The Observer., June 25, 2020, Page 8, Image 8

8A — THE OBSERVER
THURSDAY, JUNE 25, 2020
SPORTS
FBI determines no hate crime
committ ed in rope incident
By Jenna Fryer
The Associated Press
Observer fi le photo
La Grande head swim coach Darren Dutto poses with members of the 2014 girls swim
team after they placed fourth in state.
DUTTO
Continued from Page 7A
“I learned over the
fi rst year or two about
what the team had done
and what had gone on,”
he said. “I jumped into it
sight unseen. I knew they
had had some success and
knew there had been some
issues. I was certain I
could carry on the success,
and knew there wouldn’t
be any issues. I was going
to do my own thing.”
His approach cen-
tered on developing well-
rounded individuals in and
out of the pool.
“My philosophy has
been to have each kid
swim to their poten-
tial, and as part of that,
it’s about overall growth
and maturation,” he said.
“I always want to guide
kids to swim as well as
they’re able in the con-
text of making them good
citizens.”
There was a lot of
learning for the coach, he
said, but early on there
were indicators his time at
La Grande would go well.
“Really it was about me
knowing the kids and the
kids getting to know me,”
he said. “First season, we
had a super good team,
a lot of kids that had just
come out of the previous
scenario. They had certain
expectations, I had cer-
tain expectations, and we
were able to see eye to eye
pretty quick.”
By 2007, the boys
teams cracked into the top
six at state, and in 2009
surged to fourth. Dutto
said there have been high-
lights in each of his 15
years that jump out, but
the night the team won
fourth is high on his list.
“We had fi ve kids that
went to state,” he said.
“High school swimming
they did for fun. They got
fourth, (and) they were so
excited by it.”
What followed was
a jovial celebration at a
Texas Roadhouse in the
Portland area that lasted
into the night.
“We slapped that trophy
down on the middle of
the table and had a great
time,” he said. “It was a
great moment.”
The fi rsts kept coming
for Dutto. A couple years
later, in 2012, he coached
his fi rst state title win-
ners: Matthew Cook in
two events for the boys,
and Logan Gomez in two
events for the girls —
one of which was a relay
with Allie Godfrey, Becca
Haynes and Shelby Baker.
The ultimate came in
2016 with the boys title
on a victory in the fi nal
race — the 400-yard free-
style relay — that pushed
the team past district rival
Catlin Gabel.
“Those boys, they
knocked it out of the
park,” he said. “We just
had this incredible girls
and boys team. Boys
won state. Girls did great
(they placed third). It was
exciting. It was a lot of
fun. That win was where
all the cards fell into place
in our favor.”
That 2016 title will
be remembered partly
for what happened at the
district swim meet in
that same race, when La
Grande and Catlin Gabel
tied for fi rst. A disqual-
ifi cation of Catlin Gabel
Observer fi le photo
La Grande head swim coach Darren Dutto signals to a
swimmer in the pool at the 2020 state swim meet in Bea-
verton. Dutto has resigned from his role as the swim
coach after a 15-year run where he guided the boys and
girls each to seven state trophies, including the 2016 boys
state title.
after an athlete jumped
back in the pool kept it
from having a team in the
race at state and may have
been what opened the door
for the Tigers.
Dutto said he believes
La Grande could have won
state even if the disquali-
fi cation didn’t happen, but
also that the turn of events
showed a lot about his
team — from their own
heartbreak for the oppo-
sition when the team was
disqualifi ed to how it han-
dled the tie, kept compo-
sure and ultimately took
advantage of the opportu-
nity at state.
“We did what we
needed to do to put our-
selves in position to win,”
he said. “Even though we
tied, my boys kept their
calm and didn’t do the
things that might jeopar-
dize their chances to swim
(the) next week.”
Dutto also got to coach
his two sons — each of
whom took home indi-
vidual hardware. Both
Keegan and Garren Dutto
were part of that state-
title winning relay team in
2016. Garren, a freshman
at a time, went on to win
fi ve individual state titles
and added another title as
part of a relay team.
“I wanted the same
thing for them that I
expected of all the other
swimmers,” the coach
said. “My job is not to put
undue pressure on either
Keegan or Garren because
they were my kids.”
He almost stepped away
after the 2019 season,
but Dutto had one large
group of senior girls who
he wanted to see through
to the end of their high
school careers.
“I agreed to come back
for one more,” he said. “I
had all those girls who
were seniors. I thought,
‘We can give it one more
go.’”
That group took third at
state in February, scoring
the most points at a state
meet (49) by a La Grande
girls team — even more
than the 2012 team that
took second (44).
Dutto in his career
had to learn and hone the
skill of motivating each
individual athlete to his
or her potential. It’s a
trait he said he did better
later in his career, and
stemmed from one ability
— listening.
“I had to learn to
become a really good lis-
tener. As I matured I
became a good listener,”
he said.
With most, it didn’t take
long to know what made
them tick.
“First week or two (of
the season with) most
kids,” he said. “And I
would say that’s (true)
now. Back when I was
younger and less wise —
although I don’t know I’m
wise now — it would take
me longer.”
Listening, or a lack
thereof, he believes is
where many coaches miss
the mark.
“(It takes) lots of
talking with kids, lots of
getting to know them.
It’s very individual,” he
said. “That is where a lot
of coaches fall apart. My
feeling is a lot of coaches
give lip service listening
to kids but they don’t
listen. They don’t know
how to adjust to the kid.”
With many of his swim-
mers, he knew right away
what they needed due to
years of coaching them.
Others took time.
And some, he admitted,
he never entirely grasped.
“In the fi rst week I
would sit and talk with the
new kids, (and) if I needed
to it would be outside of
practice,” he said. “If a kid
was particularly vexing,
I would defi nitely have to
fi nd another time to talk
to them. Honestly, some
kids I never did fi gure out.
They always stuck with it,
but it wasn’t good for them
or me.”
In spite of the numerous
accolades La Grande
earned under his watch,
it was the athletes them-
selves, he said, that made
coaching the joy it was.
Even if they gave him
weird nicknames.
When he was coaching
the La Grande Swim Club
in 2017, Zane Ricker, a
member of the club team,
wanted to put something
on the back of a shirt he
purchased at a swim meet.
“They thought it would
be funny to put ‘Meanest
Coach Ever,’” he said.
Later in that meet —
while donning the shirt
with the new moniker —
he went to the front to
accept an award as the
Inland Empire Swimming
coach of the year, and the
name — although it didn’t
fi t him — stuck.
“That became the run-
ning joke,” he said. “Those
Ricker kids, I love them to
death, all six of them. But
that ‘Meanest Coach Ever,’
they know how to ride it. I
never once took it in a bad
way.”
And though he is step-
ping away, if that ‘mean’
coach does return, it’ll be
for the same purpose that
kept him in it.
“I love working with
the kids, getting to know
them, (and) helping them
be successful in whatever
that means,” he said.
“To me, hands down
that is the most rewarding
part of it.”
NASCAR went to Tal-
ladega Superspeedway
on heightened alert after
Bubba Wallace, its only
Black driver, took on an
active role in a push for
racial equality.
Wallace had success-
fully called for the ban
of the Confederate fl ag
and received threats.
Fans paraded past the
main entrance of the Ala-
bama track displaying
the fl ag, and a plane cir-
cled above the speedway
pulling a Confederate fl ag
banner that read “Defund
NASCAR.”
So NASCAR moved
quickly when one of Wal-
lace’s crew members dis-
covered a rope shaped like
a noose in their garage
stall. The sanctioning body
called in federal author-
ities, who ruled Tuesday
the rope had been hanging
there since at least last
October and was not a hate
crime.
U.S. Attorney Jay Town
and FBI Special Agent
in Charge Johnnie Sharp
Jr. said the investigation
determined “nobody could
have known Mr. Wallace
would be assigned” to that
same stall. NASCAR said
it was the lone garage stall
with a pull down rope that
resembled a noose.
NASCAR has defended
its reaction and insisted it
would call the FBI again.
A defi ant Wallace said
there is no confusion and
the rope had been fash-
ioned into a noose.
“I wanted to make sure
this wasn’t just a knot,”
Wallace said on CNN. “It
was a noose. Whether it
was tied in 2019 ... it is a
noose.”
Wallace never saw the
rope. He said NASCAR
President Steve Phelps
came to see him Sunday
night at the track with
“tears running down his
face.”
“The evidence he
brought to me was that a
hate crime has been com-
mitted,” said Wallace, who
instantly began to fear for
the safety of his family.
Even after the FBI con-
cluded that it was not
a hate crime, Wallace
remained angry at what
he perceives as constant
tests of his character. He
holds no ill-will toward
NASCAR.
“I stand behind Steve
and I stand behind
NASCAR,” he said.
“NASCAR was wor-
ried about Talladega. We
had that one circled on
the radar with everything
going on.”
NASCAR opened the
Talladega gates to 5,000
fans, its highest number so
far during the coronavirus
pandemic.
Since fi nding his voice
over the last month, the
26-year-old Mobile, Ala-
bama, native has embraced
an international role in
NASCAR’s attempt to
push past its rocky racial
history. Wallace has worn
an “I Can’t Breathe” shirt,
raced with a Black Lives
Matter paint scheme in
Virginia and successfully
lobbied for the Confederate
fl ag ban.
NASCAR assigned
security to Wallace at
the track. The fi rst word
of the incident came in a
sharply worded statement
in which NASCAR said it
was “angry and outraged”
over the “heinous act” that
the series directly linked to
racism.
The FBI sent 15 agents
to Talladega for Monday’s
rescheduled race at the
same time the industry ral-
lied around Wallace. In
an unprecedented show
of solidarity, every team
member on pit road lined
up behind him during the
national anthem.
Phelps has taken exactly
nine questions about the
fi nding in Wallace’s garage
and none provided any
details of the incident.
Because of health pro-
tocol restrictions, a lim-
ited number of personnel
have access to the garage.
Only a handful of Wal-
lace’s crew members and
NASCAR saw the rope.
Roughly 48 hours
after the discovery, fed-
eral authorities said video
confi rmed the rope “was
in that garage as early as
October 2019” hanging
from a garage door. The
rope was referred to as a
noose, but can be used as
a handle when closing the
door.
Phelps continued to call
it a noose after authorities
said no charges would be
fi led, and held fi rm in that
NASCAR is investigating
why the rope was tied
that way. He was pleased
it wasn’t a hate crime
directed at Wallace, but
insisted NASCAR would
have conducted its investi-
gation the same way even
now knowing it was just a
coincidence.
“We would have done
the same investigation. It
was important for us to
do,” he said.
“The evidence was very
clear that the noose that
was in the garage was in
there previously. The last
race we had in October,
that noose was present.
The evidence we had, it
was clear we needed to
look into this.”
He took no questions on
the FBI’s fi ndings.
Meanwhile, Wood
Brothers Racing team
said it cooperated with
the investigation and an
employee recalled “seeing
a tied handle in the garage
pull down rope from last
fall,” when the team had
the stall.
TREASURE
VALLEY
STEEL, INC.
Manufacturing Zee & Cee Purlins
In-HouseCustom Cut Exact Lengths
• 24 Colors
• Custom Trim
• 2 1/2” Corrugated
• Delivery Available
• Full Soffitt Line
• 3 ft. Gulf Coast Panel
• 3 ft. PBR Panel
• 3 ft. Mesa Panel
• 3 ft. Tuff Rib Panel
• Standing Seam
DELIVERY
• 2 ft. Delta Rib
AVAILABLE
• 3 ft. Pro Panel
40 Year Full Paint Warranty • WeatherX Paint System
ONTARIO
541-889-4214
BOISE
208-336-7505
1460 N. Verde Dr.
Toll Free 1-866-887-8335
6619 S. Supply Way
Toll Free 1-888-717-8335
WWW.TREASUREVALLEYSTEEL.COM