Former Pepperdine women’s swimming & diving coach Joe Spahn was put on paid administrative leave after athletes alleged bullying and other misconduct.
A Pepperdine document shows that team members complained to the university about Spahn, alleging a broad list of misconduct including bullying, favoritism, pushing athletes through injury, sexual harassment and violating NCAA rules on required athletic hours. However, the document also concludes that there was not sufficient evidence to prove any of those allegations, beyond requiring athletes to train and/or compete while injured or sick.
You can view the full document here. It’s conclusions come after school officials say they conducted interviews with 47 people: every member of the swimming & diving team, the team’s coaches and athletic trainers, and several members of Pepperdine’s athletic department, including Athletics Director Steve Potts.
In addition, SwimSwam has obtained an audio recording of a November 2019 meeting in which a school official tells the swimmers that Spahn has been placed on paid administrative leave pending the results of the investigation. The Pepperdine investigation document is dated December 20, 2019. Last week, Pepperdine officially named Jana Vincent the interim head coach and removed Spahn from the team website. He was still listed as head coach as recently as December 12, per page archives.
Here’s a brief look at the complaints from the team listed in the investigation document, along with the school’s findings:
| Allegation | Pepperdine Finding |
| Bullying, yelling, demeaning comments, favoritism | insufficient evidence of bullying. Spahn did use profanity at a meet, and there is sufficient evidence of constant yelling and of favoritism in how Spahn treated different swimmers |
| Requiring athletes to train and/or compete while sick or injured | In at least one case, Spahn allowed a swimmer to return to the pool without getting communication of clearance by athletic trainers. |
| Sexual harrassment | insufficient evidence of sexual harrassment |
| Violations of the NCAA’s 20-hour limit on weekly required athletic activities | The investigative committee forwarded this complaint to the school’s compliance department. |
A shared document created by the swimmers includes some more specific complaints, ranging from making swimmers come to practice early to put in lane lines to allegedly “throwing punches at objects out of rage” and kicking a trash can at a meet.
The investigative document does not call for any specific sanction on Spahn, but he has been replaced as head coach and removed from the team website. We’ve reached out to the school and to Spahn for comment, but have not yet received a response.
Update: the school responded with the following statement from Athletic Director Steve Potts:
While the University cannot comment on private employment matters, Pepperdine Athletics takes seriously any concerns or allegations brought forward by student-athletes and investigates them appropriately and thoroughly. The physical and mental well-being of our student-athletes is the number one priority for Pepperdine Athletics. I am confident that the appointment of Coach Vincent as interim head coach of the women’s swimming and diving program will position the program for success going forward.
I haven’t seen Joe since he was in diapers but I swam for his father at UNM. Sound like Joe got his coaching mentality from his father. Swimming will be better off without the both of them.
We’re your feeling hurt during your time at UNM? You should have taken your talents to Snowflake U….
So not too many people have negative feelings towards Bill Spahn. I suppose you were disappointed that he didn’t have special Eric Boland sprinter workouts for you. Maybe he even made you do some distance sets. But considering you were booted out of UT for doping, and UNM was your second chance, maybe you shouldn’t be so critical of Bill. Just saying.
I didn’t realize that putting in lane lines was such a problem with athletes? They would have hated my high school program then because EVERY day we had to take them out and put them in for practice….that is the lamest reason to get upset with a coach.
Wow! This story has a lot of folks commenting. I usually just read these, but will comment on this.
I’ve been on a deck now for over 30 years in multiple states, and I’ve also coached hundreds (probably now in thousand+) senior level kids. These kids have changed a ton over the years for a multitude of reasons. There is no denying that! Many years ago I was run out of a team in Orange County for being to tough, strict, and always yelling. They (the BOD) was right in doing that. I was a young coach and my expectations of the team were way higher than what those kids or parents set their own bar at. This was… Read more »
Hopefully the Administration will tell the next coach that Pepperdine Swimming is just a really expensive recreation league. No coaching required.
He kicked a trashcan and hurt himself. You want a male role model in your child’s life who can’t control his aggression enough to not exhibit it in inappropriate physical ways? I don’t give a rats behind what you dealt with in 1972, it’s simply not appropriate to get physical or make your athletes afraid of what your physical reaction might be. It’s a very short walk from injuring yourself while kicking a trashcan to throwing a chair at an athlete. A lack of self control can go from “oh whatever” to “oh &***” real quick.
I dunno about all this lanerope stuff and verbal abuse. A lot of it sounds really, really weak to call it ‘abuse.’ But, coach… Read more »
Lolllll so this is who we are dealing with. He kicked a trash can so you were afraid he’d throw a chair at a kid? This is lunacy.
I, actually, am a pepper. So simmer down. C&B forever.
Sorry, not a Pepperdine-Pepper, just a fan of the old soft drink jingle.
I’m shocked that some people feel constant yelling is appropriate from a coach. I can see how some of the swimmers felt abused by that and I support the school’s decision.
Moral of the story: All coaches should read Robert Greene’s Laws of Human Nature and 48 Laws of Power. All of this could have been avoided.
All – please remember that each individual is only allowed to use one name to comment on any given thread. And, while I know this is deeply personal for some of you, all rules of civility regarding name calling and personal attacks apply.