Could a US runner be successful on a Japanese Corporate Running Team?

Having watched this with great interest, I'm with Nobby on this one.

I spent two years learning Japanese and specifically studying comparative business practices in Japan, US and UK; and worked in the advertising department of a large Japanese company in 1989 that was sponsoring quite a few sporting events. I ran (with Brendan Reilly) for an amateur team in Tokyo, so know nothing of corporate running contracts. I don't know Nobby but his love for the sport is evident, and any friend of Brendan's is a friend of mine.

In my subsequent 20-year business career I have come to feel pretty sure that you have the same proportions of decent people and crooks in all of these countries, and that the vast majority of people - and companies - in Japan and elsewhere are decent if you deal openly and positively with them.

I personally find it strange that Mr. Sheriff could, as he says, "initiate.. probably eight out of ten of the business policies that saved the firm" - implying some serious business skills and seniority - and not get some resolution to this. I don't doubt he has a big problem, but there may be more to this than we know.

I still maintain that it was NUTS all along for people to blame Nobby for bringing the 2006 post to Mazda HR's attention. This is EXACTLY like a teenager wondering how Mom saw the embarrassing stuff on their facebook page. All it takes is ONE runner in the West who watches the site and works for Mazda, or is friends with someone who does, to pass it on and say "hey, what's this about?". Pretty soon a link gets forwarded, and the relevant people in Mazda HR (who, I have no doubt, have stuff to hide) will be smart enough to get a translation and start panicking.

You know, at first I did feel bad for Brian and all that but but to be honest I'm not so sure any more. I was laughing about pre's mustache guy for being so ridiculous but he's got a point. So now Nobby came on and shared his view and all of a sudden, both Brian and pre's mustache completely disappeared? I mean pre's mustache was working so hard, moving his fingers, posting Brian's story by copying and pasting, in his computer room down the basement, pointing fingers, naming names and accusing Nobby of his wrong-doing purely based on his absence. Now Nobby gave his side of story and now nothing? Not even, hey, Nobby you're full of it, we have the evidence of recording from your secret meeting with Mazda that took place in Tokyo bullet train station back in 2006; or geez, I'm sorry, we were wrong?????? Now actually I AM suspicious if any of this is actually for real or not. Maybe Brian was making this all up kuz when you think about it, it really doesn't make sense. So a corporate giant Mazda is holding him hostage to keep his mouth shut and he's free to get on internet to say whatever he wants? There's no lawyer in Japan who wants to fight for a million dollar law suet if in fact the contract actually does exist but nobody actually seen the contract? And now Nobby has "leaked" Brian badmouthing Mazda on public domain and Nobby was the only person in the whole wide world who could inform that to Mazda? This whole thing sounds way too weird.... I actually know Nobby but he's a pretty straight forward kind of a guy and such a scheme is the last thing you would expect from him. I felt bad for Brian at first but now I'm not so sure. Maybe both "Brian" and "Pre's Mustache" are actually Antonio and it's all his usual scheme of defacing Nobby... Or if not, they are both secretly working with Antonio!

it would be nice to have an update from phil @ presmustache or Brian.

I too was siding with them, but som things have become quite suspicious.

1. Brian knew about the random acceleration issues and figured out what caused them....hmmm?

2. He was asked to give insight to a runner going to Boulder named Nobby...yet Nobbby went to school in WA

3. Disappearance of both Brian and Pres mustahce guy.

on behalf of myself and other letsrunners I would like to offer an apology for doubting Nobby.

As for Latimer, he has been a sketchy piece of shit since day 1. His affiliation with the USATF only further provides proof of his corrupt business ethics, lack or morals, and only care about himself attitude. You cant be deeply involved with the USATF without it.

Me fifth. I was reading that blog and it seems like Phil didn't "blog 100%" by doing more homework to get other sides of the stories as well. It's all "Brian said this and that" and end of story.

I do feel bad for Brian too but the whole story is getting to be more and more sketchy. I've known some paranoid people before but thier signature behavior is "the world is against me." According to Brian, the entire nation of Japan, even a Japanese who live in US, is against him, lying to him, making his life miserable, and hiding whatever is necessary to save him. And then IAAF, and then some American people who, supposedly, he love so dearly (to the point where he got upset when Nobby allegedly called them "whimp"). And has anybody even considered the possibility of it's actually Brian who is lying???? Maybe in his mind it's not a lie (another typical paranoid people's behavior) but in reality it is.

If Brian claims that he sent "all the documents to Nobby" which he thinks set him off to team up with Mazda (although I can't imagine any copy of contract could be an insult to anybody...) and Nobby is saying he never received any such hard evidence, one of them is not telling the truth.

Must be terrible to live in a country where you feel the entire country is teaming up against you-including someone you live with; your wife. Isn't your wife Japanese, Brian?

One more thing. If Mazda is buying out all those people, lawyers in Japan and IAAF people and Nobby and they must have some people in Zimbabwe so they can threaten lives of his family.... How much are they spending to "shut him up"? About $800,000? Wouldn't it be easier to just pay him? Like someone else earlier said, yet he has free access to internet to say all these bad things about Mazda.... Frankly if I were a Mazda employee, I'd be pissed off at him as well.

I came in late but been reading this story of Brian Sheriff with great interest. Read some entries at Pre's Mastuche blog as well. I saw that Michigan Runner's article and that's when I started to feel uncomfortable. It seems to me that quite a few notable people, including Boston marathon champion Greg Meyer, and some US lawyers have already looked into this case and it was 7 years ago. Yet obviously NOTHING has come out of this. Michigan Runner is a reputable magazine and not some yahoo blog entry or message board forum. Surely somebody with the appropriate authority must have seen it.So it was 7 years ago. I'm sure it has been hell for Mr. Shriff but it seems to me that he hasn't gone anywhere since then. It is hard for me to believe that all these people who have involved in the past had all been bought off by the evil Japanese corporate giant. Surely it would have been much easier, and probably less costly, for them to just pay him and kick him out of the country? Something illogical about this whole story.

brian sheriff wrote:

Yes indeed, Nobby did work with Mazda.

Mr. Sheriff, I read that long message you had posted about Nobby's involvement with this conspiracy. It all read; "I said this and Mazda people didn't answer. I asked this and Mazda people ignored the question. I contacted Nobby and he never responded...." Out of all that monologue, I couldn't find anything that could conclude that Nobby "indeed" worked with Mazda to frame you. In fact, I had a hard time comprehending what you were trying to say. If this is your logic and your way of thinking, I would hate to say but the problem might actually be with you and not anybody else, not Japanese, not Mazda.

I found this following post by "Anonymous" at Pre's Mastushe blog about Nobby's comment rather interesting. As much as I feel sorry for Mr. Sheriff's (possible) situation and position, I found this guy's comment very much logical. And I'm with eurodonkey here, to accuse Nobby for for being guilty based on not responding your phone call or email 6 years ago is not quite a fair game. Personally I always get a lot of emails and we screen junk mail and sales calls:

Anonymous said...

I'd like to summarize everything here to make sure I understand it correctly. Someone you've never met tells you a compelling story over email involving him as the victim of a far-reaching, 20-year conspiracy involving large corporations, the IAAF, the USATF, the Japanese federation, Japanese immigration, the upper echelons of Hiroshima society, Nobby, and more. Not only does the conspiracy involve him being inexplicably, fraudulently contracted to run when hundreds of others including an African currently running for the same team he alleges defrauded him have been paid hansomely to run, it also involves him somehow obtaining information in Venezuela that makes him a dangerous man. He has been physically threatened and is not allowed to leave the country four years after being laid off despite other Africans who remained in Japan beyond their visa expiration following the termination of their contracts having been deported in far less than four years. He has evidence of it all but will not produce it when asked or says it is missing. Anyone who dismisses his claims is part of the conspiracy and has been paid off by the large corporation. And you accept it all at face value.

It's all certainly possible, but I think there's another possible angle you have not considered. Allow me to continue in a second comment as I've maxed out the length of this one.

January 11, 2011 3:07 AM

Anonymous said...

To continue, quoting from Alistair Munro's 1999 book "Delusional Disorder: Paranoia and Related Illnesses" and the "Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (4th Ed.)":

Delusional disorder: Persecutory Type

This delusion is the most common. It includes the belief that the person (or someone to whom the person is close) is being malevolently treated in some way. The patient may believe that he/she has been drugged, spied-on, harassed and so on and may seek "justice" by making police reports, taking court action or even acting violent.

Factors that play an important role include: social isolation and immigration related to social adversity, racial discrimination, family dysfunction, unemployment or poor housing conditions.

Features:

1.It is a primary disorder. (check)

2.It is a stable disorder characterized by the presence of delusions to which the patient clings with extraordinary tenacity. (check)

3.The illness is chronic and frequently lifelong. (check)

4.The delusions are logically constructed and internally consistent. (definitely check)

5.The delusions do not interfere with general logical reasoning (although within the delusional system the logic is perverted) and there is usually no general disturbance of behavior. If disturbed behavior does occur, it is directly related to the delusional beliefs. (don't know, but likely)

6.The individual experiences a heightened sense of self-reference. Events which, to others, are nonsignificant are of enormous significance to him or her, and the atmosphere surrounding the delusions is highly charged. (check)

Indications:

1.The patient expresses an idea or belief with unusual persistence or force. (check)

2.That idea appears to exert an undue influence on the patients life, and the way of life is often altered to an inexplicable extent. (check)

3.Despite his/her profound conviction, there is often a quality of secretiveness or suspicion when the patient is questioned about it. (check)

4.The individual tends to be humorless and oversensitive, especially about the belief. (don't know, but likely)

5.There is a quality of centrality: no matter how unlikely it is that these strange things are happening to him, the patient accepts them relatively unquestioningly. (check)

6.An attempt to contradict the belief is likely to arouse an inappropriately strong emotional reaction, often with irritability and hostility. (apparently check)

7.The belief is, at the least, unlikely, and out of keeping with the patient's social, cultural and religious background. (check)

8.The patient is emotionally over-invested in the idea and it overwhelms other elements of their psyche. (apparently check)

9.The delusion, if acted out, often leads to behaviors which are abnormal and/or out of character, although perhaps understandable in the light of the delusional beliefs. (don't know, but possibly)

10.Individuals who know the patient observe that the belief and behavior are uncharacteristic and alien. (don't know)

Holy cow...just read through this entire thing (took almost two hours including related articles).

I am at a loss for words and not sure what to say or what to really believe...

To all who have called my plight an illusion...

The story is as I've stated. If in doubt e-mail Mazda HR, attention Mr. Kurosawa. At the same time ask for the current president to repeat the comments he made to the Hiroshima International Center on October 19 2007...

If Nobby did not talk to Mazda that's for him to say.

Funny how you're all saying I left the topic suddenly. I wasn't on Let'sRun.com. I was merely responding to Pre's... there's no good in me talking to someone who'll do no service to me. I've endured the hardship alone for so long I can endure it for as long as it takes.

Just one question for you - why doesn't Mazda sue me?

And Nobby - do tell your lawyer please. That would really get this mess out into the open. I dare you.

Simple - Nobby didn't believe I was telling the truth until I proved it.

One needs to work or live in Japan to understand what happens when a foreign national makes a cliam against a Japanese.

Some have also said I was wrong in citing Nobby's school. I never gave a school. I said I was asked by a guy named Sada - Nobby knows him, to give some advice about Boulder to Nobby. Now you ask Nobby if he did go to Boulder on his first arrival in the US. If he did not that has nothing to do with me. I saimply repeated what his friend asked of me. Nobby's home town has a sister-city relationship with Spokane I believe - I met the Sada guy at Bloomsday when he was a highschool kid sent for the race. I recognised him when I arrived in Hiroshima.

You all are simply jumping in to defend Nobby yet I haven't called him a criminal. I simply allude to the fact that Mazda informed me that he was their source. Now stop making claims that any Mazda worker could have did this or did that. I have the tape from the Mazda meeting.

They didn't hide their gloating about how 'patriotic' he was.

If you have proof, why haven't you reached out to mainstream US media?

So has anything come of this in the past year?

meters wrote:

Since when is Japanese a distance running power. I don't think anyone from Japan has ever broken 3:35 for the 1500 or 13:15 for the 5000. Japan maybe good on the roads but they have not done much on the track. Have you ever seem a Japanese runner in an Olympic 1500 meter final?

Yes....how much better is Japan than the US? Fine they get 200 guys <65 on a course that is probably accurate, but other than that...what? Is it really worth it to subject yourself to the ritualized hazing of a Japanese hierarchy over years for marginal gains?

Is Brian Sheriff update?