ESPN will feature the story of fired University of Utah swim coach Greg Winslow on an upcoming episode of Outside the Lines. The news program hosted by Bob Ley does investigative reporting on some of the more controversial issues from across the world of sports, including hard-hitting reports during the 2010 explosion of the USA Swimming sexual abuse scandal. The episode is scheduled to air on Sunday, December 22nd at 8am Eastern Time, and is planned to be re-aired during the week.
See a preview video for the episode here.
Winslow was suspended last year on the eve of the 2013 Pac-12 Championship meet after a police report was filed against him in Arizona after accusations from a former swimmer that Winslow had sexually abused her when she was 15 years old. Winslow would ultimately not have his contract renewed by Utah, and at a subsequent press conference, the school’s Athletic Director Chris Hill says he should have been fired earlier.
Though Maricopa County would decide not to file charges in the sexual abuse case, Winslow was hit with several other accusations during the course of the investigation. That includes accusations of verbally and physically abusing his assistants, abusing alcohol while on team trips, using racial slurs against a black swimmer, and even a charge that a swimmer was caught dealing drugs on a school-sponsored trip, but wasn’t disciplined until after taking advantage of that swimmer represented the Utes at the Olympic Trials.
As part of ESPN’s report, Whitney Lopus, Winslow’s accuser in the case of sexual abuse allegations, speaks publicly on camera of her accusations. While much of the swimming community already knew the identity of his accuser, and a local Phoenix news station disclosed her identity already, she will now be known as the accuser nation-wide. Lopus would go on to win a slew of Arizona high school state championships, and swim collegiately at both the University of Utah and the University of Arizona.
Among the former Utah swimmers interviewed for the piece, former Utah swimmer Lauren Hewson called Winslow “a manipulator, a monster, and somebody that (she has) absolutely no respect for,” while Austin Fiascone said that he didn’t think that Utah cared at all when he brought forward other concerns about Winslow.
To see more coverage of the Winslow saga on SwimSwam, click here.
What a disgrace to Utah admin for letting this go on and not cleaning house
It takes unbelievable courage to speak out like this young lady did. Her actions have protected some future swimmer from going through the same nightmare. Monsters who prey on children and use their authority as a coach to take advantage of a child, have been doing what they do for many years and there is never just one victim. Whitney Lopus, through her actions has effectively put a stop to this man’s power over other swimmers. It isn’t all about sex for these guys, they enjoy twisting and manipulating the child as much as the sex. It gives them a sense of power. I think if you look at the behavior of the Predators and look at their coaching techniques… Read more »
Whoever this is…. Thank you for saying this. Thank you from the bottom of my heart. -Whitney
Whitney I’m glad you spoke out!! I swam with Whitney our freshman year. Loved the team but Greg stripped the fun of swimming away from me. But also a lot more from others. I hope all is well with you Whitney I was gone on a service mission when all this took place but I hope all is well with you— Chase
She was allegedly abused at Sun Devil and followed her ‘abuser’ to Utah? Is this accurate?
Yes. Why is abuser in quotations?
Abuser in quotations bc Greg Winslow is being accused and has not been convicted and the allegations have not been proven.
Good for Whiteney for speaking out… that takes a TON of courage. She has a bright future infront of her and I wish her the best. I hope this helps other athletes that have had similar experiences. Kudos to USA Swimming for all the work they’ve done in this area as well.
As a swimmer that grew up in Arizona Swimming at the same time Whitney did, I am interested to see this interview. Although the full extent was not known, many people had a gut feeling that something inappropriate was happening between the 2 of them.
You have it backwards. She committed to Utah out of high school swam tree and then transferred to Arizona where she was later kicked off the team.
That would make more sense. It doesn’t appear thats what happened from reading the article though:
Lopus would go on to win a slew of Arizona high school state championships, swim at the University of Arizona, and then transfer to Utah and earn All-American honors.
The order of events in the article is wrong.
You guys are right. She was at Utah first and then Arizona. Corrected above.
So she was abused at age 15 in Arizona, then swam for teams in state until she later transferred to Utah where she knew she would again swim for Winslow? How old was she when she transferred to Utah? Just trying to get the story straight.