the fish rots from the head wrote:
What stinks the most to me is that Siegel justifies how much he costs USATF by taking credit for the Nike contract, when it was actually 2 outsiders (former Nike employees, of course) that negotiated the contract and were paid a $23 million commission for doing Siegel's job for him.
I love following this sport. The lies. The corruption. The money.
Meanwhile, 95% of the sport's "pro" athletes can't make rent in the sport.
Why do we need to wait for Congress to do something? Of course I am mad at Siegel and USATF. I do not pay membership because I know it is a sham.
I am also mad at the athletes. They could kill USATF in one year if they refused to go to their events. Now that the Olympics are over, now is the time to find a new organization. Remember, professional T&F does not exist without the athletes. If they want it to end then they need to get off their asses and do something.
Yo Jo wrote:
Why do we need to wait for Congress to do something? Of course I am mad at Siegel and USATF. I do not pay membership because I know it is a sham.
I am also mad at the athletes. They could kill USATF in one year if they refused to go to their events. Now that the Olympics are over, now is the time to find a new organization. Remember, professional T&F does not exist without the athletes. If they want it to end then they need to get off their asses and do something.
Can't say I disagree with this. The Olympic athletes as a whole would be much better off if they boycotted the Olympics and staged their own Olympics and distributed the money among themselves rather off the administrators who are living large off the athletes. This would take coordination from athletes of many disciplines and nations so it will almost certainly never happen. But itshe depressing how little of the money the athletes make for usatf goes back to them. Usatf pays the best athletes less than 100k a year yet max makes almost 2million.
Yo Jo wrote:
Why do we need to wait for Congress to do something? Of course I am mad at Siegel and USATF. I do not pay membership because I know it is a sham.
I am also mad at the athletes. They could kill USATF in one year if they refused to go to their events. Now that the Olympics are over, now is the time to find a new organization. Remember, professional T&F does not exist without the athletes. If they want it to end then they need to get off their asses and do something.
Totally agree.
a). The athletes live in poverty / low income and fear of the hand/s that feed them.
b). They have no balls.
c). the road runners and Pre, back in the day had the spirit of rebellion, Vietnam War protests etc., in them and said "eff" it, let's take prize money / pay.
--The system caved with the trust funds...and the system was eventually reformed.
With the exception of Nick Symmonds, who took a shot... The athletes today are too selfish and gutless to organize and get behind a collective action.
RaceBaiter wrote:
As predicted, the company mouthpiece reprinted a memo from Max and Jill:
http://www.3wiresports.com/2016/10/07/race-based-character-assassination/The expected response was limited:
1. Lies from disgruntled ex-employees
2. Everyone hates a successful black man
We have a winner. Number 2. The first does not work with the evidence you know.
Alan Abrahamson is in a tough spot. A fired "Olympic beat writer" has little chance of earning a living based on his writing alone. Click bait blogging, maybe? Real journalism, no chance. At least he can pull a few thou a month reprinting press releases from Max.
Newsflash: Max signs 20 sponsors in his first month - 19 more than USATF ever had!!!
Newsflash: Max leads american team to record medal haul - personally helps USA end steeple drought.
Newsflash: Max breaks down barriers, MLK Streets across the country renamed to honor the man!!
God,
Alan's columns really bothers me.
Yes. Every criticism of Max Siegel is racist. Please.
Has Alan ever heard of Dennis Kozlowski?
Alan compares Siegel to a business CEO.
AA wrote:
That Siegel flies business or first-class, or even on a private jet?
People, that’s what business executives do. Why is the black guy getting singled out for that?
Let me answer that - and it has nothing to do with Siegel's race. Siegel is the head of a non-profit. Ritz Carlton? No. If Siegel wants to stay there or fly first class, he should have enough in his own bank account to pay for it since USATF paid him $1.7 million but I'm not sure if he does as the article reveals he was being evicted from NY a few years ago apparently.
The biggest problem I have is it reveals that Siegel's biggest accomplishment - - the Nike deal (one which I think is a bad deal) - was done by others. And again, people forgot this is a non-profit. You don't pay them $23 million to negotiate it. Anyone with good business sense, would have a cap on their commission.
All of the other deals that Alan has hyped up in past columns appear to be nothing of note - just as I expected. Rosetta stone.
Does Alan Abrahamson really believe that Max Siegel is why Team USA won 32 medals in Rio? I hope not. We won 25 in 2015. What changed? Nothing really. Russia got banned and the US distance squad had an amazing meet. Please don't tell me USATF has anything to do with US distance medals. Maybe field events but not distance.
He acts like breaking 30 medals is some amazing accomplishment. We won 29 in 2012 and would definitely have had 30 if Russia had been banned (Montano would get a medal in the 800 for sure).
Some of Alan's arguments are laughable. He points out that the entire Team USA swim team flew on a charter to Rio. What is that supposed to prove? Yes, we wouldn't have a problem if they were flying the athletes in a charter to the Olympics.
He also complains that the Post doesn't mention that Siegel has allegedly received racist emails and that the Post doesn't mention that 10 of the 15 people on the board are people of color. What does that have to do with any of the allegations in the article? What do those emails have to do with flying first class, paying out $23 million in commissions, possibly violating state sales tax laws, doing business with close associates, etc?
Nothing.
It strikes me that if The Post did mention the diversity of the board they'd probably be accused of being racist since the Board has apparently approved of all of these actions and the board's race has nothing to do with any of this (so if they mentioned it people would view it as a needless take down on minorities).
Siegel is the head of a non-profit.
You need to brush up on how the modern "non-profit" operates. This term is usually one of (considerable) art, with the CEO taking home huge $$$ for any reasonable sized org.
Yo Jo wrote:
Why do we need to wait for Congress to do something? Of course I am mad at Siegel and USATF. I do not pay membership because I know it is a sham.
They were granted monopoly status by Congress and there's no way the IOC will let it go.
Yo Jo wrote:I am also mad at the athletes. They could kill USATF in one year if they refused to go to their events.
No. It's funded by USOC, no matter what. Members don't matter.
He points out that the entire Team USA swim team flew on a charter to Rio
Hmm, I seem to remember at least on the way back (Lochte, et al.) they had to make their own arrangements?
agreee wrote:
a). The athletes live in poverty / low income and fear of the hand/s that feed them.
b). They have no balls.
Wait... They are dirt poor, training in mostly poverty, and in all their spare time supposed to "take on" a monopoly with a 10s of millions of dollars annual budget.
Why don't you get busy getting the Ted Stevens Amateur Sports Act repealed?
wejo wrote:
As for Jill Geer
Sigrid Unset wrote:Jill got her job through nepotism. Every time this is posted blowjo's delete it because they like her / she gives them access / prompt replies.
False. Feel free to say that and leave it at that.
The posts get deleted because you go beyond that. We don't think how she got hired in the first place is relevant to the discussion at hand, considering she has worked for the last three USATF CEOs. I don't think anyone else on the USATF senior staff can say that.
Feel free to discuss how she does her job currently.
I definitely wouldn't say Jill gives us a lot of access. Prompt replies yes. She's got a tough job. Often we contact her about something people are upset about with USATF and her job is often like it is with this USATF/Washington Post article- to manage the situation, try and put a positive spin on it. I wouldn't want her job because organizations/people screw up (some more so than others) and the PR person is supposed to put a positive spin on it. In this Washington Post article, Jill even had to try and put a positive spin on Renne Washington calling her [Jill] a bitch.
From the Post:
"Henson provided a copy of an email in which Washington wrote to Henson, of Geer: “Jill is a bitch.â€
“I can’t personally recall ever hearing [Washington] use an expletive to refer to any colleague,†Geer wrote."
Wejo, Geer's reputation as "Baghdad Bobbi" is well deserved. She will put topspin on the spin if hertold to do so. Let's not forget USATF perpetuated her husband's juvenile fantasy of being a pop star by employing his really lame lounge act (Velveteen Playboys) at USATF events. This is both a conflict of interests and a cruel aural torment on the membership.
If Geer goes down with Siegel she'll be rewarded with a job at Nike for her loyal service. Birds of a feather.
All companies are the same
Primo Numero Uno wrote:
The fact that the Nike deal goes so long weakens it further. The people touting it have never heard of inflation apparently.
Also if it was only negotiated with Nike and no one bid against almost certainly it was way less than the deal should have been worth for USATF.
At the trials in LA it was pathetic. After the athletes finished, dehydrated and spent from the heat, no thank to the race organizers for not adding additional water stops, they had a luxury area set up for Max and his pals catered and stocked with fantastic beverages. Meanwhile the athletes got a tiny bottle of water and told to screw off if they even looked at the luxury tent.
And don't even ask about the lack of anything at the medical tent, which you know is kind of important when you have elites racing a marathon in brutal conditions. $50 spent at the dollar store could have better stocked the med tent. But who cares, Max got to stay at the Ritz!
I'm not a USATF apologist, but that was the LOC, not USATF.
Thank you....... wrote:
What Vin wants, Vin gets wrote:If anything, Vin is a Vin pawn. He's just another player in the game he is playing.
If you really know Vin, he's a Track and Field evangelist. THAT'S the most accurate description of him.
Now, someone who's reached his status is bound to have detractors or someone who felt slighted by him. I got to know him after reading smears etc. about him here. And found him to be way-y the opposite.
Nice guy, down to earth, loves and cares about this sport immensely. At his age he could easily be retired and taking long vacations to exotic locales with his wife...like a lot of retired successful people. He's extending his career years to fight for the rebuilding of this sport.
To do that, one would be smart to be close to Nike. And it isn't like he sought out Nike... They recruited him away from a job he was happy with and was going to taper off his career with.
Let's at least be realistic and accurate with who the man is in day to day life. (This board is not exactly a place of accuracy or realism, with this story though, there should be enough readers who know how much Vin and Track Town have busted their arses to move track forward.
Anyone who was at one of the last 3 OT's can see there were a lot of fun things there for fans, and a lot of attention to detail. He's already set for life financially; it's all about rebuilding the sport for him.
Cleary you don't know Vin.
This guy is cut from the same cloth, sleazy dirt ball, grandstanding con artist.
For some reason USATF attracts this type as its seen as easy picked for opportunist's like Vin, like Max, like Hightower, Logan , Cassell. If you do a full forensic USATF audit and held people accountable for the graft, fraud and abuse of funds, people would go to jail.
The sad thing, none of this new info, yes now its in print with greater detail.
But what can be done about it? Can any of the employed individuals be fired in including Greer for the cover up? You have a tainted board as well.
Siegal signs a 20 yr agreement with Nike to collect 20 years worth of bonuses. I'd like to knock his teeth out for that.
Ms or Mr. Central:
You are trashing Lananna, but perhaps you need not worry. With the composition of the current board and a huge number of athletes, JJK may sail to victory. Is that what you want?
I'm for Vin. But even if he wins, I don't expect him to be able to get rid of Max. Maybe he can reign in his opulent lifestyle at the expense of the non-profit organization. He will be 1000% better than Stephanie.
I'm glad he refused the job that went to Max, though. I think he's already accomplished far, far more at TrackTown USA than he would have been able to accomplish as the board's employee. He does all the work (World Indoor, Trials, upcoming World Outdoor), and Max and USATF attend, enjoy 4-star hotels, lounge around with free food and drink and shade, and attempt to take credit for those events. Those guys like Max don't even watch the meets, they just schmooze and get wined and dined.
Maxx Seagull wrote:
Primo Numero Uno wrote:The fact that the Nike deal goes so long weakens it further. The people touting it have never heard of inflation apparently.
Also if it was only negotiated with Nike and no one bid against almost certainly it was way less than the deal should have been worth for USATF.
At the trials in LA it was pathetic. After the athletes finished, dehydrated and spent from the heat, no thank to the race organizers for not adding additional water stops, they had a luxury area set up for Max and his pals catered and stocked with fantastic beverages. Meanwhile the athletes got a tiny bottle of water and told to screw off if they even looked at the luxury tent.
And don't even ask about the lack of anything at the medical tent, which you know is kind of important when you have elites racing a marathon in brutal conditions. $50 spent at the dollar store could have better stocked the med tent. But who cares, Max got to stay at the Ritz!
I'm not a USATF apologist, but that was the LOC, not USATF.
Wrong. USATF is the boss.
You have to ask yourself who is after Max Siegel.
This is WAPO after all. No journalism, all agenda. Just another tool in the hands of the oligarchs.
Pro"s who can't make it financially, a youth program That doesn't care about youth only billing every single penny they can get out of every kids family, Drug cheats in paid positions, and unkind people in every department from bottom to top....
And yet the selfish self appointed king gets fat.
Shameful!!!!!
So how does an investigation/audit get initiated? Local usatf offices? We can't trust miller and his flunkies to help. Usoc?
If athletes bitch then they risk losing money from USATF, so you won't hear from athletes. Since parents and spouses pay for 90% of athlete expenses maybe the parents will bitch, but then USATF will cut off their kids. If we start a petition, those who sign will get cut off by USATF. Those who tweet or instagram will get cut off by USATF. So we have no choice but to contact the Federal Bureau of Investigation and let them handle it.