Oh, wow. I'm random.

seriouslyamerica:

TW: sexual abuse

Curl’s abuse of Currin began with groping and progressed to sexual intercourse, she said.

“He didn’t have a relationship with me, he had an illness,” Currin said, adding that she could not understand that when she was younger.

Looking back, she said, she cannot explain how she came under Curl’s spell, only that she felt special to receive his attention and that she worried what would become of her Olympic dreams if he were not her coach.

Currin, who specialized in the butterfly, was one of the top swimmers in the world in 1987 and was a finalist at the 1988 United States Olympic trials.

Her parents became aware of the relationship when Currin was in high school, she said. Her father floated the idea of moving to California to get Currin away from Curl, but she became upset at the thought of training with an unfamiliar coach. Currin’s parents sought the counsel of a lawyer, who discouraged them from filing criminal charges. Instead, Curl paid a $150,000 settlement in 1989 in return for the family’s silence.

“My parents made a huge mistake,” Currin said, “but they were just trying to protect me from being victimized twice, first by Rick and then maybe by the legal system.”

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