Two Names Added To SafeSport Database, USA Swimming Banned List

Two more swimming-related names now appear in the U.S. Center for SafeSport’s database: Thomas Bell was permanently banned and Kyle Lippiatt temporarily suspended.

Both also appear on USA Swimming’s banned lists. Bell’s inclusion is a bit of a unique case because he wasn’t technically a USA Swimming member when banned. USA Swimming doesn’t have jurisdiction over non-members, but Bell had reached out to an LSC about becoming a member, and therefore qualified as a prospective USA Swimming member who could be included on the public ban list.

Thomas Bell

Bell, from Indianapolis, Indiana, was listed as “ineligible” in the U.S. Center for SafeSport’s database. Typically, that means that an individual is permanently banned from participation in all Olympic sports, but the window for an appeal of that ban is still open. When the appeal window closes or the appeals process plays out, the tag is changed to “permanently ineligible.”

Bell was banned on October 14 of last year. His ban is listed for “Criminal Disposition – Sexual Misconduct, Criminal Disposition – involving a Minor.” Under the SafeSport code, facing a criminal charge can, by itself, be grounds for a permanent ban.

SwimSwam is still working to uncover more details as to Bell’s affiliation with swimming. Court documents show that a Thomas Bell is currently involved in a civil lawsuit against police affiliated with the IU Natatorium in Indianapolis. In Bell’s complaint, he alleges that he was discriminated against when he was removed from the aquatic center during a Masters swimming event. We’ve reached out to the aquatic center for more information on why Bell was removed.

Non-Member vs Prospective Member Distinction

The U.S. Center for SafeSport governs investigations into and punishments for misconduct across all Olympic sports in the United States. The database lists which national governing body each banned individual is affiliated with. Bell is listed under USA Swimming – but curiously, is not an official USA Swimming member.

That’s significant because Bell also appears on USA Swimming’s own list of banned individuals. USA Swimming has previously maintained that it doesn’t hold jurisdiction to officially ban non-members. That was central to the case of former Stanford swimmer Brock Turner, who was found guilty of sexual assault charges in 2016. Though he was competing as a college swimmer when he committed the sexual assault, Turner’s USA Swimming membership had lapsed, and the organization said it didn’t have the jurisdiction to add Turner to the banned list.

Instead, USA Swimming said it kept a list of flagged individuals who would be denied membership if they ever applied in the future. The organization said Turner would have been denied membership if he ever tried to reapply.

It appears that Bell was added to the banned list based on a section of USA Swimming’s Code of Conduct establishing that the USA Swimming has jurisdiction over members, former members, and prospective members of the organization. Bell had contacted LSC registrars about registering as a USA Swimming member, which led to his classification as a “prospective” member and his inclusion on the USA Swimming banned list.

Kyle Lippiatt

Lippiatt, of Suffolk, Virginia, is listed under a temporary suspension in the database. He was handed that sanction on January 14, 2021. The database lists allegations of misconduct as the reason for his suspension.

Lippiatt was a part-time coach member of USA Swimming. He had previously coached with the East Coast Aquatic Team, but the club says he left in September of 2019 and was officially unattached in the LSC.

Suffolk Circuit Court records show that Lippiatt was arrested in February of 2020 and pleaded guilty to sexual battery. As of March 2020, he was sentenced to a year in jail, though eight months of that sentence was suspended. The sexual battery took place in February of 2019, though charges weren’t brought until nearly a year later, in January of 2020.

In between that sexual misconduct and his arrest, Lippiatt was arrested on three other charges. In November of 2019 (shortly after his tenure at East Coast Aquatics ended), he was arrested and later charged with abduction and assault & battery on a family member. He pleaded guilty to two different assault & battery charges that occurred in October of 2019. Court records list no plea in the abduction case, with the alleged abduction occurring in July of 2019.