Maryland coach and official Bruce Claus has been added to USA Swimming’s temporary ban list through the year 2025 for a violation of the SafeSport Code.
Claus’s five-year ban began on April 20, 2020 and will expire on April 20, 2025. The USA Swimming banned list only notes that Claus violated the SafeSport Code, and lists “other misconduct” as the reason for his ineligibility. USA Swimming was able to confirm that Claus was a part-time coach and official. Meet information for several Maryland-based club meets has previously listed Claus as an official.
Claus does not yet appear in the U.S. Center for SafeSport’s database of banned individuals. The U.S. Center for SafeSport governs investigations into and punishments of misconduct within Olympic sports in the United States, though its database is often updated at different times than USA Swimming’s own lists of banned individuals.
The SafeSport database does include one new swimming-affiliated name, though. Shawn Rabel of Houston, Texas is listed under both USA Swimming and USA Shooting. As of December 2019, Rabel was placed under temporary restrictions, including a no contact directive, travel/lodging restrictions, coaching/training restrictions, and limits on communication. Rabel’s entry lists “allegations of misconduct” as the reason for his restrictions.
Rabel was a non-athlete member of USA Swimming, but his registration expired at the end of 2018.
People must have taken his famous “ho ho ho” line out of context
His father, Santa Claus, must be very disappointed
If only the elves weren’t under a gag order we’d know the truth!