Will Colebank Resurfaces in Swimming (Updated with response)

Recently, while perusing the often toxic but irresistible “Swim Coaches Idea Exchange Group” on facebook, I came across a curious name. Commenting (mostly incoherently) in reply to a question about supporting paralympic athletes was Will Colebank.

At publication time, i could not find the post in question. But a search of the group turns up several threads with Colebank chiming in:

Now you might find yourself asking. Who is Will Colebank? As usual, Irv Muchnick is here to help.

Did you know that USA Swimming fired its club development director over communications he made with a 12 year old boy and pornographic images found on his work computer. They did not turn him into law enforcement. His name? Williard “Will” Colebank.

Colebank would go on to work at a local middle school, before his own family turned him in for child pornography.

Colebank does not appear on USA Swimming’s banned list, nor does he appear in the Safe Sport database, so it appears he is still free to coach within USA Swimming, although their are consistent rumors that USA Swimming maintains a “shadow ban” list that would block that eventuality.

Curious to see who was still maintaining contact with Colebank, I clicked through to his profile.

Here are a few names I recognized, with screenshots to back them up:

Steve Friederang- frequent grifter of coaches on the “Swim Coaches Idea Exchange Group” and Mark Schubert apologist.

Former Olympian Gary Hall Jr

Former University of Minnesota and Indiana University coach Dennis Dale.

Former USA Swimming President Ron van Pool

Current Indiana University swimming coach Jonty Skinner.

Notably, both Ron van Pool (as President) and Jonty Skinner were involved/employed with USA Swimming and perhaps crossed over with Colebank’s tenure.

But that wasn’t all. Among his friends list are two profiles with the name “Williard Colebank”.

The first identifies his job as “Camp Director at USA Swimming”:

Clicking through this profile revealed that I have a mutual friend with Willard Colebank. That is, current USA Swimming National Team Technical Advisor Jon Urbanchek.

This version of the Colebank profile has a number of the same friends, including Skinner, but also a few new names.

Ira Klein is a longtime swimming coach in Sarasota, Florida and two time president of the American Swim Coaches Association.

Jack Simon is an ASCA Hall of Fame coach who employed a coach in Mexico while the coach was on 18 month ban from USA Swimming for sexual misconduct.

Finally, Vern Gambetta, a guru within the swimming community particularly in the field of dryland training but also often cited for his blog posts and general philosophies.

As I continued down this rabbit hole, I found several more “Williard Colebank” profiles, each with some crossover to the previous friend list. One lists him as studying at the University of Phoenix, another that continues to identify him as working at USA Swimming.

So What?

In writing this, I am sensitive to the fact that friending someone on social media does not necessarily indicate an endorsement of that individual. For instance, Jon Urbanchek maintains in excess of 4000 friends, hardly an honest representation of how many true relationships an individual had. He is, in fact, also friends with me on facebook.

Still, the connections beg some basic questions, ones that gnaw away at USA Swimming’s general philosophy around employees and coaches within the organization.

1. How many of these people know the circumstances of Colebank’s departure from USA Swimming and subsequent child pornography?

2. If the do know, why haven’t they severed contact?

3. Why is Colebank a member of the “Swim Coaches Idea Exchange Group”. The group was founded by current USA Swimming employee Jeff Allen, who was lauded by Swimming World Magazine last month as one of the ten most impactful of 2019.

4. is Will Colebank still allowed to coach swimming in the United States?

I posed some of these questions to USA Swimming Managing Director of Communications Isabelle McLemore. Last year, Mclemore reached out to me to express that she was disappointed that I was reporting on USA Swimming without getting any comment from the organization. Since then she has not responded to five attempts to get comment from her.

Update 1/27/19

On Friday evening I received the following response from Gary Hall Jr. Read below it for my response to his response (Also please be aware that foul language abounds):

Chris,

My mother brought to my attention the slanderous post you made, projecting guilt by association for a connection on Facebook.

Fuck you.

I don’t know many of my “friends” on Facebook. I am not accountable for their actions. My last two posts on Facebook were in November, and September before that- some indication how often I’m checking in on the account. I frequent swimming forums never. But still value my reputation in the sport. The one you’ve unfairly damaged.

This “link” you’re making, connecting me with Will Colebank, is bullshit and defamatory. Is it wrong that I am connected through social media to someone that held a lofty title with USA Swimming? Are there any comments of his on my page, or likes? Have I posted any comments or likes to his page? No. I had no idea there were charges against this guy, or that he no longer worked for USA Swimming.

It’s possible for you to bring this to my attention in a less slanderous, troll-like manner. I would have thanked you generously had you handled yourself professionally and alerted me to Will’s reputation and status. I have un-friended and blocked him.

More than disappointed, I’m disgusted that you’re promoting that I’m friends with this asshole among the swimming community.

Will was part of a meeting I had with Mike Unger and Matt Farrell years ago. Through a position with the Aspen Institute’s Sports and Society Program, I had approached USA Swimming with an ability to provide health insurance discounts for members of USA Swimming, the way safe drivers enjoy discounts in auto insurance. The health insurance companies would leverage this support with mandates for swim club beneficiaries to be in compliance with Safe Sport protocol. Know that my efforts, and connection to Will on Facebook, were to eliminate despicable predatory behavior- his unbeknownst at the time. So your bullshit association stings even more.

In closing, I’m not guilty by association, being “friends” on Facebook. I’m not accountable for the actions of others that I’m linked with through social media. You mishandled alerting me about the situation, and this person’s awful character. Instead, you slandered my reputation. I’m offended beyond expression.

I recall some social media exchanges or message board forums with you, now many years ago. While always sarcastic in nature, and opinionated, I always addressed you respectfully. Shame on you for being such a fucking prick.

My response:

I reached out to Gary via text to let him know that I would be publishing his response. I also told him that I thought he had every right to be mad. I do, however, wish his anger was directed at USA Swimming. I don’t consider it my responsibility to personally notify people when they are friends with a pedophile on social media.

If USA Swimming, for instance, had not withheld information about him they could have prevented him from continuing to work with children.

I offered Hall Jr the weekend to edit his response, and suggested he focus on the core facts. I believe him that he didn’t know about Colebank. I believe that he deleted the friendship and blocked him. Also, as stated above in the post, I don’t consider social media “friendships” as endorsements of people.