USATF Communications Director Jill Geer Writes on Logan Severance

Jill's in an odd spot. She has an undeniable love of the sport and has a great relationship with the athletes. She's the only person I admire at USATF - there isn't a second one - but rolling with the shifting tides has got to make things a little tough for her. Fortunately for her, she's not anywhere near Indianapolis.

Looks like she's sticking to the USATF story that Logan was fired with cause. I wonder if they're keeping something from the press at the moment to improve their legal/bargaining position later.

And the important thing that you guys are pointing out, Wejo, isn't just that the new contract (may) leads to higher severance. Regardless of the couple hundred grand one way or the other, the point is why go through the motion of spending money on lawyers to research and draw up a new contract, at Logan's request, when you intend on firing him? The timing just makes the board look like chickens running around with their heads cut off, acting totally on a whim like a goldfish that can't remember anything for more than a couple of seconds.

I would fire her.

This is going to be litigated, or at least negotiated under the threat of litigation.

There is nothing she can say or do that will help the legal position of the USATF.

If I were on the legal team I would shut them all up and let Logan keep on talking until he trips and falls on the end of his own gun as it fires off a couple rounds.

Logan's reps had better shut him up as well, unless it is a well designed plan to sucker the USATF into saying or doing something dopey.

Either way, both sides are out of their leagues, which. I guess, puts them in each other's leagues. Quite entertaining.

I'm surprised Logan can go around showing his employment contract to people but perhaps there are state laws saying and employee has the right to publicize his terms of employment?

This is a negotiation. Logan of course should insist he's owed the full amount of his contract. USATF should say he's not. And then the negotiation starts. The courts may get involved but that brings costs to both parties. Since USATF is a non-profit they'll likely have to reveal what they pay Logan in severance so I'm thinking we'll see how this plays out.

wejo wrote:

I'm surprised Logan can go around showing his employment contract to people but perhaps there are state laws saying and employee has the right to publicize his terms of employment?.

I thought most people in his position didn't have a right to NOT publicize the terms of employment?

why did the title get changed to 0?

Jill has written back with Jeff Darman's full quote to the Eddie Pells the AP writer:

"At Doug Logan's continuing requests we adjusted his contract with assistance a compensation consultant brought on board in late 2009. The mutual goal was to replace a contract that did not meet best practices and had confusing elements .The salary figure in the old contract and the guaranteed bonus and the figure in the new contract are identical. However in other areas the contract had some savings , eliminated several unclear sections and removed some issues that might have become contentious in the future.Bottom line the contract was structured in a clearer way in keeping with best practices and had no substantive effect on finances nor did the severance provisions change to benefit Doug Logan--in fact they resulted in some reduction due to COL changes."

(Earlier I had spelled Jill's last name wrong in the subject of this thread. In trying to change it, I changed the subject line of all the posts in this thread and the time of the posts).