Breaking: Max Siegel Expose in The Washington Post - It's going to be tough for him to survive this!!

I like the parts where Jill Geer says Siegel and other executives stay at luxury hotels because other, less expensive hotels are booked. Gosh, if only someone would alert the head of USATF when things like the Olympic Trials are happening so that he can book far enough in advance.

No, Nike deal has nothing to do with Siegel.

I never realized he was black. Where have I been?

smd wrote:

I like the parts where Jill Geer says Siegel and other executives stay at luxury hotels because other, less expensive hotels are booked. Gosh, if only someone would alert the head of USATF when things like the Olympic Trials are happening so that he can book far enough in advance.

Or, scheduling a "business meeting" for the Monday following Trials - that necessitated a five figure private jet. Maybe a meeting with either a) the lawyer that handles lawsuits from former employees or b) that marketing agency (that the director of marketing never heard of) about increasing the kickback.

Not sure what is more galling - burning through millions of dollars in graft, corruption and waste or the BS attitude it is served up with.

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.

Have no love for Craig Masback as a commentator, but the info about his frugality was new to me. I do respect him for that. He at least had some awareness of the fact that the appearance of living lavishly while athletes struggle was not a good thing.

TOTALLY CORRUPT.

Bennett Weiner, chief operating officer of the BBB Wise Giving Alliance, has evaluated 501(c)3 nonprofits for more than 30 years. He said he typically only sees seven-figure pay for CEOs of large public hospitals and universities, whose budgets can stretch into the billions. USA Track and Field’s budget this year is $35 million.

“That is highly unusual,†Weiner said of Siegel’s $1.7 million compensation package in 2016. “That is at the highest end I’ve ever heard of for a nonprofit of that size.â€

"Federation" is an old greek word meaning "Free money and power provided by grifting the suckas"

Highlights:

*First class travel and private jets

*Sent business to his former company-Max over paid for services and possible got something in return like a kickback)

*Had USATF purchase a computer so he could save on sales tax

*Nike deal included more than 20 mil in commission plus Max is getting a healthy annual bonus from it

*Dozens of former staff apparently talked

*Bully staff and even athletes

It is a long article. Some of that stuff seems illegal since USATF is a IRS 501c3 company....any thoughts from the legal minds on this Board?

Could Nike deal be undone if found Max acted illegally?

LRC Note: We've changed the tiel of the thread. It was initially called, "Max Siegel spending and ethics detailed in Washington Post article"

This might be the best piece of sports journalism I've read in years. The two reporters for the Washington Post reporters have turned every rumor I've heard about Max Siegel in recent years into fact.

Literally, it's amazing.

1) It confirms what I always believed. We shouldn't be praising Max because USATF's revenues have nearly doubled. That's almost entirely because of the Nike deal - none of the other deals are even worth 7 figures. And Siegel didn't even negotiate the Nike deal - USATF is paying two former Nike exceuctives $23.75 million for negotiating USATF's deal with Nike!!!

"While Siegel has added a wide array of new sponsors, according to two people with knowledge of financials, the majority of the new cash flowing into USA Track and Field is coming from one sponsor: Nike, which is paying a reported $20 million annually. All of the other partnerships involve six-figure amounts of money, at most, along with in-kind products, according to two people with knowledge of financials."

2) Siegel travels lavishly. Ritz Carlton hotels and private planes.

Check out this excuse:

"At the Olympic marathon trials in Los Angeles this year, staff stayed at a J.W. Marriott while Siegel and other executives stayed at a Ritz-Carlton. The Marriott was overbooked, Geer said, so Siegel and other executives opted for the Ritz."

Another excuse from Jill Geer for Siegel flying 1st class.

“The business of USATF has evolved from what would be more of almost a charity model to a true sports-business model. And with that comes attracting executives who choose USATF over other executive opportunities,” Geer said. “Essentially, we run our business more like a business.”

3) He's had USATF spend a ton of money - possibly more than $200,000 ayear on a marketing company that once billed itself as a "Max Siegel company."

4) If #3 isn't against the law, he apparently did break the law by having USATF buy him a computer (which he then said he'd reimburse them for) so he could save the sales tax. This from a guy who makes more than $1.7 million a year.

5) Text message reveal that Siegel has made threats to people, "I will *** anyone up who goes after me personally."

The Post even has the text messages.

Bravo. Great work Will Hobson and Steven Rich.

I work for a 501(c)3 nonprofit that has a budget north of $50 million per year and our CEO makes less than $200K. Max is making out like a bandit.

rojo wrote:

Bravo. Great work Will Hobson and Steven Rich.

I know some of those former employees. Many had non disclosure agreements for just this reason (max's misdeeds). Some talked off the record or would not talk at all for fear of Max's retaliation. I think there is even more dirt but they could not print it without those people showing evidence or going on the record. The reporter came to Indy several times and tried to meet with Max - that backfired as the reporters had more time to look up former employees and just kept hearing more stories.

I like the google earth picture (it is an old picture as the window signs were changed a while ago). The Siegel agency had several staff on the usatf payroll while doing agency work. None of this is a secret in Indy.

I think Max saw this article coming and could give a damn about the LR (or TFN) message board reaction.

Unbelievable. Apparently nothing has changed in 40 years.

The Washington Post has been amazing this year. Between their political coverage and stuff like this, just amazing reporting. Glad I switched from NYT to their electronic subscription last month; been worth every penny.

Loved this exchange with Jill Geer re: the computer that he specifically had USATF buy "so I may save on taxes etc":

"In an email, Geer denied that Siegel bought the computers through the nonprofit in order to avoid sales tax. “Max requested that an employee with technical expertise assist him in the purchase of computer equipment,” she wrote. “His request had nothing to do with the avoidance of sales tax.”

Later informed of Siegel’s email saying he wanted to “save on taxes,” Geer declined additional comment."

Priceless.

rojo wrote:

This might be the best piece of sports journalism I've read in years. The two reporters for the Washington Post reporters have turned every rumor I've heard about Max Siegel in recent years into fact.

that's what happens when real journalists pay attention to the sport.

they didn't reinvent the wheel. it's just good reporting.

USOC (it's up to them, right?) has to decertify USATF, as has been threatened before. It just has to happen. A slight shifting of the cast of characters hasn't exchanged anything. Abolish USATF now.

If the USATF is a real non-profit organization that is responsive to its members, the next step will be to have a reputable outside accounting firm perform a thorough audit of USATF based on the allegations in this article.

If the USATF now sees itself as really being a for-profit business like the NBA, and is only answerable to Nike, Max will tell critics to get f*cked and nothing will change.

It will be interesting to see which way things go.

mar828 wrote:

Have no love for Craig Masback as a commentator, but the info about his frugality was new to me. I do respect him for that. He at least had some awareness of the fact that the appearance of living lavishly while athletes struggle was not a good thing.

I agree. Also, I'm no fan of Jon Drummond for obvious reasons, but he actually sounds like he was doing the right thing when get got crosswise with Siegel.

Very interesting that Jon Drummond was the ex-athlete that leaked the explicit texts from Siegel.

If we have to rely on former drug cheats to be our whistleblowers, we are in a very sad situation. I hope this story will go mainstream.