The Patriot League has issued a one-weekend suspension to Loyola Maryland assistant swimming coach George Kennedy for what it calls “a violation of the Patriot League’s Code of Conduct.”
The league declined to elaborate on the cause of Kennedy’s suspension, and several people SwimSwam spoke to who were at the meet were unaware of any incidents. After original publishing of this article, several individuals came forward indicating that Kennedy expressed disagreement with Loyola’s disqualification in the 400 medley relay, and league officials felt that his behavior crossed the line of league conduct guidelines.
Kennedy is in his 6th season as an assistant coach at Loyola Maryland after a decorated career as the head coach of nearby Johns Hopkins University. There, he was named the NCAA Division III Coach of the Year 7 times and was given a CSCAA Lifetime Achievement Award.
The Patriot League in collaboration with Loyola University Maryland has reviewed the conduct of assistant swimming coach George Kennedy at the 2023 Patriot League Men’s and Women’s Swimming and Diving Championship from Thursday, Feb. 16, at Bucknell University’s Kinney Natatorium in Lewisburg, Pa.
It has been determined that there was a violation of the Patriot League’s Code of Conduct by Loyola Maryland’s Kennedy. For this violation, Kennedy will be suspended for one weekend of competition, through the ECAC Championships, scheduled for Feb. 24 through Feb. 26.
The Patriot League requires the highest ethical conduct by all institutional personnel and demands the highest commitment to integrity, ethical behavior, and fair play in all athletic endeavors.
Kennedy’s D3 accolades include coaching 373 dual meet wins, 24 conference titles, and coaching 31 national champions and nearly 1,500 All-Americans.
He was inducted to the Johns Hopkins Athletics Hall of Fame, and in 2014, Fortune named Kennedy one of the “World’s 50 Greatest Leaders.”
The Loyola me finished 4th and the women 6th at last week’s Patriot League championship meet. The upcoming ECAC meet is a secondary conference championship meet that a number of East Coast teams participate in after their primary conference championship.
GK the 🐐 no 🧢
The headline and article should provide more context for the situation, somebody that doesn’t understand the situation would be getting painted a very negative image of a great coach and a great leader who is respected universally in college swimming that doesn’t line up with what the reality of the situation was.
Yeah it’d be terrible if people had to read past the headline.
This decision was absolutely absurd. George is a passionate coach who cares for the sport and his swimmers deeply.
Passion does not give you special rights that absolve you from acting like a jerk…
You will *never* find a coach as passionate and invested in the sport of swimming as George Kennedy. I’ve had the privilege to know and train with George for many years, and to say that he is anything less than a stellar, caring, and professional individual is wrong.
I’d rather have a coach who cares and advocates for my team than one who sits on the sidelines while questionable DQs are called. This is a sad and unreasonable decision by the Patriot League.
George is an amazing coach who clearly puts his swimmers first. It is absolutely ridiculous to suspend a coach for defending his swimmers and advocating for them. The officials were clearly in the wrong and anyone in their right mind can see that. Do better patriot league.
George Kennedy is the best coach I have ever had and one of the most invested coaches in college swimming. He is supportive and cares for all of his swimmers which is why he stood up for the Loyola team. I am at a loss for words with the Patriot League. George is loved by many coaches in the conference, who all backed him during the altercation; I’m not sure why this article was even written.
Swim Swam needs to investigate the officials from last weekend at Patriots.. something like18 false starts and/or DQs.. they were an embarrassment.. George was just advocating passionately for his swimmers, nothing more.
Have you seen what’s going on at the Ivy Championships now? 4 relay DQs and all kinds of reaction times around .20. It’s ridiculous what’s going on at these meets.
Should not be coaching in general. Calling some of your swimmers a waste of space and overweight is not how a good coach coaches.
If they don’t try in practice and have a negative attitude, then they are a waste of space. And if you’re a division 1 athlete you should probably be in good shape so excuse him for being blunt but people in this day are too sensitive for the truth
Ratio
Get him top G!!!
I think swimmers of GK’s from a certain time period have a good idea of who this commenter is, and we’re all going to side with GK on this one. Might be time for you to move on from this.
Huh? I’m literally on GK’s side
I replied to the original comment, not you