What We Learned From ‘The N-Word’ Section of Cal’s Teri McKeever Investigation

Published Jan 31st, 2023

Cal’s nearly 500-page investigatory report into Teri McKeever detailed an incident last spring in which the Bears’ former women’s swimming coach used the n-word while mimicking rap lyrics, sparking the initial probe that turned into an eight-month saga and ultimately resulted in her termination on Tuesday.

• See the full report here

The incident in question occurred in a meeting room with some, but not all, members of the team present. McKeever allegedly said something along the lines of “I don’t like the rap music you guys listen to these days.” Then she allegedly did an impression of modern rap, reciting “F this and F that” but opting for the unabbreviated form of the n-word. The law firm commissioned by Cal to conduct the investigation interviewed three swimmers who present for the incident, and all three claimed she used the unabridged version of the n-word.

McKeever denied having memory of using the n-word, but it came with a caveat.

“Coach McKeever said that she did not typically use the full n-word,” the report said on page 88. “She stated, however, that if the swimmers said she said it, it is possible that she did, but it was supposed to be an educational statement about not playing such lyrics over a speaker.”

The report concluded that McKeever used the n-word on one occasion, but that, by itself, wasn’t enough to constitute a hostile environment. However, when paired with her pattern of conduct toward two Black swimmers on the team — whom she “more likely than not” referred to as “diversity recruits” — McKeever’s actions created a racially hostile environment.

“We conclude that Coach McKeever’s use of the n-word on one occasion in the course of describing what sort of language she did not want played on the pool speakers did not, in isolation, constitute conduct that was sufficiently severe, pervasive, or persistent so as to limit or interfere with an individual’s ability to participate in Cal swimming,” the report found. “It is undisputed that Coach McKeever used the n-word to illustrate the sort of language she did not want to hear and not as a reference to another person.

“When considered together with Coach McKeever’s entire pattern of conduct with Swimmer A and Swimmer B, we find a hostile environment. We conclude that Coach McKeever subjected both Swimmer B and Swimmer A to a racially hostile environment by singling Swimmer A out for negative scrutiny by her teammates, by calling her a [redacted], by commenting on Swimmer A’s appearance and demeanor in a manner evocative of racial stereotypes, by inappropriately grouping Swimmer A and Swimmer B in both personality and speed, and by using the n-word on one occasion, in an incident that was not witnessed by Swimmer A or Swimmer B, but that they learned about from their teammates. A preponderance of the evidence shows that this hostile environment was pervasive or persistent and that it interfered with both Swimmer B’s and Swimmer’s ability to participate in or benefit from the swimming program at Cal. Both described the significant mental and emotional toll the environment took on them throughout the year and their avoidance of optional practices following the incident in which Coach McKeever used the n-word.”

The Munger, Tolles & Olson investigation focused on six areas of allegations, although two were redacted from the report. They included sustained verbal abuse and targeting certain swimmers for abusive conduct, pressure to divulge personal information and/or mishandling personal information, pressure to swim through injury, and fostering a negative team environment.

After interviewing 147 people and reviewing 1,700 documents, the investigation found “by a preponderance of the evidence that Coach McKeever discriminated against certain student-athletes in certain instances, on the basis of race, national origin and disability.” The report also found McKeever’s behavior “toward some, but not all, student-athletes in some instances was abuse and violated University policy.”