I still have yet to get a single email, text, phone call or letter in support of Gary Taylor, the UVA Swimming and Cavalier Aquatics coach who is serving a two-year probation after admitting to emotional misconduct of athletes at NC State, Auburn and Cav Aquatics dating back to 2015.
Which isn’t to say that I’m not getting plenty of emails, texts, phone calls and letters on the Gary Taylor story.
ICYMI
“My daughter was a swimmer with Cavalier Aquatics and was among the many who left because of Gary. The way he treats athletes and the way he transformed the culture on that team had a huge negative impact on her,” one Charlottesville swim parent wrote, from among the pile of attaboys and go get ‘ems.
“Youth sports is a way to teach our kids important lessons about commitment, hard work, kindness, and team. Her experience there was the exact opposite, and it is beyond disappointing that he was supported in the way he was,” the parent wrote.
You’re noticing, I’m sure, that I’m not using names here, again.
It’s telling that everybody who gets in touch about the Gary Taylor story asks me to not publish their names, out of fear of retaliation.
The reason for that, explained to me over and over, is that parents in the local Charlottesville swim community whose families have been impacted by Taylor’s misconduct are still hopeful that their children can get opportunities to swim at the college level.
The general sentiment is that the silence on the Taylor matter from the Piedmont Family YMCA, the parent organization of the Cav Aquatics swim team, and from UVA Athletics, where Taylor works under five-time national-champ coach Todd DeSorbo, equates to a tacit endorsement of the pattern of misconduct that led to Taylor’s admission at the end of a two-year investigation by the U.S. Center for SafeSport.
That conduct, as we’ve written about, extensively, included retaliation against swimmers who raised issue with Taylor’s conduct as a coach.
ICYMI
“I am saddened by the lack of transparency from UVA on this situation. As a former UVA swimmer, I want swimming to be a positive place for women to grow and reach their full potential,” another local swim parent wrote.
“The lack of meaningful response from institutions connected to Gary Taylor is deeply troubling,” a third swim parent wrote. “The ongoing silence from UVA, Cavalier Aquatics, the YMCA, and coach Todd DeSorbo sends the message that they are willing to look the other way when abuse occurs, or worse, that they condone it.”
At some point, the Y and UVA Athletics have to say something publicly, right? And Taylor himself, after admitting to the misconduct, he needs to address the matter head on.
Again, right?
And I’m not talking here about some mealy-mouthed PR response, a statement put out under Taylor’s name, the names of his superiors at the YMCA and at UVA Athletics, but a tangible, in-person, heartfelt, I’m sorry, we’re sorry, but we’re working to make sure that Gary gets the help he needs to be a better coach and better person, and we’re taking the steps we need to be able to ensure that this kind of thing never happens again.
The only public response we have to this point was a photo of a smiling Taylor at the pool with Olympic gold medalist Gretchen Walsh that went on the UVA Swimming socials last week.
Whether this was the intent or not, the message sent was to minimize the negative consequences of the emotional misconduct on the victims in the case.
ICYMI
“That move felt dismissive and inappropriate given the serious nature of the revelations,” one of the swim parents wrote to me. “Even more disheartening was the deletion of Sirena Rowe’s comment and UVA’s subsequent decision to block her, an action that seems to confirm attempts to sweep this issue under the rug rather than address it with transparency and accountability.
“Gary Taylor’s victims deserve more than silence. They deserve acknowledgment, an apology, and a public commitment to change. UVA, Cavalier Aquatics, the YMCA and Todd DeSorbo owe the swimming community, and most of all, the athletes, clear evidence that they recognize the harm that was done and are taking active steps to prevent this from happening again. The continued silence and apparent cover-ups only compound the harm.”
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Chris Graham
