The prize money was not provided by USATF, it was provided by the sponsors (Teva included). The contract stated that the money would be awarded to those competing in the USATF Championships. Whether this is the best way to award prize money can be debated, but wasn't the issue on Saturday morning.
The issue was that the rules were not clearly defined until Bill Roe decided what he felt to be what was in the best interests of the USATF. Their intention may have been so all along, but even in the press release on Thursday it was confusing. Nancy Hobbs, the MUT chair who I have found very supportive of athletes in almost all cases, had to back up her chairman on it. The language in the rules could be intrepreted many ways. In fact, I felt the rules clearly allowed any USATF member to compete in the Championships, not only US Citizens. So I signed up for the championships as a paying member of the USATF, only to be removed from the competition results because I am only a permanent resident. It didn't effect whether I got prize money, as I finished a couple of spots out of the money anyhow. But it showed once again, the inconsitency of the USATF and its lack of logic in supporting its membership.
Matt is a man of principle and I understand why he feels there is no benefit in joining USATF. While one can argue that his approach is extreme, you have to admire that he is honest and stands by what he believes in. He has repeatedly stated that he is peeved by the USATF's lack of support in its athletes, which it should serve as an association. He wondered what benefit there was in Bill Roe coming down to Colorado, except to enforce the inconsistent rule.
Last year, even foreign athletes were allowed to receive the prize money they earned (Anna Pichtrova and Melissa Moon) as non-USATF members, and I believe the sponsors insisted that the true winners get what they deserved.
As was pointed out in the article, Clint knew where he stood in the competition, but he also ran great and is not at fault in any way in taking the money. Every runner there knew partly of the situation, and Matt was given the respect by these runners. However, to the spectators and others at the award cermony, he was a "ghost", which was a shame.