Berkeley Team Doctor, Swimming Coach Suspended Amid Misconduct Allegations
September 19, 2022 - A University of California Berkeley team doctor and the school's head women's swimming coach have been suspended and are under investigation by authorities after being accused by students of inappropriate behavior.
Dr. Kent Scheff, an associate team physician for Cal’s athletic teams, was placed on “investigatory leave” on December 15, 2021, following complaints by female athletes alleging misconduct by the doctor.
Scheff joined the Cal sports medicine staff in 2017. He played football and wrestled at Waldorf College before attending the University of Minnesota medical school and doing a sports medicine fellowship at the University of Michigan.
Teri McKeever, Cal's women’s swimming head coach, is also currently at the center of 3 separate investigations into allegations of bullying, harassment, and racial discrimination. McKeever's accusers include at least 36 current or former Golden Bears Cal swimmers and divers, 17 parents, a former member of the Cal men’s swimming and diving squad, 2 former coaches and 2 former Cal athletic department employees, according to the Orange County Register [1].
"The swimmers and their supporters recounted how McKeever allegedly routinely bullied swimmers, often in deeply personal terms, or used embarrassing or traumatic experiences from their past against them, used racial epithets, body-shamed and pressured athletes to compete or train while injured or dealing with chronic illnesses or eating disorders, even accusing some women of lying about their conditions despite being provided medical records by them," the Register said.
McKeever was placed on paid administrative leave by U.C. Berkeley on May 25 and is being investigated both by the university’s Office for the Prevention of Harassment and Discrimination (OPHD), as well as by the U.S. Center for SafeSport, for allegedly using a racial epithet and profanities in disparaging rap music.
The investigations into McKeever's behavior initially focused on potential racial discrimination but have since been expanded to consider potential discrimination based on sexual orientation and national origin.
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