LSU has dismissed senior-to-be Amanda Kendall from its women’s swim team for “a violation of team rules.”
“Our program and university has standards in place for our student athletes to take advantage of in order to have success in the classroom, pool and society,” LSU head coach Dave Geyer said. “It is disappointing when an athlete chooses to not uphold those required standards.”
Kendall is a USA Swimming National Team member and a Pan Ams gold medalist who would have likely made at least two A-Finals at this year’s National Championship meet, but a broken hand just two weeks before the meet kept her home from Auburn.
What’s next for Kendall is yet unknown (we have reached out to her for comment, but as of yet have not received response). She is already on her way out of Baton Rouge, having withdrawn mid-semester, and will presumably return home to train for the Olympic Trials.
Transfering in-conference is out of the questions, as SEC rules state that athletes must have two years of eligibility remaining to transfer within conference. But because of the Olympic year, LSU’s compliance department has applied for an Olympic-year waiver for Kendall that would allow her to withdraw from school mid-semester without establishing a year of residency at the new school. This means that with a transfer to a non-SEC school, she would be eligible to swim next season (presuming that the waiver goes through – which it has not yet).
This was obviously a tough decision for Geyer, but he feels that it sends a message that parents are going to be able to send their kids to him and LSU, and understand that they will be taken care of, and will be in the right environment.
One possible landing spot would be at George Mason, where her former coach Peter Ward is the head coach. Ward was her club coach in high school, and George Mason is in her home town of Fairfax, where she would be able to be in a more familiar environment at home. Speculation as to what has gone on with Kendall at LSU has been widespread, including the “how” she broke her hand on a Saturday night, but without confirmation we won’t elaborate on any of it.
All signs seem to point to her being closer to home as a more positive situation for her.
TJCAT, Breaking a bone cetainly does not mean someone has a drinking problem. However, when a swimmer of this caliber is dismissed from a team you can be assured there are MAJOR issues that need to be addressed. No one has questioned her work ethic or talent but the way she represents herself outside the pool. I hope she doesn’t pick her next stop based on scholarship or caliber of school but rather on the help and support she will have to get her life back on track.
Mason Swimming you need to take it easy! When someone in college breaks a bone it could mean they have a drinking problem but also mean that it was a freak accident and they have very bad luck. Since all is speculative and contextual, the judgements are completely unfair to Amanda Kendall. She is obviously a very hard working, talented athlete who has a lot of potential. I’ve heard she is a really nice person as well. Maybe this will end up being a blessing in disguise and she will now be able to train with a greater number girls her speed and faster (Jane Trepp is mighty fast however). Maybe she should transfer to Texas as it is obvious… Read more »
TJ…don’t be naive. You don’t get booted from LSU from one incident…this had to be a cronic problem and the last straw. I am glad to see it…time college athletics is cleaned up.
It is a different time, with so much money at stake in these scholarships, and society demanding performance like it does these days..the time for acting like animal house in college is over. Good behavior, or at least responsibilty, must be demanded or your privledges can go to someone else who has earned it.
Amanda obviously has some problems and based on her experience, she may have a significant drinking problem. Before she dreams of competing at the highest levels again, she likely will need some counseling. A top NCAA swimmer gets kicked off her college team, I am sure her coach did not take that lightly. She was given a big time message that her life is not in order.
Although Amanda swam for Peter Ward for many years and they have a good relationship, Coach Ward does not suffer fools lightly. If he takes her on his team (and any good coach would require this), there are going to be some conditions.
Amanda is a very talented swimmer with a great work… Read more »
Amanda is a talented swimmer but when she swam for club, high school, and even summer in the Fairfax area she was not a stellar role model & certainly not a team player. I was hopng she would grow up and get it together. Whatever happened…sure sounds like that did not happen.
Got to ask yourself 2 questions..how can someone like her be such a moron. Guess some ppl just do not have as many brain cells as other.
2nd..where are the parents? my daughter is in the NOVA swim scene and if she started acting like an idiot…I would boot her right in the azz. Too bad, but Darwin at work…..the old saying is true…you can’t fix stupid.
Come on GMU (my alma mater) don’t cave and put this tramp on the team.
It is certainly disappointing that her continued poor judgment outside of the pool forced this decision because she is a stellar sprinting talent and by all accounts a well-respected teammate.
I’m not sure who is willing to take her on, but certainly George Mason seems like a logical spot with her history with the coach. I would also find it interesting if she landed at UVA … potentially compelling “road to redemption” type story with Kendall and Perdue, arguably the two most high-profile swimmers to miss NCAA’s this past season, making it back as seniors and also a helluva 800 free relay with their other returning pieces, but pure speculation on my end.
kara lynn joyce left stars.. going to train at mac
Momma said knock you out! Should we warn the bar patrons of poor Fairfax, the prodigal daughter returns? And with bionic steel finger replacements no less….the better to knock you out, momma said!
Any idea what rule she violated?
Reed – nobody is saying on-the-record, but read the context clues of the original article I linked to, and you should be able to make a guess.