Joe Biden

Brock Turner Will Never Compete With USA Swimming

"USA Swimming condemns the crime and actions committed by Brock Turner, and all acts of sexual misconduct," a spokesperson said

Former Stanford swimmer Brock Turner, whose six-month jail sentence for sexually assaulting an unconscious woman sparked international outrage, will never be able to swim for USA's national team.

A representative for USA swimming said Turner, 20, was not a member of the organization when the attack occurred in January 2015 and had let his membership lapse in 2014. Spokesman Scott Leightman said Turner would be unsuccessful should he ever re-apply to the organization. 

USA Today was first to report Turner's ineligibility.

USA Swimming events include the Olympic Trials and other nationally sponsored competitions.

"USA Swimming condemns the crime and actions committed by Brock Turner, and all acts of sexual misconduct," Leightman said. "Brock Turner is not a member of USA Swimming and is not eligible for membership, now or in the future, given his conviction for a crime involving sexual misconduct."

Leightman said Turner would have been subject to "severe penalties, including a permanent ban of membership," had he been a member of USA Swimming at the time of the attack. 

Turner's six-month jail sentence, which a county parole board recommended, ushered the case to the forefront of a growing conversation about sexual assaults on college campuses.

There have been more than a million signatures on a petition calling for the ousting of the judge who issued the sentence, although he has retained support from both the prosecution and defense.

The victim wrote a searing 12-page account of the attack and its aftermath, which has been shared thousands of times on social media.

"My damage was internal, unseen, I carry it with me," wrote the victim. "You took away my worth, my privacy, my energy, my time, my safety, my intimacy, my confidence, my own voice, until today."

The letter, which has been heralded for its bravery, will also be read aloud next week at Congress. Vice President Joe Biden penned an open letter praising the victim for her courage.

"You were failed by a culture on our college campuses where one in five women is sexually assaultedβ€”year after year after year," Biden wrote. "A culture that promotes passivity. That encourages young men and women on campuses to simply turn a blind eye."

Since the sentencing hearing, Turner's father has come under fire for a letter defending his son in which he referred to Turner's crime as "20 minutes of action." Meanwhile, a high school guidance counselor and family friend have apologized for writing a letter supporting Turner.

Turner, who is likely to serve three months of his sentence, is appealing his conviction. He will have to register as a sex offender for the rest of his life.

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