Vin Lananna being placed on "Administrative Leave" by USATF board!

Vin Lanana is a Nike whore, so why would the other Nike whore, USATF want him gone? I guess too many Nike whores involved might rock the apple cart.

Stop the madness ... wrote:

Someone needs to run against, and defeat Hightower when she runs for IAAF delegate in December. That gets her off the Board ...

Someone did run against Hightower last time, and did defeat her - at least in the membership vote. The board still appointed her. That said, I thought she had left or resigned (but is still on the USATF board).

gaglrsge78 wrote:

Vin Lanana is a Nike whore, so why would the other Nike whore, USATF want him gone? I guess too many Nike whores involved might rock the apple cart.

Maybe Vin is actually trying to make USATF a more efficient organization and however as much you do not like him perhaps he is a pretty good bureaucrat that is making those less competent nervous. The idea of volunteer organizations is a neat idea but understand when one currency (money) goes out another (power/perks) comes into play. Perhaps he has threatened to decrease one some of the later and nobody like that.

Shoebacca wrote:

How about we turn this into an anti-Hightower thread instead. She has to be the worst thing about the USATF in its history.

I'm hesitant to get on board an anti-Nike or anti-Vin bandwagon when it comes to USATF. Nike has paid more than anyone to try and get USATF to be solvent. Vin is just about the only coach/manager who has any experience filling the stands at a track meet and by virtue of getting his athletes to perform. USATF had to say yes to the Nike deal and they would have been dumb to not take Vin when the opportunity presented itself.

Vin isn't the CEO of USATF. He's the volunteer president. It wasn't an opportunity "USATF" had to say yes to. He ran for election and won unopposed when Jackie Joyner dropped out.

I'm not quite sure why the Board wants Vin out so much. He isn't the CEO, he can't vote on issues involving tracktown USA, and I haven't seen him rock the applecart much in the last year. How long can someone stay on the Board? Steve Miller and Hightower have been prominent figures for how long?

polevaultpower wrote:

All volunteers at Association track meets (for all ages, even masters-only meets) will have to do the background check ($16) and SafeSport Training (90 minutes) and as of right now, this means you also have to buy a $30 USATF membership too.

This isn't just certified officials. This is the dad raking the long jump pit, the boyfriend putting up the pole vault crossbar, the kids running the concession stand.

What a great $ making strategy! Not only charge us athletes membership and entry fees to compete in events they then make money off from NBC or subscriptions on USATFtv, but also make the officials have to pay to officiate!

Not sure how think entry fees pay for a TV broadcast. If you want to watch competitions, show up and buy a ticket or pay to watch it online. NBC Gold is a pretty good deal if you want to watch the professional meets. Almost any meet that's on TV or streamed with decent quality is probably losing money.

And why is having to be certified to officiate or interact with youths such a bad thing. If its has to be broader thing to make sure there is at least some level to accountability, so be it. I don't understand how the BS going on with Vin ties into this topic. Confuses the issues.

Miller and Hightower along with the rest of the board have set up a system of self empowerment and control. Their control of all aspects without interference is a primary goal. When you get to a point that its impossible to loose a board seat or overturn voting results you have lost control of the organization.

This board should be replaced and replenished on regular basis to keep it fresh with new ideas coming into the organization.

Vin is a threat not so much for what he has or has not done, he is a threat to the board because he has the interest of DOJ in its investigation. If the DOJ looks into USATF and its operations, finances, board practices it my unearth some not so nice practices and implicate the board and other parties.

Wejo, this is all about the 'Siegel/Hightower' faction of the board protecting their own. Max is there because of Hightower and her friends on the board - with Hightower off the board, Max would be out - it's that simple. The only reason Hightower is on the board is because her position as the USA rep to the IAAF council grants her a board seat. Now, Hightower is up for re-election at the Annual Meeting this year. Given that her board overrode the vote of the membership to put her on the Council a few years ago, I can't see the delegates re-electing her. What's more, it's much more difficult for the board to overturn a vote by the membership - I believe that 3/4 of the board would have to agree to overturn a vote now, and I can think of several board members who would not do that under any circumstances.

So the S/H faction of the board had to do something to re-assert it's control. Essentially getting rid of Vin would accomplish this. My guess is that Conley will serve until December, then there will be a special election at the Annual Meeting this year for a new President. The Siegel/Hightower faction will come up with someone who they prefer - and campaign long and hard to get that person elected. Max keeps his job, and the membership is so consumed with the Presidential election that the re-election of Hightower to the IAAF Council doesn't get the attention it deserves.

It's my belief that the only way to stop this is for the athletes to step up and defend Vin, using many of the arguments that we all have seen with regard to conficts, etc. In addition, a strong candidate (Becca - are you listening?) needs to step up and challenge Hightower for the IAAF seat. Otherwise, we'll be back where we started from a few years ago ...

gaglrsge78 wrote:

Vin Lanana is a Nike whore, so why would the other Nike whore, USATF want him gone? I guess too many Nike whores involved might rock the apple cart.

Or maybe your Nike conspiracy theory is incoherent.

It is not at all clear what will happen regarding a presidential election, or not, at the Annual Meeting.

The Board does not have the power to "remove" the President. They deemed him "temporarily unable to serve." That would NOT translate to an election. If nothing else changes between now and then, Mike Conley would remain as President and become Board Chair.

But of course there will probably be a grievance or a complaint with the USOC or an attempt to get an injunction from a court, things are unlikely to remain as they are today. And once we get to the Annual Meeting, if nothing is resolved by then, there will be the most epic floor fight ever, and we can theoretically take all kinds of actions. But the membership cannot call a meeting of the delegates prior to that point, only the Board can.

As far as IAAF Council seat, yes that is an important election, and one that is going to happen regardless of anything else here. Finding a suitable candidate who is willing to run against Stephanie will be challenging. Remember that it is simply our nomination for Council. They have to be elected by the IAAF Congress. We can certainly put forth a different candidate, but it has to be someone electable, otherwise we have no one on the IAAF Council and that person would also not be on our Board of Directors.

Oh as far as Max's job, even if the Board composition changed and they decided they weren't happy with him, it would make sense for him to serve out his contract, unless something super pressing came up.

BS wrote:

Maybe Vin is actually trying to make USATF a more efficient organization and however as much you do not like him perhaps he is a pretty good bureaucrat that is making those less competent nervous. The idea of volunteer organizations is a neat idea but understand when one currency (money) goes out another (power/perks) comes into play. Perhaps he has threatened to decrease one some of the later and nobody like that.

I don't think Vin has made any threats to anyone! His presence is a threat to the powers that be. Vin has been trying to work with them, not threaten them.

We need a candidate who is electable on the world stage so we don't lose the seat. Becca does great work here but I don't think she would be elected internationally. Any other candidates?

Hannibal wrote:

We need a candidate who is electable on the world stage so we don't lose the seat. Becca does great work here but I don't think she would be elected internationally. Any other candidates?

Hahaha yeah no worries, I would not be a good candidate and have zero interest in running!

Well said but you thoughts don't get to the root of the core problem. You have a board that rules all to their own bidding. This board has to be rotated out and get new blood in vs a protective cover my backside and Ill cover yours approach. No board should be in place this long given the number of issues over the years. Write in term limits, get Miller to step down or have the board and executive team submit to a full accounting forensic audit and data audit. Should have nothing to hide in the spirit of transparency, right?

We should be able to see all of Max's business dealings. ( think Trump style relationships using his office for personal monetary gain)

a.k.a. the Nike Register-Guard

We also need a full disclosure of the conflicts of interest that Mike Conley has. Isn't he a sports agent, and also involved with a Chicago bid group, and other things?

NRG wrote:

a.k.a. the Nike Register-Guard

Vin's relationship to Nike, UO and Track Town USA are the problem. Why did Jackie Joyner-Kersee drop out of the election all of a sudden? What's up Vin's sleeve?

Come on people...

Mike wants the seat Stephanie has but can’t hold this December. JJK never wanted to be the Prez, she was a willing Board stooge til she realized she had no chance to win.

Vin is dirty as all get out. The “Listening Tour” was a master stroke but with some small inconsequential exceptions it’s just PR.

The bid was dirty, TrackTown and Indy are a Civil War with NIKE playing both sides.

NBC doesn’t know who to deal with cause Vin tries to end run Indy.

Max wants to appear authoritative to line up the next USOC Head job. His bulletproof car in Rio may have made him feel like a player but it’s cost is one of a hundred reasons that Indy can’t pay bills on time.

Keep up would ya?