Arrested Swim Coach Joey Diaz ‘Immediately Terminated’ By Club After Arrest

Joey Diaz, a former swim coach of the Makos Aquatics Club of Gainesville, Florida has been terminated by his club. In a statement released by the club Friday, they confirmed that they had no prior knowledge of the situation, which is not the case in many instances of arrested coaches, and that he was immediately terminated when learning of his arrest.

The safety and well-being of our athletes is the highest priority for Makos Aquatics Club of Gainesville. We learned of the arrest of Joseph Diaz, part-time group coach,  Thursday evening and had no prior knowledge of any inappropriate conduct. His employment was immediately terminated by our club and will continue to work with the authorities on this matter and provide any information we can.

Diaz was arrested late Thursday afternoon on two counts involving child pornography. (Read More here).

In the only update to the arrest record from Alachua County Clerk of Court on Friday, Katrina Harden from the State Attorney office has been assigned as the prosecutor in the case.

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JG
10 years ago

Things are not always assured . In Britain recently , a teacher was allowed to teach again after being convicted of possessing & downloading children in violent pornography . The judge said it was not THE children at that school , so he was not a threat.

It does not help that a British High level Judge was found to have been a member of a left group that lobbied for paedophiles .

Florida law is not so left that it has extinguished traditional barriers ( yet) but it is under attack from the feds at every turn.

david Berkoff
10 years ago

Mark. This is not a profession that attracts perverts. It is a profession that abhors those who abuse children and holds those who cannot treat children with dignity accountable. It is a shame that some people just can’t get it. Don’t abuse kids. Don’t touch your swimmers. If this guy is guilty he should pay the price.

Mark
10 years ago

I swam with this guy in South Florida. What a disgusting shame. Something must run in the swim coach profession where a huge number of them feel the need to molest kids. Sick.

john
10 years ago

Another pathetic example. This is not an accusation…these warrants appear to have specific charges which leave little wiggle room. Make an example of the criminal and be done with it…maybe make the next fool to infiltrate the swimming world think twice.

Billabong
10 years ago

Hulk Swim, where are you?

If the allegations against this coach are proven in a court of law, he should lose his job and go to prison. He broke the law and the rules of USA Swimming. It is black and white, no arguments. You should be all over this guy.

MarkB
Reply to  Billabong
10 years ago

He already lost his job. Waiting on all the apologists to come out…then you’ll hear from Hulk. And anyone else that’s normal.

Hulk Swim
Reply to  Billabong
10 years ago

Your right… He needs to be removed from decks and dealt with by the proper authorities. But that doesn’t need any more saying. It’s quite obvious.

You can rest assured I’ll jump right in when someone tries to lessen the seriousness of his actions as they did in the previous instance you seem to be bothered by.

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Braden Keith

Braden Keith is the Editor-in-Chief and a co-founder/co-owner of SwimSwam.com. He first got his feet wet by building The Swimmers' Circle beginning in January 2010, and now comes to SwimSwam to use that experience and help build a new leader in the sport of swimming. Aside from his life on the InterWet, …

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