Doug Logan on the USATF Board of Directors

It boils down to the question of whether or not you think business savvy is more important than knowledge of the sport.

Do the commissioners of professional sports leagues on a day-to-day basis deal with anything remotely tied into their sport? It's a business.

I think one problem with the USATF is that it's partly a business and partly a governing body for non-profit and unprofitable running and T&F. And for the profitable part, the athletes all get paid individually by shoe companies, etc.

That makes it more complicated than something like the NBA or NFL where it's really just group of for-profit businesses with a fairly small number of financial stakeholders. David Stern just has to make money for 30 businesses, where the USATF is a lot messier.

Don't forget:

Term Limits: No person may spend more than 4 years at Director or higher salaried and volunteer position, or combination therof.

Internet Voting: USATF members may vote via the internet from locations anywhere in the world.

Hightower would never be satisfied with a CEO that she didn't install herself...such is the ego of the woman. Logan was warned by many when she succeeded Roe as President that his days were numbered. It took her some time to get her ducks in a row and get the Board in line, but in the end she got her way. Oh, and Mike Conley is the rumored Hightower favorite to replace Doug, assuming she can push the unqualified hack past the search committee she has to assemble.

Michael Young wrote:

Hightower would never be satisfied with a CEO that she didn't install herself...such is the ego of the woman. Logan was warned by many when she succeeded Roe as President that his days were numbered. It took her some time to get her ducks in a row and get the Board in line, but in the end she got her way. Oh, and Mike Conley is the rumored Hightower favorite to replace Doug, assuming she can push the unqualified hack past the search committee she has to assemble.

Hope that is only a rumor. Given his history (relationship with Sandra Farmer Patrick and financial shenanigans with PAA fundings), this would be the end of the organization as we know it. The good news (for Micheal epsecially) is that is a NBA agent for his son and Greg Oden. USATF CEO cannot moonlight - I bet the contract even says so....

I know it's going to be painted as totally racist, but it seems to me that all the shenanigans in USATF are caused by the black former athletes who are latched to the USATF teet.

idiots... idiots everywhere... wrote:

I know it's going to be painted as totally racist, but it seems to me that all the shenanigans in USATF are caused by the black former athletes who are latched to the USATF teet.

Going to be? It looked that way straight off the factory floor.

I know it's going to be painted as totally racist, but it seems to me that all the shenanigans in USATF are caused by the black former athletes who are latched to the USATF teet.

I doubt it is white/black thing. Chaplin is whiter than snow and as dirty as the rest. Chaplin, Hightower, Johnson, Farmer-Patrick and Conley are unique in their ability to work the system for their own benefit. Some take trips and hotel suites, others get power and ego. Maybe even a little of cash sticking to some fingers. Throw in low level hacks like Lionel Leach and it is truly hall of fame worthy for scammers.

The thing is, this crap happens at your local government (brother in law gets the contract from the town council), church (pastor lives high end lifestyle funded by the members), corporation (CEO pads expense accounts while making 500K/1M a year), and so on. Read the paper. I think Conley and others are just connecting the dots - they see the bad acts in other walks of life and wonder "why not here?" Any wonder that at least two of the evil empire are in local politics (SH, LL) and two from the college scene (JC, BJ). Add in two athletes from the under the table era (MC, SFP) and it all makes sense.

I saw the Treaurer letter on usatf.org. What caught my eye? The travel policies. They seem very reasonable and, daresay, professionally written. I suspect a holdover from Masback times. I wonder about the compliance rate with CEO and the Board - you always hear whining about hotel suites. I am curious since the Board cannot directly pull out cash (compensation or unsubstantiated expenses) so I see travel as the real key the rip off.

I used to be active in local and national stuff with finance role so I have some idea of the issues. Benn out of it for a few years but wonder if I will get re-engaged when (if) the kids stay with running. If i can haul a*s out of bed to mark long jumps at a youth track meet or try and raise money for club uniforms, I want a least a little professionalism at the top.

USATF volunteers ain't getting paid yet they work hard for it like seed races, spend hours on the phone verifying times, write press releases, take photos with $10,000 cameras, travel on their own dime, officiate with their own gear in tow. Only a few volunteers at the very top get re-imbursed. The main thing I'd like to see is for the few dollars volunteers get to be spread around. We should have term limits at high posts so other deserving souls get a chance at the high life for a few years. We should have internet voting to increase involvement and democracy.

Conley? Pleaseeeee wrote:

Hope that is only a rumor. Given his history (relationship with Sandra Farmer Patrick and financial shenanigans with PAA fundings), this would be the end of the organization as we know it. The good news (for Micheal epsecially) is that is a NBA agent for his son and Greg Oden. USATF CEO cannot moonlight - I bet the contract even says so....

PAA. What is that?

It sounds to me like a scam from the very beginning. The board was infatuated with Doug Logan when they hired him and felt that way long enough to give him a raise (and therefore bigger severence package) weeks before he was let go, leaving Stephanie Hightower in a good position to wage a campaign for the position.

Thank you, USOC, for seeing this corruption and interceding

All other issues aside, I don't think we can view the raise as them changing their minds overnight. Realistically, people must have been opposed to the raise and there's a good chance that, due to cause and effect, the fact that he did get the raise moved them to do the investigation to unseat him. I think it makes perfect sense to see him get a raise and then see people cry foul at him.

PAA. What is that?

Professional Athletes Assoc. The pseudo trade group, faux player's union formed by Conley and Framer-Patrick. It never took off as the serious athletes don't have the time nor the funds to underwrite the activities. Some legit types are on board (Adam Nelson) but mostly has beens (Sandra) and never beens (Dexter McCloud) trying to stir up trouble.

The main issue is their insistence in controlling USOC and other funds restricted for elite athlete development. The idea has no merit since the group is not accountable (to USOC, etc.) and lacks structure to run grant-driven projects.

PAA was behind the infamous $150K "retreats" for the athletes (maybe 50-75 attended). Cancun, South Beach, Vegas.

The board thought that giving Logan a raise would make him so happy that he would include them in USATF's future operations with commensurate perks. But Logan planned to drastically reduce their participation and drop their perks to an absolute minimum. Logan felt the board as useless people in a professional sports capacity. They fired him rather than step aside for the good of our sport. Now we need Bill Roe, USOC, Senator Orrin Hatch, and Congress to rescue and re-organize USATF.

Outside the Norm wrote:

The board thought that giving Logan a raise would make him so happy that he would include them in USATF's future operations with commensurate perks. But Logan planned to drastically reduce their participation and drop their perks to an absolute minimum. Logan felt the board as useless people in a professional sports capacity. They fired him rather than step aside for the good of our sport. Now we need Bill Roe, USOC, Senator Orrin Hatch, and Congress to rescue and re-organize USATF.

Whether Logan thought the Board was useless or not was irrelevant. He knew he had to kiss a*s to survive and he did. He pissed off the AAC and some constituents (or benita pissed off some constituents) but otherwise delivered the basic perks and kissed the correct rear ends. Someone said it elsewhere - Stephanie figured that supporting Logan was not politically smart (the AAC types demanded some action, maybe the hacks cut from the Board wanted some power back). Once she saw little to gain in supporting him, she cut him loose. Doug thought he was playing the game but Stephanie played him.

the real question is how they proceed with a new CEO. If Hightower/Miller/Wickens/Banks does not want job, do they install a puppet or try to actually get a winner?