TheFinalSprint.com's USATF investigation begins

[TrackCEO]

As promised three weeks ago, Adam Jacobs and company at thefinalsprint.com have begun a series of investigative articles on USATF and its current presidential election.

Here's the thread where Adam telegraphed his story:
http://mb.trackandfieldnews.com/discuss ... hp?t=33514

Adam's series begins here:
http://www.thefinalsprint.com/2008/11/d ... atf-board/

Here's what he promises in the series:

TheFinalSprint.com's investigation into this matter (Lynn Cannon's accusations of financial mischief) uncovered disturbing accusations and issues of dysfunction, including infighting, power struggles, racial tension, lack of oversight, and conflicts of interest within the board of directors. While the the allegations may not rise to the level of criminality, they do threaten to undermine the organization at a time that it desperately needs cohesiveness and efficiency.

With the belief that sunlight is the best disinfectant, TheFinalSprint.com will publish an article each day for the next week providing an inside look at USATF and its current situation.

This could be a milestone in track journalism -- and proof that an online blog can be a leader and not merely an aggregator and kibbitzer.

I wish Adam and crew the best of luck and look forward to their offerings.

K E N

[TrackCEO]

Major revelation of Part II:

Several board members and those with inside knowledge of USATF leadership during Masback’s tenure expressed similar evaluations of Masback’s performance and the forces that hindered his progress. Many went even further, suggesting that Masback’s eventual resignation in January 2008 was largely caused by his growing frustration over the intractability of some of the USATF Board of Directors (Chaplin and Hightower, in particular) and their knack for impeding his ability to break free from the same institutional paralysis that had plagued USATF for years.

“Craig [Masback] simply had enough and was so fed up with how the politics on the Board prevented him from shaking up the status quo.” said a high-level executive at USATF who spoke on the condition of anonymity. “He recognized the problems with USATF’s governance structure, but there was no way that the board members who had (exacerbated) the problems would allow him to take action … it was simply time that he left and for a new CEO to try their hand at shaping up those areas at USATF.”

K E N

[Smoke]

Best thing I have read all year. Looking forward to the daily installments.

[gh]

The Pre myth continues.

[Smoke]

Can ou elaborate gh?
And I would say not continues but gets better. lol

[gh]

read the first page of this thread, starting about halfway down

http://mb.trackandfieldnews.com/discuss ... hp?t=33440

[TrackCEO]

It appears Stephanie Hightower will be a focus of this series -- and not in a good way. I did some Googling of Stephanie today and learned more about her governance style -- and potty mouth.

Check out this account of the MF and N-word bombs she threw when she was president of the Columbus school board:
http://masterstrack.com/blog/002910.html

K E N

[TrackCEO]

read the first page of this thread, starting about halfway down

http://mb.trackandfieldnews.com/discuss ... hp?t=33440

Here's the relevant gh passage from that thread:

Yeah, I have to laugh every time I hear about Pre, the fearless battler of the AAU. I don't think you can even find a single mention of it in the pages of T&FN.

The one who took on the whole world (AAU and NCAA at the same) time was Lindgren, who ended up testifying in Washington, D.C. That was somebody who truly battled for the athletes.

It wouldn't surprise me that T&FN didn't cover Pre's AAU battle, however. That would be airing dirty laundry, and T&FN prefers to use honey.

K E N

[guru]

Careful Ken, I've had two posts deleted for referring to gh's stated journalistic mission.

[Smoke]

I got that part of his point I was wondering if there would be details, although the Lindgren point helped alot.

The problem I have had with the "We hate Hightower" campaign is you find a lot of blog entries, not news reports. You will also note there is very little negative about any other candidate running, very little. They come off as innocent and never so much as crushed an ant.
At this point all the stories are the same examples not various ones.

Oh well, such is the mature of what we do these days from USA to USATF.

[TrackCEO]

You will also note there is very little negative about any other candidate running, very little.

Here's the best I can do on Dee:
http://dakotas.usatf.org/files/Dakotas% ... s%2006.doc

The treasurer’s report was given. The balance on hand October 1, 2006 was $8,270.13. Dee reported the checking account was moved to American Federal in January. In doing so, the DAKOTAS Association once again has a Visa debt card. This makes transactions for sanctions, memberships, and Annual Meeting registrations with the national office seamless. USATF requires Visa, one of our national sponsors. Trudi Smith and Dee Jensen are named on the account. A motion to approve the treasurer’s report was made and seconded. The motion carried.

In Bob's case, he butted heads with the late IAAF Emperor Primo Nebiolo:
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/events ... /neb1.html

Bob's critics appear here:
http://www.letsrun.com/forum/flat_read. ... ad=2687701

I can't think of any endeavor that I would want a "racewalk big-wig" to be in charge of, except perhaps a racewalking meet, where the participants and their fans can be collected in a small area and kept away from the sane.

There's nothing so preposterous as a group of racewalking judges leaning forward intently to look more closely to assure themselves that the "walkers" aren't running. I can sit back on a sofa far away from the television and see most of them running, albeit in a weird way. Regardless of the name of the event, they certainly aren't walking.

I'll keep looking.

K E N

[polevaultpower]

The problem I have had with the "We hate Hightower" campaign is you find a lot of blog entries, not news reports. You will also note there is very little negative about any other candidate running, very little. They come off as innocent and never so much as crushed an ant.
At this point all the stories are the same examples not various ones.

Oh well, such is the mature of what we do these days from USA to USATF.

The track and field community (letsrun.com excluded) is generally pretty nice and friendly and there is not a lot of public bashing that goes on. I think someone has to leave a strong negative impression for something to be said, and even then people are hesitant to because they fear the repercussions. The fact that there has been so much negative said about Hightower reflects her personality. Some might charge racism, but John Chaplin (an old white guy) has been lumped with her in most things, and if he were running for president I am sure more would be said about him.

For what it's worth, my experience with Hightower was very negative, and I have not been impressed with how I have seen her interact with others. Bowman has attended the past several of my Association's meetings and he seems like a perfect gentleman. He is very intelligent and diplomatic and seems like he works well with others. I don't think I have ever met Jensen, so I can't comment on her.

I think there are some positive sides to Hightower's personality, but unfortunately, her many years within USATF have proven what kind of leader she is, and I feel strongly that the negatives outweigh the positives. Apparently many others do as well.

Maybe saying this will come back to bite me someday, but I am young and I will outlive all of you, so should she rise to power, that too will eventually pass.

[polevaultpower]

Bob's critics appear here:
http://www.letsrun.com/forum/flat_read. ... ad=2687701

I can't think of any endeavor that I would want a "racewalk big-wig" to be in charge of, except perhaps a racewalking meet, where the participants and their fans can be collected in a small area and kept away from the sane.

There's nothing so preposterous as a group of racewalking judges leaning forward intently to look more closely to assure themselves that the "walkers" aren't running. I can sit back on a sofa far away from the television and see most of them running, albeit in a weird way. Regardless of the name of the event, they certainly aren't walking.

LOL everyone has critics on letsrun, and those aren't criticisms of Bowman, that is just the typical "racewalk is dumb" mentality that most on letsrun have.

[lonewolf]

I don't know Hightower or Bowman but I have known Dee Jensen and her late husband, OJ, since she was in the trenchs; long before she became a respected referee.
She is a teacher and administrator in real life and I believe has the demeanor and personality to work with all factions of USATF.
If she has any detractors I am not aware of them. She has my support.

[ndamix]

I know two of the three candidates. While I believe all the candidates bring strong credentials to the table in terms of running USATF, I think the direction of the organization will be determined on the basis of the approved mandates USATF needs to adopt.

Will USATF be an organization catering to its elite athletic component at the expense of its other constituencies or will the constituenceis have a place at the the table along with the elite athletes? Having been the longtime chair of the women's T&F Committee, I have yet to see Stephanie Hightower interact with the various other constituencies.

Dee Jensen, I've seen, on the other hand, interacts with a variety of the USATF constituencies on a regular basis and not at election time.

I believe whomever is elected USATF President will determine (along with the CEO) what direct the organization proceeds.