate and Family Court in which she alleged that on October 22, 2021,
Rice “busted into the home where I was staying,” confronted her, kicked and damaged a van belonging to a friend of his wife’s and was later involuntarily held for mental health observation after threatening to commit suicide.
Holyoke Police Department reports, warrant reports, Hampden County District Attorney documents, court dockets, a restitution letter signed by Rice, emails, and a video of the van incident, all obtained by the Southern California News Group, confirm his wife’s account of the events that led to Rice being detained because of concerns about the threat to himself and others and his being charged with “willfully and maliciously” destroying personal property, a felony for which he could have been sentenced to 10 years in prison.
The charges were dismissed against him in October 2022 after he agreed to pay $2,591.39 to the woman whose van he damaged, according to the restitution letter, attorney emails and Hampden County District Attorney documents.
Are background checks enough?
As the Olympic Trials open Saturday in Indianapolis at Lucas Oil Stadium, the home of the NFL’s Colts, Rice’s selection as National Select Camp head coach, one of the most prestigious jobs in American swimming, despite the October 2022 incidents and a criminal record that also includes shoplifting and driving with a suspended license, has once again raised questions about USA Swimming’s commitment to protecting young swimmers and has revived the decades-old criticism that the national governing body continues to prioritize Olympic success and branding over athlete safety.
USA Swimming officials in New England were aware of the criminal charge against Rice at least 16 months before Rice welcomed the young athletes to the National Select Camp last fall, according to two people familiar with the case.
“No one who is physically violent is safe to be around the most high risk class of athletes in the Olympic movement,” said Katherine Starr, a prominent athlete rights and safety advocate and former Olympic swimmer. “There is no justification to give him the privilege to coach this group. And it is a privilege. It also sends a message to other coaches, ‘If so and so can do this and still coach, I can do it too.’”
“A person with a proven history of violence toward anyone should not be hired as a coach at any level,” said Dr. Amy Saltzman, author of “A Still Quiet Place for Athletes: Mindfulness Skills for Achieving Peak Performance and Finding Flow in Sports and in Life.”
A 2018 SCNG investigation found that USA Swimming repeatedly missed opportunities to overhaul a culture where the sexual abuse of underage swimmers by their coaches and others in positions of power within the sport was commonplace and even accepted by top officials and coaches.
While prioritizing success at the Olympic Games and World Championships and the sport’s branding, top USA Swimming executives including then executive director Chuck Wielgus, board members, top officials and coaches acknowledged in the documents that they were aware of sexually predatory coaches for years, in some cases even decades, but did not take action against them. In at least 11 cases either Wielgus or other top USA Swimming officials declined to pursue sexual abuse cases against high profile coaches even when presented with direct complaints, documents showed.
Between July 1997 when Wielgus was hired and February 2018, at least 252 swim coaches and officials were arrested, charged by prosecutors, or disciplined by USA Swimming for sexual abuse or misconduct against individuals under 18. Those coaches and officials have a total of at least 590 alleged victims, some of them abused while attending pre-school swim classes. USA Swimming board members and coaches acknowledged they were aware of statutory rape cases that occurred during U.S. national team trips to major international competitions.
USA Swimming since at least 2010 kept a list of more than 30 coaches and officials “flagged” by USA Swimming officials after being arrested or accused by law enforcement of sex crimes including rape and child pornography, but not disciplined by USA Swimming. Some coaches and officials on the “flagged” list were not banned even after they were convicted of felonies. Of the 32 people on the “flagged list” in 2010, only six had been subsequently banned by USA Swimming by February 2018. The “flagged list” was not available to the public. Even when USA Swimming has banned coaches and officials for life for sexual misconduct it could be years before their names were listed on the permanently banned list on USA Swimming’s website.
Wielgus died in 2017. He was replaced by Tim Hinchey III, a former UC Irvine swimmer. In October 2018, eight months after the SCNG investigation was published, Hinchey testified before a U.S. Senate subcommittee that athlete safety has been “my top priority since I’ve been at USA Swimming.”
The Rice case, Starr said, suggests otherwise.
“No, this is not his top priority,” Starr, author of “Rescue Me,” said referring to Hinchey’s comments to the Senate. “There’s been constant failures across the board over the years he’s been running USA Swimming. He hasn’t done anything to change anything. All they do is defer to (the U.S. Center for) SafeSport. There’s been no culture correction or changes in USA Swimming.
“It all stems from leadership. It’s not a priority. Sponsors are a priority. Funding is a priority.”
Two officials for New England Swimming, USA Swimming’s local committee in the region were made aware of the felony charge against Rice in July 2022 but chose not to pursue the matter, according to two sources familiar with the case.
The case docket showing Rice was charged with criminal “destruction of property” can be found in less than a few minutes on masscourts.org.
In a January 2024 email obtained by SCNG, USA Swimming general counsel Michelle Steinfeld wrote, “All USA Swimming adult non-athlete members are subject to background check requirements and must successfully pass the check in order to be in good standing. I have confirmed that Nick was a member in good standing when he was selected for the Zone Select Camp.”
SCNG contacted Hinchey, Truex, Lindsay Mintenko, USA Swimming’s national team managing director, and Liz Hahn, the NGB’s Safe Sport director with a list of questions: Who selected Rice for the National Select camp post? Was he background checked prior to the selection? If so what did the background check look for, were they aware of the charge against him in Massachusetts, the observational detainment and the threats he made against his wife or his other arrests?
All four were also asked if someone with Rice’s legal history should be coaching young swimmers, especially at the Olympic Training Center.
Hinchey, Truex and Hahn did not respond. Mintenko in an email said she had forwarded the questions to the organization’s communications team.
Instead, Shana Ferguson, USA Swimming’s chief commercial officer, in a statement to SCNG said, “USA Swimming remains steadfast in ensuring the safety of all athletes. As part of this commitment, all USA Swimming coach members are subject to reoccurring criminal background checks. USA Swimming’s Background Check Policy requirements are extensive and include felonies and misdemeanors involving violence against a person, sexual crimes, and child abuse. To participate in a USA Swimming camp, all coaches must be members of USA Swimming, subject to this Background Check Policy. USA Swimming additionally screens all such coaches prior to appointment through the U.S. Center for SafeSport, prior employers, and Departments of Motor Vehicles.”
The Rice case also raises larger issues about the effectiveness of a vetting system that relies on background checks for coaches and other adults with access to young athletes, Saltzman and Starr said.
“The background check system is broken,” Saltzman said. “Currently, background checks focus on sexual abuse, and the sexual abuse databases are woefully incomplete. Club directors, NGBs (like USA swimming), the USOPC and SafeSport must commit to recognizing precursors to athlete abuse — such as the subtle behaviors of grooming and volatile behaviors, like those attributed to Rice.”
This is especially concerning, said Starr, when coaches with histories of volatile behaviors are interacting with especially vulnerable young athletes in what athlete abuse experts call the “stage of imminent achievement.”
According to a 2018 paper by Dr. Aaron Jeckell, a professor at Vanderbilt’s psychiatry department, Dr. Alex B. Diamond, the team physician for Vanderbilt and the NHL’s Nashville Predators, and Dr. Elizabeth Copenhaver, “The pre-elite athlete is also more likely to tolerate inappropriate behaviors rather than compromise his or her pending achievement.”
The swimmers at USA Swimming’s National Select Camp fit the demographic Jeckell, Diamond and Copenhaver were referring to, Starr said.
“You have an age group where you’re at the most vulnerable,” Starr said. “You have the future Katie Ledeckys there at the highest risk point of anyone’s career.
“You have to go beyond background checks. You’re not checking all the boxes. A person with an arrest, even without a conviction, you have to ask is this an offense, an event that would cause concern?
“He might have passed the background check but he didn’t pass the moral integrity that has to be considered when you’re coaching the most vulnerable group in sports.”
A “volatile” personality
SCNG contacted Rice by telephone this week. When asked about the destruction of personal property charge as well as the shoplifting and driving with a suspended license charges, Rice said, “You have wrong information.”
Asked about the destruction of personal property charge again, Rice said, “The case has been dropped.” When informed that SCNG had documents detailing the van incident, his wife’s affidavit and other documents, Rice shouted “bull—- you do. It’s all been sealed.”
Told again that SCNG had the documentation, Rice shouted, “I’m suing you.”
He hung up shortly thereafter.
SCNG sent Rice an email after the phone call outlining the allegations and once again offering him the opportunity to comment. Rice did not respond but the following day John J. Harding, an attorney who has three children who have swam for Rice at Bluefish Swim Club, the western Massachusetts club operated by Rice, reached out to SCNG on the coach’s behalf.
In addition to the charge stemming from the October 2021 incident, Rice pled guilty to shoplifting in Denver in 2007 and was given 12 months supervised probation and required to do 12 hours of community service. Rice was coaching in Colorado at the time. Harding said Rice paid a fine in a 2019 Massachusetts case where Rice was charged with operating a vehicle while his license was suspended.
Harding in a phone interview and later in an email confirmed the property destruction, shoplifting and suspended license charges filed against Rice and that he kicked the van “after it was driven at him.” A video of the incident, however, does not support the allegation that the driver drove at Rice.
Harding also confirmed that Rice was held for a mental health evaluation but “he did not threaten suicide.”
“Nobody is perfect,” Harding said. “None of us are perfect. Nick is a wonderful man, a great coach and a great guy and he loves the kids. … I can’t speak more highly of someone.
“I would trust him with any of my children and that’s saying a lot.”
Harding added in a follow-up email, “I and all Blue Fish parents hope that you choose to not include our Coach Nick as an example for USA Swimming’s shortcomings.”
Harding said Rice was the victim of jealous rival coaches.
“There is a great deal of competitiveness amongst USA swim coaches,” Harding said in the email. “I see it at the meets. I suspect that these allegations against Coach Nick stem from jealousy of other coaches (likely ‘one’ in particular) and should be discounted.”
Harding did acknowledge that Rice “does get volatile pretty quickly.
“I have seen that. But volatility can also be seen as passion. But I definitely could where it could be misunderstood.”
In October 2021, Rice’s volatility led to a criminal charge being filed against him and his being held for a mental health evaluation.
“The events that took place on October 22, 2021 prove that Nicholas has a complete disregard for the safety and well being of women and children,” his then-wife wrote in the sworn affidavit.
“During the course of the weekend beginning Friday the 22nd, Nicholas busted into the home where I was watching my 2-year-old niece,” the affidavit continued. “He broke in by busting the exterior fence, gaining access to the property to get to me. He approached me and began screaming at me while I was holding my 2-year-old niece. He was asked multiple times to leave and would not.”
Rice’s wife took a video later that afternoon of Rice having an animated conversation with her friend in the street in front of the house. The woman is sitting behind the wheel of a van she uses for her business.
The friend, according to a report filed by Holyoke Police Department officer Philip J. Evans, said “that (Rice) started an argument with her because he is blaming her for his marital problems. (The friend) states that his wife is inside of her house babysitting … while she works.
“When she called the police he left in his Jeep Cherokee.”
The friend declined to comment for this story.
“Later” Rice’s wife writes in the affidavit, Rice “informed me he was throwing all of my belongings out on our front lawn. He did this in front of my 12-year-old daughter. That evening Nicholas threatened suicide and was section 12 against his will. My daughter and I stayed with a friend that evening where we would be safe and protected.”
Under what is known as Section 12 (a), Massachusetts law “allows a mentally ill individual to be held against their will in a health facility for up to three days (72 hours).”
Physicians, registered nurses, psychologists, licensed social workers or police officers who have “reason to believe that failure to hospitalize such person would create a likelihood of serious harm by reason of mental illness may restrain or authorize the restraint of such person and apply for the hospitalization of such person for a three-day period at a public facility or at a private facility authorized for such purposes by the department.”
Harding did not provide details of Rice’s confinement.
Rice’s wife filed for divorce on October 26, 2021. She did not respond to requests for comment.
A criminal complaint was filed against Rice in Holyoke District Court on February 11, 2022.
“On 10/22/21 (Rice) did willfully and maliciously destroy or injure the personal property, dwelling house or building of” Rice’s wife’s friend “the value of the property so destroyed or injured exceeding $1,200.”
The case was dismissed on October 4, 2022, after Rice agreed to pay for the damage he did to the van.
Betsy Russell, the general chairman of New England Swimming, USA Swimming’s local swim committee, was asked about the felony charge against Rice on July 22, 2022, after the charge was mentioned on an online swimming forum, according to a person familiar with the conversation. Rhi Jeffrey, New England Swimming’s vice chairman, was also aware of the charge in July 2022, according to two people familiar with the matter.
Jeffrey and Mintenko, USA Swimming’s national team managing director, were teammates on the U.S. gold medal-winning 4×200-meter freestyle relay at the 2004 Olympic Games. Mintenko was also an assistant coach at USC while Jeffrey swam for the Trojans.
Russell denied she was informed about the allegations against Rice.
Jeffrey did not respond to multiple phone messages and emails requesting comment.
The Rice case was brought to the attention of the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee earlier this year by a member of the swimming community.
In a May 6 email to that person, Alexandra Lear, a USOPC compliance Investigator, wrote, “My understanding is that USA Swimming properly followed their background check policy when Nick was selected for the Zone Select Camp.”
Lear later wrote in a June 6 email to the same person, “Under the U.S. Center for SafeSport Code, the Center has jurisdiction over concerns that an NGB has violated the Code. It is my understanding that the coach you have inquired about has been reported to the Center. Further, the Center declined jurisdiction over the complaint and reverted it back to the NGB.
“We did not find evidence that USA Swimming violated the USOPC’s background check policy.”
The Rice case, Saltzman and Staff said, spotlights why NGBs like USA Swimming and their member clubs must rethink how they vet individuals coming into contact with young athletes.
“The issue with background checks is just the tip of the iceberg,” Saltzman, founder of Spot a Spider, a comprehensive abuse prevention program, and member of U.S. Soccer’s participant safety taskforce, said in an email. “The sports ecosystem consistently fails to protect our children from abuse. Effective prevention requires everyone involved to play an active role.
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“While institutional measures are essential, parents must empower their children to recognize and report grooming and all types of abuse.
“Sports organizations (from local clubs to NBGs) must prioritize athlete safety and implement best practices (rather than the bare minimum) to protect athletes. In addition to checking sex offender databases, they must do a deep dive on their coaches (checking Safesport databases, running a full criminal background check, as well conducting a full social media search). These investigations should be complemented by hiring questions designed to detect tendencies toward grooming and abuse. Finally, sports organizations must train coaches to use positive, holistic coaching methods.
“Additionally, state lawmakers must enact comprehensive laws that protect athletes and deter abusers and conspirators.
“If the above policies had been implemented, Rice’s concerning behavior would have come to light well before he was appointed as head coach of the USA Swimming girls national select camp. And the young girls would not have been at risk of being abused, while pursuing their Olympic dreams.”
