Brock Turner, the former Stanford swimmer convicted of sexually assaulting an unconscious woman on campus in 2015, has been banned for life from USA Swimming.
Turner will be permanently barred from participating in USA Swimming-sanctioned events, such as the Olympic Trials and other national competitions, as a result of the swimming body’s “zero tolerance” policy on sexual misconduct. Turner had been a member of the organization, but his membership expired at the end of 2014.
“Brock Turner is not a member of USA Swimming and, should he apply, he would not be eligible for membership,” USA Swimming spokesman Scott Leighton told USA TODAY.
The written statement that Turner’s victim read aloud in court, which has gone viral after being published on the Internet, includes a reference to an article about the incident that listed Turner’s swimming times after providing details of the assault.
In his own statement to the court, Turner wrote: “I wish I never was good at swimming or had the opportunity to attend Stanford, so maybe the newspapers wouldn’t want to write stories about me.”
Turner was convicted of sexual assault and sentenced to six months in prison. Following the publication of the victim’s court statement, critics have expressed outraged what they believe is the overly lenient sentence handed down by the presiding judge, Aaron Persky, who has since faced death threats and calls for his resignation.
