Steven Lochte, father of Olympian Ryan Lochte, is among 8 names listed with interim suspensions in the U.S. Center for SafeSport database.
With the Center for SafeSport taking over all investigations and sanctions of coaching misconduct, the range of publicly reported sanctions has changed. Previously, USA Swimming governed the investigative and punitive process, and names were added to the public banned list after the investigation process and the appeal process or appeal window closed. Now, the Center reports when an investigation leads to a sanction (even if the appeal window is still open) and also publicly reports interim sanctions handed down while the investigation continues.
You can read more about the new investigative process here.
Steven Lochte is listed with an interim suspension as of September 12 for “allegations of misconduct.” Lochte was a swim coach for 44 years, retiring in July.
Here are the other coaches listed in the database with interim suspensions. The U.S. Center for SafeSport does not comment on specific cases, so there is no information yet on how these names are connected to the sport of swimming. Listed are the names in the database, along with their listed cities and SafeSport Code violations.
| Name | City | Violation | Decision Date |
| Bobby Bittner | Beaufort, NC | Allegations of Misconduct | 5/8/18 |
| Jeremy Anderson | Santa Clarita, CA | Allegations of Misconduct | 3/13/18 |
| Mark Schremmer | Not listed | Allegations of Misconduct | 2/8/18 |
| Nick Daddabbo | Not listed | Allegations of Misconduct | 8/6/18 |
| Peter Buecher | Saint Louis Park, MN | Allegations of Misconduct | 5/10/18 |
| Rick Moulton | Findlay, OH | Allegations of Misconduct | 8/17/18 |
| Steven Lochte | Not listed | Allegations of Misconduct | 9/12/18 |
| Walter Winkler | Cheyenne, WY | Allegations of Misconduct | 2/21/18 |
Further information on most of these names hasn’t yet been available, but a few have turned up in news reports. Nick Daddabbo was put under investigation in August when a website that aims to expose sexual predators allegedly showed him making plans to meet up with a minor. An ABC news report said Peter Buecher “was previously found to have acted inappropriately with swimmers nearly 20 years ago” and that he has resigned since being suspended by the Center.
I hope you realize that Peter Buecher was cleared of Safe Sport case that had to do with allegations from over 20 years ago!
Hi anonymous – the US Center for Safe Sport database doesn’t reflect that. If you have documentation of him being cleared, please send it to share@SwimSwam.com so that we can add it to our updates.
Please remove Pete Buecher from this list– he has been cleared by Safe Sport.
Braden- Are you going to remove Peter Buecher? It has been over a week since he was cleared by Safe Sport!
Hi anonymous, him being removed does not change the fact that he was listed – which is an important part of the narrative. We have reported his removal.
Anonymous, that is incorrect at this point in time. As I stated earlier, with so many of these situations, a little bit of online research can provide quite a bit of information. The SafeSport investigation is still underway according to their website and they absolutely do not comment regarding ongoing cases! So unless you are Peter Buecher and have information that SafeSport has yet to release, you likely do not have supporting data for your comment above. The lawsuit that you may be thinking of (as again, a quick internet search provides ample information through Facebook etc.) that was repeatedly portrayed at “he sued Roseville and won, case closed” was actually LOST by Mr. Buecher. Here is the link to… Read more »
The above statement in this article: An ABC news report said Peter Buecher “was previously found to have acted inappropriately with swimmers nearly 20 years ago”– the case that SafeSport conducted about the situation from 20 years ago was determined inconclusive and a closed case earlier in 2018. Then another case was brought against Peter which is currently under investigation. All my comment was in regards to was the Safe Sport case from 20 years ago.
I’m not blind, ignorant, unaware, or unwilling to know the facts. I am VERY aware. I also VERY concerned. I have read every detail of the case from 20 years ago. I wouldn’t continue to follow this if I wasn’t.
“Anonymous”, That is so good to hear that you seek out the facts and details as so many unfortunately do not (seriously, read some of the comments and social media posts on this and similar issues!!! Terrifying ignorance only begins to explain them!). Thank you for that!
There is a significant difference in your first and second comment. In the first, you state that Mr. Buecher has been “Cleared” by SafeSport with respect to the termination from Roseville in 2000 and the ensuing legal action by Mr. Buecher. In the second you state that SafeSport determined that the investigation was “inconclusive”. We as a public, only have visibility to what is “live” now in their system and of that,… Read more »
It doesn’t take much time to find the policies from SafeSport and learn what they consider when placing an individual on the “Interim Suspension” list. This list of 8 is less than 10% of the currently open investigations at SafeSport involving USA Swimming individuals (and not a single one is on the USA Swimming list posted on their website). My assumption would be that to make it onto this list, something significant with a level of credibility to the accusations must exist.
With a very quick search of SafeSport.org I found that it requires more than just a report or accusation to be submitted. It requires an “interim measures hearing” and “that the Responding Party’s continued participation could be… Read more »
Likely this will not be seen as the article is significantly buried, but I did want to recognize USA Swimming for taking the significant step to place the names of those on the US Center for SafeSport “interim suspension” list on USA Swimming Temporary Banned list! So the comments above concerning the lack of consistency are no longer relevant and I believe that USA Swimming is the ONLY NGB that currently takes this step! Thank you!
Lochte chose to retire instead of fight the charges. He looks pretty guilty to me and I don’t care exactly what he did. He should at least release a statement making himself not look so bad otherwise people are going to reach their own conclusions. I don’t think SwimSwam is responsible to explain in detail exactly what SafeSport is doing with every friggin article….abuse is abuse any way you cut it and not fighting the charges makes you look guilty
He chose to retire because he had a health scare and heart attack. So before you say he’s guilty, why don’t you do some research…
being a swimmer for the Lochte’s for over 15 years, I can rest assure you that there was no abuse ever and he was super careful about everything. He cares more about his swimmers in how they turn out as people, then just to be “fast swimmers”. He has produced over 60 division 1 swimmers and a handful of world-class athletes. While he may have used the “F” word on deck more then other coaches, I can promise you there was never any abuse and he would NEVER sexually abuse anymore.
He also did release a statement to his club team and his senior group swimmers on why he was retiring and SwimSwam shared the email that was sent out.
So he already made a statement….
I worked with Steve as I lifeguard so I was always on the eye during practices and he was nothing short of amazing, professional and passionate!@ never never was there any sign of abuse!
So… how certain are we this isn’t another sex issue? He was coaching in upstate NY for many years before relocating to Florida. At the time, there were whispers on the pool deck regarding an angry dad and an underage female that the Lochtes coached. Not saying they’re true but, honestly, have been surprised his name hasn’t surfaced with all that’s been in the news in recent months & years.
There are a lot of people who move from NY to FL, especially retirees. Does that mean they are all pedophiles? Or FL has a more lax approach to dealing with them? Come on man.
The lack of a city listed in the above list of coaches does make one wonder whether or not this relates to something that occurred before or after the move from up here to Florida.
Nick Daddabbo lives in the Meriden, CT area. He coached at the Meriden Y where I work. He also used to coach at the Plainville, CT Y and was pretty high up in management at The Cornerstone Aquatics center in West Hartford, CT.
This is the 2nd time a Cornerstone Aquatics Center employee has been pinged:
https://patch.com/connecticut/westhartford/pool-manager-cornerstone-instructor-s-employment-ende19ea1e9282
One of the reasons I coach my own children. It’s not that I am a control freak….quite the contrary. I would love to be able to put my children in a swimming program (at least one that didn’t require a 2nd mortgage to finance it). There are simply too many issues of coach misbehavior that continue to come out into the open. One has to think, how many more problem coaches are out there that either haven’t been caught yet, or people know about and haven’t disclosed it. And it’s not just issues of a sexual nature. I continue to hear and see cases of coaches that display behavior that borderlines on physical and mental abuse. It’s a sad time… Read more »
I’d counter this by saying maybe it’s actually a happy (or at least happier) time for our sport, because these kinds of issues are being reported and acted upon now unlike in the past.
I agree. I think our kids are safer now than ever.
I concur. Sunlight is the best disinfectant.
What’s the difference between a control freak and a helicopter parent?
I think its very interesting to point out that your comment doesn’t bring up abuse or problems with safe sport initially at all. Instead you lead by stating you’re not a control freak. Point two is complaining about the high cost of joining a good team. But its the fear of bad coaches that keep your kids Home Pooled?
Its a sad time for kids if someone has witnessed borderline physical and/or mental abuse and did nothing about it. If everyone continued to “hear and see cases of coaches that display ……physical and mental abuse” and do nothing but avoid those coaches as you’ve done, do you think things would be better? “how many more problem coaches are… Read more »
The fact that Steve Lochte is on a list with the other pedophiles is total click paint and in the context here should be illegal. Steve allowed some racist activity by some rednecks on his Junior college team get a little out of hand. I am not saying that is acceptable by any stretch but this article gives the impression he is a sexual predator which is not the case.
https://www.swimmingworldmagazine.com/news/steve-lochte-resigns-as-head-swim-coach-at-daytona-state-college/
Hi Andy, I’m sorry that you got the impression that he was a sexual predator, but Jared did not report that, or anything remotely like it, in his article. Further, with the exception of the coaches specifically outlined in the last paragraph, we don’t have any information that implies that the rest of the coaches are “pedophiles,” just that there have been accusations that they are in violation of sections of USA Swimming’s Code of Conduct that fall under the jurisdiction of the US Center for Safe Sport.
As soon as we have more verifiable information about any of the coaches on the list, we will definitely share it.
Braden, with all due respect, many onlookers (people browsing the site, people Googling “Steve Locthe” and seeing this headline, people reading this article without doing further research) will incorrectly assume that Steve Lochte is being investigated for a sex crime.
Before I read your comment, I didn’t realize that SafeSport involved anything other than sexual misconduct. This article itself doesn’t elaborate on what SafeSport violations can entail, and the only specific SafeSport violations it mentions are sexual predators.
SafeSport respects the rights of all involved. People can think whatever they want but hopefully the truth will all come out. If my child swam for Steve I would want to know he was under investigation!
He is being investigated
He is being investigated for a sex crime
agree with fatsmcgee, clarification should be added. You state safesport investigates coaches “accused of athlete abuse” and in the current climate it is quite easy to assume this is sexual abuse
So you guys (@fatsmcgee @samuelhuntington @andysup want us all to believe that you’re smart enough to dictate how these stories should be reported, but not smart enough to make a distinction between “sexual abuse” and “other kinds of abuse”?
By the ‘clickbait’ theory, I think if Steve Lochte were accused of sexual abuse, wouldn’t the clickbait be to make that abundantly clear? Isn’t that what would drive clicks?
Get outta here with that mess. You guys want the sport cleaned up or nah? You’re all taking some anonymous commenters word for what it was and what it wasn’t. Weird.
I am offering a suggestion to help clarify this important topic for readers. I don’t think I follow your comment – what anonymous commenter are you talking about and where do you get the idea I don’t want the sport cleaned up?
@tacotuesday
I’m pretty sure the clickbait was simply putting the name “Lochte” in an article title related to safesport suspensions. I can’t speak for others, but my first thought was some one related to Ryan allegedly did some sexual crime. Maybe you’re just a far less cynical person than most, but my mind always goes to the worst scenario in an ambiguously titled article.
In my humble opinion, I think a sentence mentioning all the things safesport has jurisdiction over could be nice. Just to avoid any misunderstandings (which have clearly occured).
Although, I should make it clear that I don’t expect swimswam writers to be mind readers with enough clairvoyance to predict what readers will or will not assume.
Hi Justin, thanks for sharing your thoughts. Jared did include a bold, capitalized, red link at the top of the article, before the list of coaches, for people to read and understand more about the SafeSport process. I can’t force everyone to click the link, but we have provided anybody who is interested with lots of information on the investigative process, including jurisdiction.
From that article: “The Center holds exclusive jurisdiction over allegations of sexual misconduct and retains ‘discretionary jurisdiction’ over non-sexual misconduct allegations, in concert with National Governing Bodies.”
Whelp ya got me there. I’ve gotten better at reading the whole article instead of just the headlines, but I guess I need to step it up again and actually get all the info before commenting.
As always, thanks for the follow up Braden!
You guys are guilty of the sins you attribute to others. Safe means just safe, not safe from pedophiles. I, for one, never for a moment thought that these people had all been penalised for sexual misconduct.
@Luigi Well aren’t you a special cookie. The majority of us have mainly ever see the term “safe sport” associated with sexual misconduct, especially over the past few months when there has been increased coverage of such events occurring. I agree that “safe” refers to a vast area of allegations, but the fact still remains that it has overwhelmingly been used in reports of sexual misconduct, thus leading to the insinuation.
heading might not have been intended that way but deliberately misleading.
This is funny. Not his (S. Lochte) actions, but the responses. Apparently “safesport” is only out there to prevent sexual abuse (sarcasm)…. to these people down voting and arguing Lochte shouldnt be in this article, my message is simple… educate yourself first. Swimswam did nothing but report the facts and your own stereotypes and misconceptions (driven by your own lack of education on the matter and the organisation is why you are so upset). From what I can tell, many of you are upset because YOU had the misconception, not because of anything SwimSwam said or reported. It also sounds like a few of you are okay with physical and emotional abusers, as long as it isnt sexual. To you,… Read more »
You have NO idea who came forward and what the accusations are. Please be mindful of your statements impact on everyone involved!
He molested his daughter and other girls so there’s that.