The usual clown show. The USOC really needs to get involved and clean up the USATF.
-
90
-
Not sure why Kristie Killough-Ali was selected to be a director back in 2018 but she is 100% right on all her points. And dismissing her will not prevent her from being called in the trial.
Max is an idiot. The cover up is always worse than the crime. Time to clean house long over due.
290 -
polevaultpower wrote:
I'm not sure what meeting you were trying to attend, but USATF's Annual Meeting is a convention with many meetings over several days.
You have to register to attend, someone off the street who did not register cannot attend.
USATF's board of directors meetings are open to the membership at no cost via Zoom, you have to email someone at USATF to get the link, they post details in advance of the meeting.
Becca,
Unless you are voting, I have never seen anybody checked to see if they were registered. Annual meetings since 1987 and I’ve seen hundreds of people attend without registration.
52 -
Jim Estes is going to win this suit and Max knows what a slap in the face it will be.
171 -
Ray wrote:
Becca,
Unless you are voting, I have never seen anybody checked to see if they were registered. Annual meetings since 1987 and I’ve seen hundreds of people attend without registration.
Everyone who is registered gets a giant credential. Individual meetings all have a sign in sheet. People aren't normally "checked in" because the enormous credential is visible.
USATF staff and Max's security guys are keeping an eye out for people in meetings without a credential.
I can't speak to what was happening prior to 2005, but certainly in the past decade, since the whole Youth Executive Committee suspensions and since Safe Sport took off, I've never seen a bunch of people in meetings with no credential.
Maybe some sneak in here and there, but that is not a common occurrence these days.
20 -
Stating the obvious wrote:
Not sure why Kristie Killough-Ali was selected to be a director back in 2018 but she is 100% right on all her points. And dismissing her will not prevent her from being called in the trial.
Max is an idiot. The cover up is always worse than the crime. Time to clean house long over due.
Kristie is an independent director, she comes from outside of the sport, that's why most of you have no idea who she is.
She and I have been on opposite sides of a lot of L&L issues, but I have always respected her and believe that she was doing what she believed was in the best interest of USATF. She worked really hard on the Board of Directors bylaws committee.
I am 10000% on her side on this issue, it is a wild abuse of power to remove her from the BOD for the reasons stated, the USOPC really ought to be stepping in here, but unfortunately they are not known for being particularly useful.
240 -
Becca, what's your take on Curt Clausen as President? When elected, he said some things that sounded to me like he wasn't aligned with and would exercise strong oversight of the CEO. But this--by which I mean sending a letter requesting the resignation of and then suspending an independent Board member, seemingly solely because she may provide honest testimony--looks like circling the wagons not out of the organization's best interests but to protect Max. Or am I misreading that, and Curt has to toe the line and back Max, even if he might be holding his nose while doing it, in order to protect the organization's interests?
The Summer-Hall affair frankly, seems a little more "business as usual," which I don't mean as a good thing when that business is "athletes or their representatives attempting to get the governing body to do more for those athletes, and then being reprimanded and shoved aside by political maneuverings orchestrated by high-level staff." That's just how USATF has done business since, well, before it was USATF.
70 -
A guy who won't be at the meeting wrote:
Becca, what's your take on Curt Clausen as President? When elected, he said some things that sounded to me like he wasn't aligned with and would exercise strong oversight of the CEO. But this--by which I mean sending a letter requesting the resignation of and then suspending an independent Board member, seemingly solely because she may provide honest testimony--looks like circling the wagons not out of the organization's best interests but to protect Max. Or am I misreading that, and Curt has to toe the line and back Max, even if he might be holding his nose while doing it, in order to protect the organization's interests?
The Summer-Hall affair frankly, seems a little more "business as usual," which I don't mean as a good thing when that business is "athletes or their representatives attempting to get the governing body to do more for those athletes, and then being reprimanded and shoved aside by political maneuverings orchestrated by high-level staff." That's just how USATF has done business since, well, before it was USATF.
I am extremely disappointed in Curt, and I have already communicated as much to him directly, this isn't me talking behind his back.
I supported Curt for President because I believed he would be the right person to help us put all of this pettiness behind us and maybe we could start to move forward as an NGB, instead we are in the same place we were a decade ago, and in my opinion we are going to get the same result, $1 million+ spent on avoidable litigation.
I don't think Curt has any bad intentions or that he is getting any favors from anyone out of this, I think he is just too willing to take the things the staff and the BOD athletes are telling him at face value. I guess it was easier to be the one dissenting person in the past when he knew standing up for what was right wasn't going to make a difference either way, the token opposition.
If Mike Conley had won the election, I think they would have named him in the lawsuit and used that as an excuse to get him off the board, I think we were always screwed no matter who won the election last year.
The system is rigged and nothing is going to change until our CEO changes.
290 -
A guy who won't be at the meeting wrote:
The Summer-Hall affair frankly, seems a little more "business as usual," which I don't mean as a good thing when that business is "athletes or their representatives attempting to get the governing body to do more for those athletes, and then being reprimanded and shoved aside by political maneuverings orchestrated by high-level staff." That's just how USATF has done business since, well, before it was USATF.
Sadly yes, this is accurate.
120 -
USATF has issued a response to the article:
USATF wrote:
Earlier this week, communications between the USATF National Office and three suspended members of USATF were published on a sports website. The letters were accompanied by interpretations and commentary from the involved parties. While USATF does not believe in discussing personal business matters in the public forum, we do believe in facts and transparency.
At a board meeting on November 24, 2025, USATF’s Board of Directors voted to instruct CEO Max Siegel to suspend the memberships of Mike Conley and Kristie Killough-Ali under Regulation 21, Paragraph T of USATF’s bylaws. This regulation grants specific authority to the CEO to intervene in urgent situations involving USATF members or entities. In this case, the board provided the authorization to “protect USATF’s material commercial interests”.
The actions came after outside counsel representing USATF in a defamation lawsuit brought forth by Jim Estes advised the board that Conley and Killough-Ali are likely to be critical witnesses in the case and their positions may be adverse to USATF’s interest in the litigation. Prior to their suspension, both Conley and Killough-Ali were asked to voluntarily resign from their positions within the organization. However, both declined to do so. Killough-Ali has requested a hearing with the board and it will be held this month.
At the same board meeting, the board voted to suspend the membership of Jeré Summers-Hall, also under Regulation 21, Paragraph T of USATF’s bylaws and falling under the category of “protecting athletes or other members from the risk of harm.” This suspension is the result of serious concerns raised by athletes – including multiple Olympic medalists – regarding Summers-Hall’s treatment of athletes, volunteers and the national office staff. The athlete voice is paramount in the governance matters of USATF. Thus, it is imperative that the athlete representative displays and commands civility and respect. Summers-Hall will also have a hearing with the Board of Directors.
These steps were not taken lightly nor without exhaustive efforts to avoid them. However, following failed attempts to intervene, the board had no choice but to act in the best interest of the organization. These decisions were made in near unanimity by a board of directors that, while diverse in their perspectives, remains laser-focused on the business of running a national governing body and putting athletes first.
The story of these unfortunate matters will be dictated by the due process afforded to all parties involved. As such, USATF will not be issuing further statements or sharing further information while the cases move forward.60 -
USATF wrote:
While USATF does not believe in discussing personal business matters in the public forum, we do believe in facts and transparency.Sure, facts and transparency, that's why they did not comment on the matter for over a week, only doing so after the story was in the media.
130 -
There are two sides to every story, and any real journalist would take the time to investigate both before posting their “opinion videos” with eight likes.
Did you actually speak to anyone besides the three individuals who were suspended? What did you expect them to say—“Yes, USATF was right to suspend me”? “Yes, I collaborated with Jim Estes”? “Yes, I undermined the National Office, the board, bullied staff and multiple Olympic medalist”?
If you want to call yourself a journalist, do the work. Ask questions. Get the facts. Don’t just run with the narrative handed to you. You are disappointed in Curt??? I’m disappointed so many of you didn’t bother to act in the true nature to your profession, but instead push false narrative.
If you truly investigated and came to the same conclusion, so be it. But you didn’t—and please don’t pretend you did.
137 -
Is the undermining of integrity observed on this forum a reflection of the undermining of integrity in sport?
21 -
Two sides wrote:
There are two sides to every story, and any real journalist would take the time to investigate both before posting their “opinion videos” with eight likes.
Did you actually speak to anyone besides the three individuals who were suspended? What did you expect them to say—“Yes, USATF was right to suspend me”? “Yes, I collaborated with Jim Estes”? “Yes, I undermined the National Office, the board, bullied staff and multiple Olympic medalist”?
If you want to call yourself a journalist, do the work. Ask questions. Get the facts. Don’t just run with the narrative handed to you. You are disappointed in Curt??? I’m disappointed so many of you didn’t bother to act in the true nature to your profession, but instead push false narrative.
If you truly investigated and came to the same conclusion, so be it. But you didn’t—and please don’t pretend you did.
I have read every filing in the lawsuit and have put together a detailed timeline here:There is nothing in the statement released by USATF that I did not already know.
As I stated in several videos, even if all of the allegations against Jeré and Kristie are true, I do not personally feel they rose to the level that warranted using Reg 21-T to suspend their memberships.
I disagree that these issues were extremely time sensitive emergencies that justified overriding the USATF's other disciplinary processes. The CEO has the ability to issue other temporary measures short of suspending an entire membership.
240 -
You obviously don’t understand the litigation implications or the necessity of removing individuals who could be adverse to the case. You, Becca, have been an incredible advocate for SafeSport and for protecting athletes and others, which is why it’s disappointing to see you not exercising due diligence or engaging with the broader athlete community on these issue. You’re better than that, and I know you can do better here. Just do your due diligence and be part of the solution.
139 -
I read about how the 1978 Stevens Sports Act was promoted as a savior for rural amatuer Olympic clubs run by parents of Olympic hopefuls from a shoe box in the trunk of the car. It was actually Hollywood TV and the IOC dumping the non money makers from their responsibility of paying for us all. Highway Robbery.
12 -
Two sides wrote:
You obviously don’t understand the litigation implications or the necessity of removing individuals who could be adverse to the case. You, Becca, have been an incredible advocate for SafeSport and for protecting athletes and others, which is why it’s disappointing to see you not exercising due diligence or engaging with the broader athlete community on these issue. You’re better than that, and I know you can do better here. Just do your due diligence and be part of the solution.
I'm a little confused. Do you think that Becca is a journalist, or trying to be? The timeline she posted seems fairly neutral, and in any case includes a link to all the trial documents -- where "both sides" have a chance to tell their story. What does any of this have to do with the "broader athlete community"? Why do they need to be engaged? How does a suspending the memberships remove individuals from the case, or otherwise have any litigation implications -- the suspended members will still testify, hopefully uninfluenced by the suspension.
230 -
They f**ked with a lawyer?
God I cannot wait to see them get annihilated in court.
This post was edited 14 seconds after it was posted.40
2 posts were removed from this page.
What People Are Talking About On LetsRun
No top threads at the moment. Check back soon.