You always have the option to not use it if the circumstances are such that use isn't advisable  (the rope when caught might pendulum the swimmer into a strainer along the shore, for instance).

Anything can be misused...you can accidentally bean someone with a paddle or spear them with a kayak, too. That doesn't mean we all have to swim down the rivers sans boat with just a PFD on (Louie excepted, of course...:-)  Yes, of course the rope is a better tool in the hands of someone trained to use it.  It helps prevent such boo-boo's as the rescuer being pulled in by the force exerted by the swimmer when the line goes taut (increasing rather than decreasing the number of swimmers).