Wednesday. November 17. 1999
The University Daily Kansan
Section A · Page 7
Continued from page 6A
Pushing through the pain
Although Troxel and McLaughlin said they thought Kempf disregarded their physical wellbeing, Andrew Jacobs, sports psychologist, said a push-through-the-pain mentality was not uncommon for coaches and that he respected Kempf for his hard-driving ways.
"He puts his heart and soul into what he does, and I emphasize that I totally respect him," Jacobs said. "It's his life. It's what he believes in. But a lot of people can't handle it."
"Obviously, if he's doing something that's unprofessional or unethical, something needs to be done," Jacobs said. "But I don't know anything about that."
He said some athletes could train through pain and illness and others couldn't. He said he never recognized Kempf as abusive when he was working with the team. However, Jacobs said he had not seen or spoken with Kempf in years.
Kempf also has been accused of breaking NCAA Division I training rules. Fearon said Kempf required workouts in excess of the NCAA-mandated training hours per week. The NCAA limits the number of training hours per week to 20. according to rule No. 17.1.6.1.
A former swimmer's workout schedule from December 1998, during finals week, reveals Kempf scheduled 21 and a half hours of training. Even though the NCAA states that "daily and weekly hour limitations apply...during final examination periods" in rule No. 17.1.6.3.7, Kempf still scheduled the athletes one and a half hours more than allowed. He also said weight workouts were optional.
However, Kempf denied requiring extra hours of the team and said that, although workouts were scheduled for two and a half hours, the team often got out earlier than the schedule dictated.
Trying to help
To be sure, some swimmers say they appreciate Kempf's coaching style and revere him as a person. Fuller said she knew some swimmers disagreed with Kempf but she got along well with him.
"As long as you're open with him, he'll be open with you," said Fuller, Decatur, Ill., junior. "Like any coach, he'll get mad at me about a performance or something, but it's never been anything severe."
She said she never had a problem with him because she knew he was trying to help her.
"You can't really hold a grudge with a coach because he's just trying to make you better." Fuller said. "The way I look at it is; he's not perfect, he's human. If he gets mad and blows his top off, you're going to have to realize there are people like that everywhere in life."
Former spinner Brant Peoples, a pharmacy student who completed his eligibility last year, said Kempf was often tough on his swimmers but for good reason.
"There's not one person in the world that cares more about the University of Kansas swimming and diving program than Gary Kempf," People said. "People might not think he has the best philosophies, but he cares so much about the sport and about the program. That's why he is so hard on people."
Other swimmers stick with the program but say they're sympathetic with those who left. Adrienne Turner, two-time NCAA qualifier, former team captain, Kansas record holder, three-time All-American and Student Athlete of the Year last year, said she completed her eligibility despite Kemnf.
"I did swim for four years at KU — but I can definitely understand why so many swimmers here at KU end their careers early," Turner said. "Unfortunately, for a long time, a lot of the fun is taken out of swimming and diving at KU."
She refused to comment on her relationship with Kempf but she said she was one of four female swimmers left on the team for her senior year, down from the 12 with whom she entered her freshman year.
"All you have to do is look at the constant factors involved with the program — the problem is obvious," Turner said. "When 11 assistant coaches have left since I was recruited in 1995 and the best swimmers on the team grow to hate swimming, quit or leave, those are red flags that there is a significant problem with the swim team."
"Every person has flawed character, but his is flawed in such a way that I don't think he should be in a leadership position over young people's minds and lives."
Don Fearon
Why has it taken so long for swimmers to go public with complaints about Kempf? To protest is to suffer Kempf's wrath, some say.
Kansas diving coach 1989-1997
Though Painter never had his scholarship threatened, he said he often heard of Kempf threatening other swimmers' scholarships.
"He really does hold the scholarship thing over your head," Painter said. "People are scared of him because of the things he can do. He can pull your scholarship, ruin your name. A college coach determines a lot about your life when you graduate. That's a lot of power for 18, 19, 20 year-old kids who view him as their authority figure."
'Hate philosophy'
Fearon, who became the diving coach in 1989, said it wasn't just Kempf's techniques, it was his character.
Every person has flawed character but his is flawed in such a way that I don't think he should be in a leadership position over young people's minds and lives," Fearon said. "I think he tries to use a tactic of confrontation, intimidation and threat along with a philosophy which I would call a 'hate philosophy.' That hate philosophy entails hate for your opponents or hate for losing."
Kempf said he tried to be consistent in his coaching career but never tried to negatively impact his athletes. He said it bothered him to be criticized so harshly because he loved kids, the sport of swimming and the program at KU.
"It hurts, I feel like I've given 23 years of my life here," Kempf said. "I've told my wife and the people close to me that I'll give it the best shot I have. It hurts when people don't like that. I'm just hoping we can look at the big picture and that big picture is I've coached over 500 athletes. Somebody brought this all together, and I can't really fight it, but it hurts."
Though many swimmers and coaches say they are too afraid to share concerns with
authorities because they fear Kempf, some athletes and their parents are taking action about their experiences with Kansas swimming.
Dan Turner, Adrienne's father, said he'd spoken with Mary Burg, executive assistant to the chancellor, and written letters to Chancellor Robert Hemenway calling for the removal of Kempf as coach because Adrienne's experience had been so negative.
Speaking out
"As a parent, you feel like you sort of sold your kid down the river," he said. "The way Kempf handled himself was irrational."
Mike Bonner, McCalley's mother, Tracey McCalley, and Painter's parents have each written letters to the chancellor, along with other former swimmers, their parents and former coaches in an organized campaign, voicing their concern with the direction of the swimming and diving team.
Athletes and parents say they've received no response from the athletics department or the chancellor.
Frederick said it was a confidential personnel matter that he could not discuss with the general public.
Despite initial fears of what might happen, McCalley said she tried twice to inform the athletics department of what was going on with the swim team.
"I finally wrote two letters to the athletic department. I never heard responses," McCalley said. "I tried to make a meeting with Bob Frederick, and he never called me back. I even wrote them asking them to please acknowledge that somebody had read the letter, but I never even received any notification on that."
Frederick said he remembered McCalley but had no recollection or intent of disregarding her.
However, Frederick said the student athlete survey, which 92 percent of Kansas student athletes completed last year, gave students the opportunity to voice their concerns. Those concerns, he said, were later dealt with in the department.
Brandon Chesnut, former KU student, swims the 200-meter breaststroke during a swim meet Jan. 16 with Southern Illinois. Chesnut quit the swim team this year. Photo by Christine Niffel/KANSAN
"If they had some concern they wanted to express beyond what the survey questions were, they had an open-ended place where they could write comments," Frederick said. "The purpose of the survey was to see how our administration and all the people working in the department are doing in relation to our mission statement."
Ten swimmers said they had approached both assistant coaches and athletic administrators with their plights. Though they requested confidentiality in discussing their Frustrations, they said Kempf always found out about their complaints.
"They say there all these support systems for athletes in the athletic department." Painter said. "Sure, academically, the support is good, but if you're having problems with the coach, you have nowhere to go."
Painter, and others, said they felt helpless.
"What can I do? It's his word against mine." Painter said. "If you go to the athletic department, nothing's going to happen because it's a good old boys' network. I love KU. I love the campus. I love the team. I loved going to school there. I have pride to be a Jayhawk. It was hard for me to get out of there."
Frederick said it would do no good for him to listen to athletes' complaints without informing the coaches involved.
"If a student athlete comes to me, the first thing I tell him or her when they get here is that I want them to know that I'm going to report the fact that he or she came to the head coach," Frederick said. "I can't be in a position, when I’m the person to whom those people report, that I would not be having all those communications without the coach. I think that'd be rather clandestine on my part if anytime somebody didn't like what was going on in their sport they came in to see me and I didn't tell the coach I had this conversation."
A dead end
Painter, along with his father, Dan Turner, and Bonner said Kempf's relationship with the athletics department was part of a network that disregarded any negative comments about Kempf.
"It's gone pretty much unheeded there and we've got a serious problem," Dan Turner said. "I think they're just involved in keeping the status quo, especially in a secondary sport like swimming."
Fearon tried to approach the swim team issues from a different angle -- the inside.
Fearon said that he, Paul Busirkli, director of student life, and Kempf had an appointment to discuss the situation, but Busirkli got sick and never rescheduled. After about three weeks, Fearon said he contacted Bob Frederick and got an apathetic response.
"Bob said, it was up to (Kempf) and me to work things out," Fearon said. "At that point, I knew nothing was going to get done."
Frederick said he didn't recall but didn't deny telling Fearon to handle the conflict between Fearon and Kemp. However, he said he vaguely recollected Fearon's complaint. He also said some former swimmers and coaches had voiced their support for Kemp.
Kempf's one-year-renewable contract was renewed last fall, to the chagin of some athletes, parents and coaches. Frederick cited the classroom achievements of Kempf's swimmers and said he was aware not everyone was content with his coaching.
The former coaches, parents and swimmers have their own ideas of what should be done.
"I really do believe the man needs to step down," Fearon said. "I feel badly because he has a wife and kids but, you know what?", I had a wife and kids and he made it to the point where I had to step down."
Dan Turner said he thought, at the very least, that the men's and women's team should be separated and a new coach be found for the women.
Lynn Painter said he didn't understand why Kempf had not yet relinquished his position as coach. And Tracey McCalley said a change needed to be made.
"I want him out," McCalley said. "It's hard to watch freshman class after freshman class go through the same thing. It's always the same thing over and over. There are always the couple people who make it through but we started with 12 girls my freshman year and four made it through. That's pretty indicative of these five years."
— Designed by Matt James
COACH KEMPF'S AWARDS AND ACCOMPLISHMENTS
24 years as Kansas women's swimming coach
18 years as Kansas men's swimming coach
Won 13 Big Eight conference titles
1999 Big 12 women's coach of the year
Nine conference coach of the year awards
Inducted into Kansas Athletics Hall of Fame 1998
1999 NCAA Women's Coach of the Year
SWIMMERS, DIVERS AND COACHES WHO'VE LEFT THE KANSAS PROGRAM SINCE 1994
Assistant Swim Coach Brian Barnes
Will Bernhardt
Sean Jacobs
Andrew Ellis
Abe Eustice
Kenneth Haglund
Ryan Lee
Joey O'Neal
Jarett Pons
Robin Reames
Tyler Painter
Brandon Chestnut
Amy Meyer
Lacey Sheneman
Scott Baranyi
Graham Winch
Cathy Brinton
Shauna Szynkowski
1997-1998
Assistant Swim Coach Zhawn Stevens
Tracey McCalley
Hannah Jorgenson
Kelly Norton
Gretchen Weber
Mike Banner
George Freitag
Mike Roddy
Erin Staten
1996-1997
Diving Coach Don Fearon
Assistant Swim Coach Troy
Reynolds
Assistant Swim Coach Mike
Soderling
Julie Lipe
Sarah Sullivan
Dawn Wolf
Anna Armstrong
Danielle Bernier
Steve Jackson
1995-1996
Assistant Swim Coach Kris Upshaw
Amy Hathaway
Kelly Williams
Kara Douglass
Kay Kelley
Brian McKnight
Nate Moore
Justin Closen
1994-1995
Assistant Swim Coach Ed Riddle
Assistant Swim Coach Jeff Stoll
Assistant Swim Coach Dan
Mendenhol
Assistant Swim Coach Elaine Dondoyano
- Not every person who has left cites Kempf as their reason for leaving.
TRAGEDY
On January 25, 1997, senior swim team captain Seth Dunscomb collapsed by the side of pool and died of an enlarged heart. The swimming program and the coaches were not responsible.
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