A lawsuit against the University of California Board of Regents has revived serious allegations against former longtime Cal women’s swimming coach Teri McKeever, including a claim that she shamed a swimmer who had expressed suicidal thoughts.
On Tuesday, an appeals court reversed an earlier dismissal of the 2024 case, allowing it to proceed after a lower court had previously ruled that the statute of limitations had run out.
The renewed legal action accuses the university of failing to address years of alleged mistreatment within the swim program, with claims ranging from demeaning comments and name-calling to fat-shaming and dismissive responses to mental health concerns.
According to the lawsuit, McKeever asked one swimmer, “Did you try to kill yourself?” before allegedly telling her that she had “ruined” the day of a teammate she had turned to for help.
In another allegation, a plaintiff who stepped away from swimming after a sexual assault claims McKeever told the team she was “weak.”
McKeever, a former Olympic coach, was fired in 2023 after an outside law firm substantiated allegations made by dozens of athletes.
ALSO READ: Teddie Beverley Dies at 99: Last Surviving Member of the Beverley Sisters Passes Away
She later acknowledged mistreating Cal swimmers over a span of more than two decades and was handed a three-month suspension from U.S. Olympic and Paralympic events, along with 12 months of probation.
The lawsuit further alleges that McKeever fostered a team environment built on “public shaming, intimidation, isolation, exclusion, fear, and unsafe training conditions.”
McKeever allegedly called players “pieces of shit” and told them that they looked fat, while forcing them to stay late for practice even though it meant they would be late for class.
A 2022 Orange County Register investigation was the first to report on the alleged abuse and helped many of the former swimmers realize McKeever’s alleged conduct was not simply hard coaching.
The report cited 19 current and former swimmers, six parents, and a former member of the men’s team, who described McKeever as a bully who allegedly verbally and emotionally abused athletes for years.
The three-judge panel from the First Appellate District of California cited the investigation in its decision Tuesday, and said the lawsuit can proceed under the discovery rule — which can pause the clock until plaintiffs reasonably learn they were harmed by alleged wrongdoing.
“Plaintiffs acknowledge that while they were on the team, they knew they were suffering due to McKeever’s coaching,” the decision reads. “But plaintiffs argue they did not know McKeever’s conduct was anything other than legitimate, challenging coaching. That is, they did not know McKeever had committed any wrongdoing.”
