By Braden Keith on SwimSwam
USA Swimming has responded to the public criticism from Michael Phelps, Rowdy Gaines, Ryan Lochte, and others with a statement attributed to interim CEO Bob Vincent.
The statement, which was distributed to media at this week’s U.S. Summer Championships in Irvine, was first reported by The Big Friendly Swim Podcast. Media at the meet were instructed not to ask athletes about the topic, and instead were directed to the statement.
We respect and value the opinions of Rowdy, Michael, Ryan, and all USA Swimming alums. We acknowledge that their comments come from a place of passion and genuine desire to see USA Swimming succeed. We are saddened and disappointed at the timing of the comments. The USA Swimming team battled severe illness in Singapore, and these comments added public scrutiny to an already challenging situation for our athletes and coaches. We are incredibly proud of the resilience of our team in the face of such difficult circumstances and remain confident in the leadership, strategic direction, and culture established by newly appointed National Team Managing Director Greg Meehan. USA Swimming has reached out directly to Rowdy and other notable alums in recent months, offering them a forum, including an invitation to join in a more official manner. The door remains open, as the only path forward for our sport is to work collectively to achieve a shared vision of success. We remain focused on the task at hand: winning LA28.
Among the first to react to the statement was Phelps, the most decorated swimmer in history, who questioned the authenticity of the statement (though SwimSwam can confirm that it is real).
“maybe a false statement , bc I know they didn’t reach out to rowdy.” Phelps said in the comments of the @bigfriendlyswimpodcast account on Instagram. “They’ve shoved us out the door for years. Treated me like a piece of meat thro my career. Hopefully it changes someday….”
SwimSwam asked Gaines for a response to the USA Swimming statement, but as of posting he has not responded.
Gaines, the voice of swimming in the United States via his work as the sport’s primary television analyst, has also made several public statements criticizing USA Swimming.
This is not Phelps’ first complaint of mistreatment by the governing body in the last week or so, as he has been very active on social media reacting to both large and smaller swimming accounts.
In this post on the @swimcellys page, which highlights post-race celebrations from the sport, Phelps responded to a clapback from fellow Olympic gold medalist Lilly King. Swim Cellys posted a screenshot of a Lilly King Instagram story that said “y’all been real quiet tonight,” which was posted the day after Phelps and Lochte posted a meme portraying the funeral of American swimming.
In response, Phelps commented:
We should be so proud of how the team swam as a whole …. Right?
Apologies for having higher expectations for the leadership of the team. My opinions were way off. USAS has what they finally want, me to “stay in my lane”. They will continue to help the kids reach childhood dreams by their continued support
King’s retort came on a night where the United States team broke through its early-meet challenges. That night included Katie Ledecky‘s gold in the 800 free, the hardest she has been challenged in that race in over a decade, a gold in the 50 fly from Gretchen Walsh, and a gold and World Record in the mixed 400 free relay. While King didn’t win any medals on that night, she did race a prelims leg of the women’s gold medal winning 400 medley the next day, and she was a Team USA captain in what is expected to be her final professional meet.
While behind the scenes, Phelps has long expressed frustration, Team USA’s performance in Singapore, where a gutsy performance by the women’s team salvaged a finish atop the medals table, seems to have been the push over the edge for him to engage more directly and publicly.
It has been 344 days since USA Swimming CEO Tim Hinchey resigned, and 161 days since his would-be replacement Chrissi Rawak did the same after it leaked that she was the subject of an investigation by the U.S. Center for SafeSport.
Vincent, the current interim CEO, was the Chairman of the USA Swimming Board of Directors from 2018-2021 and the Board Treasurer from 2016-2018.
Read the full story on SwimSwam: USA Swimming Interim CEO Bob Vincent Releases a Statement, Phelps Pushes Back Again
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