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Post by Laura (Lori) on Sept 14, 2012 18:33:33 GMT -8
We've been hearing rumors about this for quite some time, but felt it was prudent to let things work themselves out among the parties involved. Now it's public, so there's no longer a reason to stay on the sidelines, and the subject is open for comments here at BB. In addition to the abuse allegations, the Chicago Tribune article also: calls into question the federation's entire management structure, alleging that a group of "all-powerful" and "self-perpetuating" insiders run the federation instead of the board or the paid management staff.
It also alleges the federation made false filings to the International Revenue Service on its tax filings.Here's the article: U.S. short track skaters charge head coach with abuse Complaint also filed against U.S. Speedskating CEOBy Philip Hersh, Tribune reporter / 2:26 p.m. CDT, September 14, 2012 Fourteen speedskaters have filed a complaint with the U.S. Olympic Committee against U.S. short track head coach Jae Su Chun, citing what their attorney, Edward Williams, called “unchecked abuse” in a letter to U.S. Olympic Committee chief executive Scott Blackmun. Read the entire article: U.S. short track skaters charge head coach with abuse--------------------------- I'd love to be a 'fly on the wall' at the Board Meeting this weekend... Tags: Short Track Speedskating
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Post by Laura (Lori) on Sept 14, 2012 19:06:18 GMT -8
Here's a video that was on the Salt Lake local news (a Top Story, no less) that includes interviews with several of the skaters, and the audio indicates that there's going to be a follow-up on the late news tonight: Short Track Speed Skaters Accuse Coach of Abuse Produced by Michelle Poe By Matt Gephardt www.kutv.com/news/top-stories/stories/vid_2112.shtmlNOTE: Video link is outdated and a replacement could not be foundTags: Jonathan Garcia / Jordan Malone / Levi Kirkpatrick / Jae Su Chun / Short Track Speedskating
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Post by Laura (Lori) on Sept 14, 2012 19:12:13 GMT -8
Here is the official complaint: www.sltrib.com/sltrib/sports/54898027-77/athletes-chun-federation-skaters.html.cspAnd the Salt Lake City Tribune's article on the subject: Speedskaters: Coach abused athletes, officials failed to react Complaints filed by more than a dozen current and former members of the U.S. Speedskating team — including five Olympic bronze medalists, pictured above — say verbal, physical and psychological abuse from coaches was relentless, and claim the federation shrugged off the athletes’ grievances and cheated on its taxes. By Michael C. Lewis | The Salt Lake Tribune / Sept 14, 2012 Short-track coaches within U.S. Speedskating have abused athletes, discriminated against women, engaged in inappropriate sexual behavior and provided alcohol to minors while officials systematically ignored athletes’ complaints about it all, according to complaints filed in the last two weeks by more than a dozen current and former skaters — including five Olympic medalists. Read the entire article: www.sltrib.com/sltrib/sports/54898027-77/athletes-chun-federation-skaters.html.csp?page=1+++ Tags: J.R. Celski / Apolo Anton Ohno / Alyson Dudek / Jordan Malone / Allison Baver / Travis Jayner / Jae Su Chun / Jimmy Jang / Jun Hyung Yeo / Eva Rodansky / Katherine Reutter / Levi Kirkpatrick / Tamara Castellano / Mark Greenwald
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Post by Laura (Lori) on Sept 14, 2012 21:18:37 GMT -8
...and lastly, Michelle (Mtnme) has posted an article that is witty, eloquent and spot-on as it relates to our own long-standing misgivings about USS' management structure and the skaters' financial plight - and I totally agree with her. therockerfund.wordpress.com/2012/09/15/u-s-short-track-skaters-take-a-stand/More later, but it's after 1am my time and I have a hard day of grandbaby-room construction ahead of me tomorrow...
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Post by bubblebuttsbabe on Sept 14, 2012 22:11:54 GMT -8
...and lastly, Michelle (Mtnme) has posted an article that is witty, eloquent and spot-on as it relates to our own long-standing misgivings about USS' management structure and the skaters' financial plight - and I totally agree with her. therockerfund.wordpress.com/More later, but it's after 1am my time and I have a hard day of grandbaby-room construction ahead of me tomorrow... i'm saddened that it took this to get me to login today. that being said, the blog gave me the warm fuzzies (even though i wasn't one of the many who ended up at that us champs...i still think you're all freaking fabulous). i hope this gets rectified asap cause the whole thing just...bites. it's ridiculous on so many levels and i'm even more disappointed in USS than i've ever been. i guess the only thing that we can do is be there for our guys and girls. :]
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Post by Laura (Lori) on Sept 14, 2012 22:38:30 GMT -8
Yeah, I'm still online - this has been a craaazy night, and I've been on email and PM's for the past 5 hours! Hey, Triple B!!!! Glad to see you here, even though it's under less-than-desirable circumstances. Stay awhile...
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Post by Laura (Lori) on Sept 15, 2012 6:13:25 GMT -8
I’ll add more later, but as the news develops, I think it’s important to state the following:
At Boots & Blades, we support ALL of the skaters, including those who are still training with USS coaching. We hold no ill will toward any of the skaters, no matter WHO they’ve chosen to train with - we will continue to support them in equal measure on their threads here and wish them all the best.
One of the primary goals that we have here at BB is to enthusiastically 'champion' all of the skaters, and also to advocate for any changes that ultimately improve their safety/well-being, their financial concerns, and their relationship with (and trust in) their coaches and USS.
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Post by Laura (Lori) on Sept 15, 2012 9:15:42 GMT -8
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Post by sk8er on Sept 15, 2012 18:43:04 GMT -8
I'm sorry I missed this thread and posted under U.S. Shorttrack. Kudos Michelle for your usual straight up comments. As for Lori "What she said..." This site is the closest thing to a professional speedskating news outlet. Anything that is important to the sport is news, and in that light it is amazing to me that anyone....including Prince Harry...would think that in the age of the internet that information will not become public knowledge. The abuse of shorttrackers by their Korean coaches has been known for years....long years. Back in about 2005 we were scandalized to read on Ohnozone about the courage of the Korean Women's team in literally walking out of their training center and talking to the press...unprecedented. Koreans place unbelievable pressures on themselves to succeed. The S. Korean government has actually made it illegal for students to attend cram schools past 10:00 pm at night but the schools continue, with the active complicity of parents and students.
I've followed shorttrack since 2002, both as a fan and as a club skater. USS has always been a "closely held corporation" a small sport in which a few families and people gave their time and energy, often the same people year after year. After the events in Virginia with a Korean coach it is still difficult to believe that anyone at USS would proceed with business as usual. When the lawyers come in (sorry brethren!) the costs can be crippling.
My hat is off to the skaters who had the courage to come forward, especially those with the potential talent to haul in medals that could bring them a lot of money.
SusanG
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Post by musicalmom on Sept 15, 2012 20:51:15 GMT -8
Have concerns for the skaters in the interim time period until the "independent lawyers" can investigate and report their findings. With world cup selection process in late Sept., will USS protect all skaters from interaction with these coaches under question? Should these coaches not be suspended until they are "cleared" or "prosecuted"? It would seem that a great many of the skaters are minors and should not be left open to any intimidation or abuse with no immediate recourse for defense. In fact, all skaters of any age should be protected from repercussions from this situation. What does USS plan to do in the immediate future? I wrote them and asked. Will report here if I hear back. Musical Mom (Karen Young)
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Post by jreutter on Sept 15, 2012 23:04:07 GMT -8
You folks are all great! It's encouraging for all that you show such insight into what has been going on with regards to most of these athletes. I don't expect all of the charges to hold up; I don't expect the truth to be fully told. There have been many unnecessary problems caused; this whole thing could have been averted last Spring if USS had listened to the skaters instead of "blowing them off". Katherine won't be skating at the Fall qualifier this Sept.; she has a back injury. A year ago last Spring when she was vying for World Champion, she needed help getting to the heat box for the 3000; she couldn't tie her own skates. She got second in that race; not quite enough to be World Champion. She is probably one of the lucky ones.
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Post by mtnme on Sept 16, 2012 7:47:34 GMT -8
I'll be willing to bet that the resultant injuries of the abuse is the skaters main concern. If the skaters try to protect themselves from being injured, they get crap for it until they do what the coach demands. And unquestioned. The issue is that this is not only threatening the skaters health and well being, but their careers. USS doesn't care, and certainly the 'Korean' program doesn't care. NEXT! is their rallying cry.
I mean seriously. How many years do we see the Korean skaters competing? We don't. They seem to have an endless supply of government backed trained athletes to draw from. We don't. So using our elite athletes as expendable pawns in USS's machine is completely abhorrent.
"Oh, we overtrained you and now you are too injured to compete? Tough."
"NEXT!!!"
Of course the skaters who walked away better for wear and tear who ended up on the podium because their competitors were injured right out of competition wouldn't be too upset about that, now would they?
I certainly don't think that separating the wheat from the chafe means we do that by seeing who can physically still walk after their career is over.
And wouldn't that be an interesting study to see how many kids on the Korean team were ruined for life because of their training methods? - Burn 'em up and spit 'em to the curb after a couple of years because they've outlived their usefullness. Hey, there's tons more where they came from...
I certainly don't want to see us emulating their system. Not like this. *place thumbs down emotie here*
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Post by Deleted on Sept 16, 2012 10:49:42 GMT -8
"Obviously, we take this very seriously," said Tamara Castellano, a spokeswoman for U.S. Speedskating. "Our product is our athletes. If we don’t have them, we don’t have anything."
This whole situation is quite troublesome. The statement above is troubling as a stand alone. Last time I looked "their product", was flesh and blood athletes giving their heart and soul to a program in which they believe!
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Post by Laura (Lori) on Sept 16, 2012 11:17:57 GMT -8
Thanks everyone for your comments! I'm short on time, but I just popped on to post a brand new article with Jae Su's response to the allegations... US Speedskating suspends short track head coachChun on "administrative leave" during investigationby Philip Hersh / Chicago Tribune / September 16, 2012 "In light of a statement released today by Jae Su Chun—along with the on-going investigation—the US Speedskating Board of Directors has voted today to place Mr. Chun on administrative leave," US Speedskating said in a Sunday afternoon statement. "Mr. Chun will be on leave until the outcome of this investigation is complete." Read the entire article: US Speedskating suspends short track head coach+++
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Post by mtnme on Sept 16, 2012 14:51:11 GMT -8
"Edward Williams, an attorney for the athletes, said after attending the meeting that the board devoted “about 20 seconds” to discussing the complaint..." Gee, THAT LONG???!!! Yes, I can see just how seriously USS is taking this. S.O.S.D.D.
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