Note: I don’t know all the facts, but from what I’ve read, this is my opinion. I’d love to hear yours, differing or otherwise. As far as I’m concerned, this topic is outrageous enough to be worth discussing and debating. In the end, the public guides policy. Please feel free to comment below.
UGH
In case you missed it, USATF selected convicted doper Dennis Mitchell as the head relays coach for the IAAF World Relays (which happens this weekend in the Bahamas). Oh yeah, and his wife Damu Cherry-Mitchell is also a convicted doper, and on staff. LetsRun did a piece on the background, and made it very clear, with about 12 mentions, that giving the highest coaching honor in America this year to a convicted doper who coaches a convicted doper (Justin Gatlin) is a bad idea. I would have to agree. I have my personal thoughts on why. But before I share them, further props to Let’s Run for entertaining us with the backstory that Dennis Mitchell was named head coach once before, garnering a massive public outcry, and USATF cleared it up by saying, “no not THAT Dennis Mitchell! This OTHER Dennis Mitchell from Akron!” I don’t know either Dennis Mitchell personally, and who knows, maybe Dennis #2 was always the intended pick, but I smile imagining the USATF employee who solved this initial PR disaster by googling “Dennis Mitchell Coach” to find a magical workaround after the PED’s hit the fan.
Jill Geer, the public affairs officer for USATF, defended the selection because Coach Mitchell has paid his dues, etc. One might think this seems very forgiving, and like a nice second chance for Coach Mitchell. Just like other athletes I know who have been busted for doping, they are good hearted people who fucked up. It happens. I’m not going to advocate for spitting on them in public or burning them at the stake. People mess up all the time in life. But the highest coaching honor in the sport should never ever be given to a convicted doper. This appointment appears to have been made by Max Seigel himself basically, with members of the selection committee coming out that they weren’t given a voice in the matter. So basically my beef here is with Max.
I’m sure Max hasn’t thought this through entirely. Back when I first started as a pro, USATF had a MAJOR image issue worldwide surrounding doping. Marion Jones, Regina Jacobs, and tons of others were exposed as cheating, (like major big time blatant cheating) as part of the Balco scandal. As a new pro I heard all kinds of things about how USATF had been covering up positive tests from American athletes for years. Regina Jacobs, just before she was done for drugs, passed on her spot on Team USA due to a mysterious virus…excuses like that seemed to be commonplace. Realizing that the entire world could never again trust an American performance, and nobody wanted to pay for TV rights to a dirty-ass sport, USATF launched a major campaign around a new “Zero Tolerance Policy.” Everything about it meant serious business. It indicated that USATF would commit to making us the most tested athletes in the world, and we would commit to outing anyone and everyone in the name of restoring faith to the sport.
Zero Tolerance was a big deal to me. It indicated that my governing body cared about restoring our image. It sent a strong message to an impressionable, high achieving me, and influenced my decisions to remain clean. I am part of a generation that has been tested a zillion times more than any group before me. It’s been a pain in the ass but worth it. People would still cheat, but now it would be harder and the world knew it. USATF would out you, even if you were our biggest star, and they backed it up with actions. Should I be lucky enough to win an Olympic Medal, I wanted the chance to do so without the global assumption that I was dirty and USATF was covering up for me. It meant that anyone who represented the USA would be under a microscope. That, for the sake of all of our reputations, we would not be put side to side with cheaters and look guilty by association. As a clean athlete, this meant everything to me.
So here is what honoring coach Mitchell as head coach does to Team USA. It sends a global message that USATF is willing to overlook a cheaters past and give them the highest honor in our sport. It shows that they are no longer following their Zero Tolerance policy. It shows that Team USA is soft on drugs. That we don’t take doping seriously. Frankly it’s something I’d expect from Turkey or Russia or the USA of the 80’s, but not the USATF of the past 8 years. It’s like putting someone who has formerly served time for fraud in charge of your bank. Or a convicted child abuser in charge of your day care. Even if Dennis Mitchell has paid the price for his actions in the past, there is simply no place for him as a national team coach. He effects the reputation of every single clean athlete he is associated with. He casts a shadow on USATF as a whole. I wish him a fantastic life, but I don’t want him or his wife involved in my sport in any position of influence or leadership.
Max, since you seem to have executive power on most everything, please draw the line. You need to be the strictest of all when it comes to zero tolerance of doping, or you screw us all.
-Lauren
Amen! Zero tolerance policy should mean zero tolerance policy NOT we enforce the rules at our convenience! Thanks for being a strong voice for the anti-doping, pro-testing athlete world. You help to create an atmosphere of sport that we can all enjoy!
Well said Lauren! Max, you listening?
Could not have been better said!!! Totally agree with you Lauren!!! USATF better pay attention to decisions you make in order not to compromise the clean athletes reputation!!! Let’s all join Lauren in the anti-doping cause!!!
Well said…we can’t have a fresh start with USATF if we keep resurrecting failures of the past. Thank you Lauren!
Were they convicted to taking knowingly banned substances, or did unfathomably complex byproducts show up in their tests? The complexity and risk of our sport’s absolutely incompetent drug policies have burdened many athletes for generations. I don’t recall the details of Mitchell and Gatlin’s cases, but it makes a great difference.
Great read Lauren.
Mike – Dennis testified under oath in a perjury trial that he was injected with HGH. Until then I believe he maintained he was innocent.
Justin Gatlin says he was sabotaged with drugs by a massage therapist.
http://www.letsrun.com/news/2014/05/usatf-dennis-mitchell-convicted-doper-head-sprint-coach-world-relays/
I agree — except where you draw a comparison to putting a convicted child abuser in charge of a daycare. Doping in sport is an important issue, but it’s a superficial one at best when compared to the seriousness of child abuse.
It should be obvious by now that they just don’t give a shit. Are you aware that Regina Jacobs is still listed on the USATF website as the American record holder in the indoor 1500 meters?
1,500 m 3:59.98 Regina Jacobs
Nike Boston, MA 2003-Feb-01
Lauren for USATF president/CEO… I’m just saying. 🙂
Well said! Thank you for your honesty.
It’s time (long over due) to reorganize USATF.
The current board and directors are dysfunctional
and lack any common sense. They govern USATF as their own fiefdom
and answer to no one. We need big changes…..
Exactly. Although despicable, the cover up of positive tests makes sense: better performances attract more viewers leading to more sponsors. This decision smacks of sheer stupidity or cronyism. Thanks for using your profile to expose and excoriate the USATF
I used to watch races to see who was the fastest. With drugs permeating the sport, races don’t tell you that anymore. So what’s the point in watching?
Drugs do make me feel better about my mediocre speed. Because the people I watch on TV aren’t really faster than me if they are probably all on drugs.
Sorry Joe, they’re probably faster than you without the drugs too!
Noooooooooo! (read sarcasm).
From what I’ve seen from Max Seigel, I am not impressed:
A. He really botched the disqualifications at the Indoor Meet. The fact that we don’t have an answer, by now, is ridiculous. It makes it look like Nike is buying off the officials.
B. Then right after all of these concerns about the perception of Nike’s undue influence… He confirms those suspicisions by signing the worst, the absolute worst, long term deal in recent sport history. Who signs 26 year deals anyway? My bias is that USATF will not be around as an entity to see the full 26 year deal.
C. This Dennis Mitchell fiasco is right in line with all of the other decision making by the worst/ineffectual/corrupt/clueless/asleep-at-the-wheel sports administration in the developed world.
Mine is probably a broader comment for the subject of this article, but I have a riddle to ask. What’s the difference between Tyson Gay, Mary Akor, Lilya Shobukhova, Lance Armstrong and Bernie Madoff? Answer? Nothing, there’s no difference. All used known banned techniques or practices to enhance performance or the perception of performance with the intent to defraud for personal or financial gain. So why is it that only one person in this group is serving time in a Federal Prison? Everyone in the aforementioned group crossed State and International borders with the intention to defraud investors.
I believe until we start holding everyone, from the age-group competitor up the owners of major sports franchises (who by commission or omission benefit from their player’s use of PED’s), criminally responsible for illegal PED use, organizations like the USATF will continue to determine who has “paid their dues.”
Well written and argued – I hope you can help change USATF for the better. Your wish to be considered a clean athlete DESPITE being associated with USATF made me tear up a little – how did the wrong people get put in charge?
Thank you for writing. Well thought out. I am in agreement with Zero Tolerance too. Keep representing USA as an athlete with integrity, grit and talent. Fire up your passion and take it to the next level Lauren.
First of all, thank you for taking the time to publish your thoughts. Too often these conversations are reserved for the privacy of a run with peers who predominantly share the same opinion and thus do little to fix the problem.
Second, if you feel strong enough to attach your name to an issue like this, I implore you to take the time next fall to attend the USATF Annual Meeting as an athlete representative. It is the one time during the year where you can stand up in a room of your peers, rally support, and take that momentum straight to Max and The Board of Directors. Only as a collective voice can the athletes really have the power to affect change. And believe me, your sentiment, as expressed in the words above, is echoed. Something needs to be done, and it is going to take a whole lot more than words to do it.
Sadly it appears over the past few years that the USATF is becoming more and more out of touch with both what the running community wants from it (integrity, support, professionalism, efficiency) and with any sense of its original mission and ideals. From this issue to the ones at recent track indoor nationals to rejecting completely valid American master’s records because of irrelevant and minute technicalities, the organization is losing sight of the entire purpose of its existence, supporting and celebrating running, and by doing so quickly squandering any credibility it still had and heading quickly down the road to being irrelevant and ignored.
I agree with Mr. Leer.
Let’s also get radically honest real here. Track and Field is a dwindling, neglected, bastard child of a sport in the USA anymore. No One Cares. Except when they turn on the Olympics ever 4 years and expect to see these wonderful heartwarming stories of amazing USA athletes overcoming hardship and “bringing home the gold” for the great old USA. Joe and Jane Public, USA, do not have the first proverbial clue.
Nothing short of a General Strike by all the USA track and field athletes of the TFAA.org will result in change here. I don’t see any evidence, or have any faith, that gentle giant Adam Nelson has the Lauren Fleshman “balls,” to ask you all, and the younger up and coming athletes, to take a General Strike position in WC, or Olympic year and effect real change by getting USATF blown up the way the AAU was blown up. It’s the only way and anything short of that is just whistling in the ready room / green room / dressing room / locker room.
No one wants to speak the truth about USATF on a real inside level. How did Jill Geer get her job? Do a little digging.
Is there a “sprint mafia” behind the scenes running the show because that is where the most world stage medals come from? Aheam, duh.
And let’s not be so smug about thanking Letsrun.com, a sucker sapiens click bait farm willing to libel innocent athletes for over a decade out of a personal animosity against Nike, based on the innuendo and smears of a former USA team member. Those in the know know who I am talking about. An immature anti-Nike bias you seem to share since Nike did not kiss your tail as you desired with a new contract. You dish it out, take some, if you still have the “balls, just balls.” I’ve taken you on before, I competed internationally, and you had it so much cushier than we ever did. So get a perspective – be willing to Sacrifice All, to make real change. Be a patriot, be a real patriot, be a revolutionary, or stop barking in the green room, whistling in the dressing room.
Everyone knows NOTHING is going to change unless, as Will Leer suggests, you all show up and unite en masse. If you were not at the last USATF meeting, Shame On You. Zero excuses. True patriots about the sport would find no excuses for getting there. Ask an Olga Connolly type.
Back to your friends at lowlife central, Letsrun — upon Max Siegel’s, I posted that I noted that his twitter feed was mostly him following oodles of African American female singers and actresses and almost ZERO USATF athletes. So this dude is a supporter of the sport? How did that hiring happen?
What kind of bonus did Max Seigel receive for the “blockbuster” sweet long term deal with Nike? Hey– I like Nike, they have propped up a dying sport — for which all too often adult children whine about not getting more. Why don’t you strike and reform the sport, seize power, and make the sport more popular, and then you can attack the Nike’s all you want.
Until then, they are going to support the sport they came from, and make the best deal they can, like any division, of any large corporation.
That’s just the way it is.
Will Leer is spot on, it will take far more for real change than words, it will take Courageous Massive Action.
Personally, I don’t think today’s track athletes have the Balls. They don’t have the balls of the women and men that got things blown up before and made the sport able to be Pro. The sprinters won’t make the sacrifice of their big bucks and their inside deals and “mafia” with USATF, and the other athletes are too terrified to give up their peanuts.
So tell me, who is going to stand in the middle with the charisma and leadership to both sacrifice and play positive Pied Piper for you all — and actually get change done?
Nike has not propped up a dying sport. Other shoe companies and outfitters just never get a fair shot at being the sponsor. I, for one, would greatly prefer New Balance to be the sponsor. NB is a real American company, making their products in the good old USA and selling them for sometimes half the cost of NIKE. Nike is just another out-sourcer masquerading as am American company, another Greed Inc.
As far as I am concerned, Nike has bought and paid for all the decision makers at USATF, NIKE is as heavily involved and culpable as the USATF, in performance-enhancement by any means possible.
I agree with your opinion. However, once you dropped the “f” word your opinion lessened. Young teens read this.
First, I’m glad you started your comments with the note that you don’t have all the facts and this is our opinion. Many times opinions of individuals are based on their realities of the situation. Get the facts. We live in a society where we believe in giving individuals second chances. We have all made mistakes in our lives that many have no knowledge of and we have made it our business not to let the public know. When people take on professions where they are put in the public spotlight, so many on the outside look for ways to tear those individuals down and not see the positive contributions they have making. That’s what your comments are doing. People have gone to prison, changed their perspectives and have come out to make huge positive contributions to our society. Should they continue to be punished for past mistakes? I don’t think so. In John 8:7 when the woman who was caught in the act of adultery was brought before Jesus, he stated, ‘Let he who is without sin, cast the first stone’. He didn’t condemn the woman, not because He was a liberal, not because He condoned her sin, but because the men who brought the woman to Him were hypocrites. He was the only person there that day who was free of sin, the only one who had the right to “cast the first stone.” He didn’t stone her (or her accusers), but instead forgave her and told her to “sin no more.” When you and others get to the point where you “sin no more”, then cast a stone at others who have sinned and changed their lives to help others better theirs. As Mr. Leer stated, GET INVOLVED. It’s easy to blog. Show your face, voice your opinions and be about making positive changes in the sport of Track and Field.
The reason I’d support Mitchell for this type of position is that he should be considered among the best and most experienced in terms of high-level relay competition. Pretty sure he’s been on as many if not more WR and medal-winning relays than anyone else in the business. Of course, he’ll always be “the drug cheat” – why can’t he contribute to the development of the sport, though? Athletes know that their association with him comes at a price; USATF does, too. Too easy to jump on the “drug cheat Dennis” bandwagon. Of course he’s a drug cheat. But maybe he’s also a great coach – and maybe if we are careful to make sure he’s toeing the proverbial line, maybe he’s best for the sport in terms of relay coaching.
I will acknowledge that I post this AFTER the USA men were dq’d in the 4×2, but we need to fix the relays – it’s a matter of national pride at this point. That pride translates to interest in the sport and $$$. If we can’t beat Bolt in an individual sprint, we absolutely have to beat him in the relays. And we should with the right coaching and focus.
Having been successful at something, as an athlete, does not necessarily mean you are qualified to teach it.
Thank you Lauren for having the courage to speak up about this. I am a slow runner who nevertheless adores following the sport at the elite level, and I have done so since I was about ten years old. I now have a high schooler of my own who is running, and discovering his own love of the sport. He’s also a news junkie, and it’s been interesting to see how he follows USATF’s hypocrisy on the drug issue. I refrained from mentioning the Mitchell incident around the house, but he snuffed it out anyway, and his response was sort of heartbreaking, something like “track is the one area where I thought you could trust an organization to be honest.” Yea–I feel the same way, even though being 46 years old, I know that track has been corrupt for a long while. Part of me hopes my son will continue my love of track, both as a participant and a spectator, but another part of me wants to spare him the frustration. Why should he invest his trust in USATF? Why should any of us? I guess, if we really love this sport, we have to find a way to make it better–and we rely on those of you with a voice (and more fast twitch muscle fibre) to continue to be brave. But I must admit that, as of today, I feel rather betrayed. It is not for bs like this that I have volunteered my time at countless youth meets.
Lauren, it may have been wiser to have ended your comment after stating on the front end, “I don’t know all the facts”.
The coffee house generation seem to be quite vocal, yelping against a DQ for a runner that blindly run’s up people’s backsides. Joining USATF, going to conventions, taking part in the athletes advisory committee then yelping about USATF like it’s some foreign entity governed by dictatorship.
Drug use and drug testing are a sham and a scam.
For the record……college coaches of past and present tend to be the main folks that populate USATF men’s and women’s track & field committees. They’re people like your college coach and his friends.
As a result they are the folks taking nominations and voting candidates out of sub-committee, Committee, executive committee to be on National Team coaching staffs.
In contrast to the “rule” cited by the infamous Letsrun folks, they vote on blanket slates of names.
They made the decision that is the target of your disdain.
Folks like your college coach and his friends……not the CEO of USA Track & Field.
Your comments are directed at —your— college coach and his friends.
You and Will can begin your crusade right there.
The “rule” cited by Letsrun
“….the proposed list of coaches for the 2014 National Teams at the 2013 Annual Meeting for submission to the CEO for Background Screening……….approval by the Board of Directors.”
The board of directors is comprised mostly of former athletes.
The CEO is not a voting member.
The USATF that you’re so angry with is comprised of folks like your college coach.
You’re asking the board of directors to veto the voted-on work product of folks like your college coach and his friends.
Max pulls in almost $500k a year and still has his pr firm; just another incompetant dictator riding the gravy train of the Olympics.
I’ve tried to sort out my mindset about doping over the past few years. When a high profile athlete like Tyson Gay or Justin Gatlin is busted, it is good to know that the system works, and that USATF, USADA, WADA, etc. are not afraid of taking down athletes at the top of the Athletics food chain. But what does that do to my love for the sport? How can I continue to cheer on athletes, when the rumors abound regarding the proliferation of drugs at all levels? Can I retain any confidence in the athletes that I would like to admire? How can I encourage my kids to love the sport that I grew up loving if only to be betrayed by the athletes who bring excitement to the playing field?
I have finally decided to reconcile this way- I will continue to be an unabashed supporter of track and field. If I feel inspired by an athlete, I will take great joy in watching his or her performances. I will believe in them and the purity of their pursuit for greatness. But, this is a two-way street, and the cost of my undiminished fervor for the sport and its heroes is trust. If Athletics wants my support, then athletes must accept that if that trust is broken, I have no obligation to accept, forgive, or justify what you have done. Time may or may not heal, but that is no longer up to the doper to decide, and the governing bodies cannot ask the fans to show unconditional trust and enthusiasm today, and then expect forgiveness or second chances tomorrow.
If athletes, coaches, and governing bodies want the support, love, money, and pride from the fans that want to give it, then this is the cost that they must bear. We will invest our time, emotions, and trust in you. We will support you when you fail, and cheer you when you win. But realize that this comes at a price, and if you choose to betray that trust, forgiveness lies in our hands, not yours.
I think, the use of drugs have deep penetration and nothing can stop sportsmen for using the drugs but ethical training and the training of proper usage of drugs.Such workshops are being arranged and may be improved with new ideas. It is high time to think differently to bring change.
The use of drugs is going to be around as long as the earth is still spinning. But there can be more steps as to preventing the use of them.
Like football, people always wonder how they get so big. Yes, there’s a lot to do with their fitness, and the way they eat. But there are also drugs involved, and that’s why they give you a 30 day notice that you’re about to be tested, hence why you don’t hear a lot of people getting banned. If you allow me to do it, and give me ample time to prepare, of course I’ll take that route and be sure to not do any during that 30 day wait. But some can’t and then you have the stories Justin Blackmon (suspension for his marijuana use) coming out.
Baseball has the biggest drug users, because they turn their shoulders when they hear about it. There’s no way Barry Bonds wasn’t told about using his roids’ way before he retired.
Basketball is a different story though. They don’t rely on the same drugs as the other sports, they are on the drugs most likely identical to the drugs Lance Armstrong just got busted for. Endurance, and those aren’t really tested for when they do their tests. So you don’t hear much of drug abusers in the Basketball of the world.
Anyways, great article, and I’m glad to see all the discussion this is having!
Very well said! I can’t believe this isn’t getting even more outrage. It’s ridiculous and hypocritical.
I definitely understand that people deserve second chances, but giving him this job is a stretch. Thanks for sharing your opinion.
There’s such a thing as atonement. Yeah, they even made a movie about it. I get your outrage. I got called out once for saying Jacobs was juicing. This was mere months before she was finally caught. Hey, let’s make sure she doesn’t get to ever make a living selling real estate ( that’s what she does ). Zero tolerance.
Right…..
But Mitchell “paid” for his mistake and now he gets another chance. That okay with me. Let’s none of us ever make a mistake and never want a second chance.
Mitchell gets a second chance. If he blows that he may even get a third.
That’s what life is. Second and third chances.
The author of this website is looking for one just now by returning to elite racing. It may not seem the same but in a way, it is.
I’m a little late to this discussion but I couldn’t agree with you more. In college we had to do drug tests every few weeks. And, as you probably know, that involves waking up at the ass crack of dawn to go pull your pants down in front of a complete stranger and try to pee while they stare at you in a half naked squat. Not awesome. I understood the necessity, but also got my introduction to the hypocrisy of the practice when one of our top sprinters tested positive for drugs twice and was forgiven both times without so much as a suspension.
If the sport is going to be a fair one, BE A FAIR SPORT. Do right by all of the athletes out there doing things the honest way and take a stand against those who don’t. Let them go on with their lives but don’t honor them within the sport. That’s a slap in the face to all of those athletes who were cheated out of higher finishes by dopers.
Lauren, thanks for standing up and being a voice for the clean athletes out there. It helps restore faith in all of the fans of the sport.
Totally agree with the outrage expressed here. I definitely believe in second chances, but this is too big a job for this type of second chance. Thanks for sharing this post!
Everyone is placing the blame in the wrong place. This is not about Mr. Mitchell. This is about USAFT. It is a system that promotes a closed inner circle of former track athletes. No one out side of that group can
become involved in any matters related the national team participation at any level. It is a closed shop.
Nothing will change until the American public become more involved in the affairs of USATF. The problem with passing the baton in the 4 x 100 relay event is an indication that changes are needed. It goes deeper than passing a baton.
I don’t blame the present system because no one has offered anything better. We just let things continue as is.
The national USATF annual conference is a rubber stamp of the same system. So, why change.
So, leave Mr. Mitchell to his job. Max Siegel is doing what he is being paid to do.
Until the American sports community want a change, nothing will change.
Audio began playing as soon as I opened this internet site, so annoying!
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