Alan,
I know that you read these boards. Would you mind disclosing whether or not you have ever been paid by USATF in any monetary form? Are you one of the USATF Brand Ambassadors?
This is a genuine question. Please answer your critics once and for all.
Thanks,
Mundus
I'm starting to think that must be the answer
Reminds me of Robert Duvall's character, Max Mercy, in The Natural. Never played baseball, but thought he knew more about it than he did. Had no feeling for the soul of the sport, and ended up doing more damage to it than good. Go away, Alan.
I doubt he is paid, but I would imagine that he receives plenty of perks. The same has to be true of his relationship with the IOC, USOC, etc.
Special Screening wrote:
Reminds me of Robert Duvall's character, Max Mercy, in The Natural. Never played baseball, but thought he knew more about it than he did. Had no feeling for the soul of the sport, and ended up doing more damage to it than good. Go away, Alan.
I don't necessarily think Alan needs to "go away" but I think it is fair to his readers that he divulges whether or not he is a paid brand ambassador for USATF.
Mundus
By the way, The Natural is one of my top five favorite movies.
Neutral Observertard wrote:
I doubt he is paid, but I would imagine that he receives plenty of perks. The same has to be true of his relationship with the IOC, USOC, etc.
The timing of his articles and USATF press releases is striking.
I think if he is paid or not, he should make a public statement.
Mundus Vult Decipi wrote:
Alan,
I know that you read these boards. Would you mind disclosing whether or not you have ever been paid by USATF in any monetary form? Are you one of the USATF Brand Ambassadors?
This is a genuine question. Please answer your critics once and for all.
Thanks,
Mundus
Everyone knows he's a shill. lol
Grow up son .
The posts on this message board written to impress and get the positive feedback of the brojos and vox populi is embarrasing.
The assumptive link of symmonds to usatf to nike to nop to 'please wejo, acknowledge me' is so so sad ...
Nike has propped up running in this country for decades...
If you cant fathom that, then you are a parochial thinker and good luck gunctioning in an integrated world .
Go read AA's previous critiques, you will have a better understanding if what a real journalist is all about .
Mundus Vult Decipi wrote:
Alan,
I know that you read these boards. Would you mind disclosing whether or not you have ever been paid by USATF in any monetary form? Are you one of the USATF Brand Ambassadors?
This is a genuine question. Please answer your critics once and for all.
Thanks,
Mundus
I know that he kept writing about how Boston shouldn't have the bid and how LA deserves the bid which is great and all that he loves LA. Than I started thinking about how USATF ignored the athletes and gave LA the bid instead of Houston for the Olympic Trials Marathon. Now with the way he is obviously supporting USATF and ignoring many facts that prove he is wrong I wonder if the whole LA vs Boston thing had more to do with just being a puppet for USATF and USOC... I would be shocked if there isn't some sort of connection whether financial or perks given to him for his blogs.
I am merely asking Abrahamson to do what he also demands of Symmonds. If AA is not being compensated by USATF, then just publicly say so. If he is, then publicly say so. Those are--to quote him--"reasonable question that, again, go to credibility."
Alan Abrahamson wrote:
First: was the study commissioned by the Track and Field Athletes Association, an advocacy group? Was Zimbalist paid for his opinion? Did he share his valuable time for free? These are reasonable questions that, again, go to credibility. It’s on Symmonds to provide those answers if he is citing to the study as authority.
Time for the NIKE wall to come down? Then why don't the other shoe companies start "showing the money" instead of whining and complaining that NIKE always takes center stage. Nobody bid against NIKE in their $500M contract with USATF. It's a very simple process, you got to bring the money baby, or you don't play.
evasive fool wrote:
Time for the NIKE wall to come down? Then why don't the other shoe companies start "showing the money" instead of whining and complaining that NIKE always takes center stage. Nobody bid against NIKE in their $500M contract with USATF. It's a very simple process, you got to bring the money baby, or you don't play.
The process wasn't open to other bidders. It was a closed bid.
Moreover, the point is that Nike will outbid anyone to maintain its stranglehold on the governing body and the National Team. So much so, that other brands have shifted their marketing approach to other demographics (youth, middle of the packers, etc). Nike's rule has actually reduced opportunities for elite athletes not increased them.
Their running shoe sales reflect that they produce terrible running shoes.
paid brand ambassador or fawning jock-sniffer, either way the guy is a tool.
It was a closed bid for a contract that didn't expire until 2018. The other companies were probably as shocked as everybody else when an announcement came out 5 years before the contract expired that extended it through 2040. They probably also laughed at the fact USATF would be getting hurt by the deal when you factor in the value of the dollar by 2040...
For me, the saddest revelation in all of this is that the USATF's annual budget is about equal to Clayton Kershaw's (who is brilliant) 2015 salary. I know T&F isn't very popular, but wow. Brutal.
It makes financial sense. After all the entire USA is chomping at the bit to cash in on the 2014 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles.
Mundus Vult wrote:
Egun wrote:Nike has propped up running in this country for decades...
If you cant fathom that, then you are a parochial thinker and good luck gunctioning in an integrated world .
Go read AA's previous critiques, you will have a better understanding if what a real journalist is all about .
Egun,
I will skip over your ad hominem attacks since we both know that I could care less about what people think of me anymore. And, yes, I know exactly who you are.
Instead, let me take on your last and only argument that "Nike has propped up running in this country for decades . . . ."
Nike has "propped up running in this country for decades" in the same way that the Berlin wall kept East Germans "safe" from the West for a few decades. Nike has more money than everyone else. Everyone gets that. That doesn't mean, however, that they should continue as Emperor of Track Town. If you are judging Nike solely on how they have helped develop the sport over the past 20 years, they are--on balance--doing an average job (at best). Their running shoe sales reflect this. Nike hasn't connected the millions of hobby joggers to the elite side of the sport. They haven't built events that have mass appeal (except, perhaps, NXN). Their brand image doesn't resonate with the youth market in the same way as New Balance and Brooks do. And, the strong arm they use to rule continues to drive people away from the Iron Swoosh.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the Nike wall, there are all manner of companies, coaches and events that are doing Track and Field better than Nike. Other entities with different ideas and different approaches to Track and Field are thriving. Small companies are finding ways to connect with niche runners. Non-traditional running shoe companies are attracting Olympic athletes. Grassroots events are bringing track back into the limelight. Track and Field is somehow growing despite the impediments of the governing body. Think about that for a moment? Most people involved in Track and Field see the Nike backed governing body of Track as an impediment to growing the sport.
It is long past time for the wall to come down.
To be clear, that's all people want: for the future of Track and Field to be determined by more than Stephanie Hightower and Nike's money. No one is saying that Nike doesn't belong in that future. They are just saying that Nike shouldn't get to dictate it through the mouthpiece of the governing body.
Mundus
I'm beginning to think you are the one being paid to post this nonsense on this message board. Who do you work for Mundus ?
pants on fire wrote:
I'm beginning to think you are the one being paid to post this nonsense on this message board. Who do you work for Mundus ?
A consulting firm that does nothing related to track and field.
Tell me what I posted is nonsense?
Also, tell me why Alan has refused to answer this question even though it has been posed many times? It seems simple to me for him to release a statement that he is an independent journalist who has never been compensated by USATF.
Mundus Vult wrote:
pants on fire wrote:I'm beginning to think you are the one being paid to post this nonsense on this message board. Who do you work for Mundus ?
A consulting firm that does nothing related to track and field.
Tell me what I posted is nonsense?
Also, tell me why Alan has refused to answer this question even though it has been posed many times? It seems simple to me for him to release a statement that he is an independent journalist who has never been compensated by USATF.
why is Alan required to answer anything on letsrun, and he he is a journalist doing an opinion piece. This is why your post is a bunch of nonsense. What is the name of your consulting firm? Has this consulting firm ever been hired by Nick S or Brooks or any business that has had a conflict with Nike/Nike Industries. Why are you using the Letsrun forum to communicate with Alan Abrahson, when some easy research you could find the address of his publisher. Why do you suspect Alan is being paid by USATF , and you won't ask the USATF legal about there specific payroll.