Letter From USAG President Robert Colarossi Dear USA Gymnastics' Family Members, Ours is a sport fueled by passion. It is our love of the sport that allows athletes to find the limits of their personal abilities, makes 18-hour days the norm for coaches and club owners, causes individuals to dedicate so much time to judging, and produces the thousands of volunteers that support gymnastics in so many ways. It is the passion of a wonderful community that believes strongly in the benefits of its sport. Unfortunately, that same passion can sometimes skew judgments and alter behavior in ways that are very damaging to our sport. And that is never truer than during an Olympic year, when our sport steps to the center stage of the world's attention, and our passion and pride run high. Unfortunately, this Olympic year has produced more of this phenomenon than usual. It has come in a flood of rumor, false accusations, and sometimes outright slander that is incredibly harmful to our sport and all of the people who make it great. It is a form of behavior that cannot be excused by our emotional investment in our sport. In an effort to set the record straight, I will address some of the more troubling allegations below. Before doing so, however, I want to address two characteristics of this behavior that are really at the root of the problem. The first is that the people who initiate these campaigns of misinformation -- often people who serve in some official capacity with USA Gymnastics -- never seem to bother to contact anyone directly involved to confirm the facts or understand the situation more fully. Secondly, those who promote the misinformation almost never choose to address their concerns to a discreet audience of people with a direct involvement in the issue. Instead, they use the remarkable power of the Internet to expand the falsehood to the widest possible audience. Those recipients then, in turn, pass the message along to others and pretty soon a multiplier effect turns the piece of bad information into an accepted fact. I believe that both of these traits tell us much about the individuals who choose to attack our sport unfairly. They are not interested in finding out if there is, in fact, a problem and how it might be addressed. They are only interested in assigning blame (even if a real problem does not exist). Now, on to the more prevalent examples of these allegations from the past several weeks. 1. USA Gymnastics did offer adequate support to Paul Hamm in the face of the Korean challenge to Paul's victory in the Men's All-Around competition. It is very important to me to begin any discussion of this issue by noting that I am certain that this is a view held by Paul. I may, as I do, strongly disagree with his view, but I am also only too willing to acknowledge that, regardless of my differing perspective, Paul's perception matters. If Paul believes that we did not offer adequate support, then we needed to do a better job of helping him understand what we were doing and why we were doing it.
As I indicated in a letter from me that was published by the New York Times, our first steps, once we became aware of the Korean allegations, was to establish standards for our conduct that would guide everything we did in the subsequent hours and days. Those were defined by the following three things: a) We would do everything we could to fight to keep the all-around gold medal that Paul won; b) We would, as required by the Olympic charter, recognize and be bound by any decisions made by the FIG or IOC, and c) We would honor Paul's personal wishes, in terms of both any decisions he made relating to his response to the controversy and the role he wanted us to play. I feel certain that we acted in conformity with these guidelines. But we were not merely consistent; we were also tireless and aggressive in our efforts. Countless hours were spent in consultation with all of the interested parties including Paul, his coaches, his parents, the FIG, and the USOC. We responded promptly to every media inquiry and communicated our message to those members of the media who did not seek it out. In this regard, I would point in particular to my appearance on the Today Show on August 23rd. A transcript from that show is available on the USAG website at www.usa-gymnastics.org/news/2004/bctodayshow.html. We regret that the United States Olympic Committee opened the door to a discussion of a "second gold medal", but when they did, we carefully communicated why we believed that was not an acceptable result. When the FIG issued its ill-conceived letter to the USOC asking Paul to return his medal, our attorney produced a draft response that we submitted to the USOC within hours of our receipt of that letter. We believe that the aggressive nature and tone of that letter may have helped to shape the forceful response that the USOC made to the FIG in its press conference on August 27th. USA Gymnastics is very appreciative of the support and effort provided by the USOC staff at the Games who worked on this issue. In recognizing their contributions, it is also important for all of you to understand that it is the USOC, not its national governing bodies, which exercises control over the United States delegation at the Olympic Games. This is a matter of Olympic protocol, and only the Olympic Committees are allowed to serve as spokespersons for members of the delegation. That is why, for example, when the press conference was held on August 27th, the only people seated on the dais were the responsible officers of the USOC -- Chairman Peter Ueberroth, Interim CEO Jim Scherr, the Chef de Mission Herman Frazier. 2. USA Gymnastics has somehow manipulated the legal process so that it did not become a party to the arbitration filed by the Koreans with the Court of Arbitration for Sport ("CAS"). This is the sort of malicious gossip which, had its authors bothered to make a single inquiry of our office, would have been proven to be preposterous. Under the CAS system, when an individual wishes to file a complaint, he or she must fill out a form provided by CAS. That form requires the complaining party to identify both "adverse parties" and "interested parties." When the Koreans filled out that form (a handwritten copy of which we now have), they decided who they would identify in each of those categories. It is not surprising that they did not name USA Gymnastics (again the National Governing Body has no official standing at the Olympic Games), but anyone who thinks that we were in a position to influence the way in which the Koreans filled out this form, is engaged in pure fantasy. It is worth noting in regard to both this and the preceding allegation that, despite the fact that we were not named as a party, we have contributed significant resources in terms of both legal fees and time to participate fully in the defense of Paul's victory. Our counsel, Jack Swarbrick, has
worked closely with the lead counsel for the USOC in the preparation of the case. We also asked Jack to represent George Beckstead in the proceeding and he assisted George in preparing his declaration. In addition, even though not named as a party, I also submitted a declaration. Furthermore, both George and I attended the hearing in Switzerland. My declaration and that of George Beckstead are available for your review on our website at the following addresses: www.usa-gymnastics.org/news/2004/bcdeclaration.html and www.usa-gymnastics.org/news/2004/gbsubmission.html. For those of you who may not be inclined to examine those documents, I thought it appropriate to share with you the last three paragraphs of my declaration: 16. Paul Hamm, the defending All-Around World Champion coming into the Olympic Games, is an extraordinary person and gymnast. He worked tirelessly to prepare himself for these Olympics, and, on the world's biggest stage, he performed like the champion he is. Overcoming a fall that would have crushed the spirits of other gymnasts, Paul staged one of the most remarkable comebacks in Olympic gymnastics' history. As reflected in the final competition results, Mr. Hamm posted the top all-around score for the evening. Those results were certified, a laurel wreath was placed on Paul's head, the coveted gold medal was put around his neck, and our national anthem was played. Unfortunately, a great athlete's moment of ultimate triumph was quickly tainted by a controversy that was not of his making. That is not fair. 17. It is instructive to note that when I first informed Paul of the FIG's conclusion that Mr. Yang's start value had been incorrectly assigned, he immediately asked me if I believed the rules of the competition had been followed. That is, I believe, the only appropriate question -- a question that reflects the true focus of an athlete committed to the principles of fair play. 18. I responded to Paul by indicating that I believed (as I do now) that the rules of competition had been filed and that under those rules, the failure of the Koreans to make a timely inquiry concerning Mr. Yang's start value precluded any further consideration of that issue as it related to the results of the competition. 3. USA Gymnastics' treatment of its athletes has been and is being impacted by the decisions made by those athletes with regard to their participation in the T.J. Maxx Tour of Champions. While this allegation might hold some intuitive logic for those not inclined to be bothered by the facts, it is hard to know where to begin to identify all the ways in which this is both not true and absolutely inconsistent with the best interests of USA Gymnastics. The decision to do the T.J. Maxx Tour of Champions was made two years ago in close consultation with the then current members of our National Team and their coaches and parents. The proposition we put forward to the athletes at that time was a simple one. In the interest of ensuring that our sport was properly represented and that our athletes were treated equally and fairly, we proposed to enter into a partnership with the athletes for the conduct of the Tour. Under that arrangement, USA Gymnastics incurs all the risk associated with the Tour, but the profits are shared with the athletes. Every athlete who chose to participate signed the same agreement, and all matters related to the Tour (in particular all financial information) are available to any Tour participant. We greatly appreciate the commitment that was made by those athletes who elected to participate in our tour -- it is an extraordinary show that is enjoying great success as it moves around the country. On the other hand, for those who elected to pursue another route, we recognize and
fully support their right to do so. Their decisions have not, and will not, have any impact on their status as a member of our National Team, on the level of funding we provide to them, or in our efforts to promote their success. For those of you who would doubt that, I invite you to reflect upon the selection of the Olympic Team. In a process that was largely free of controversy, the greatest scrutiny was reserved for our selection committees decisions to name Blaine Wilson and Annia Hatch to the team. Both athletes performances at the Games proved the wisdom of those selections, but it is important to note that neither athlete had agreed to participate in the Tour at the time those decisions were made. As I said in my letter to the New York Times,...our deep gratitude for the commitment that (the) athletes (involved in our Tour) are making to USA Gymnastics and our sport does not and never has translated into a lack of support for members of our Team that choose a different path. USA Gymnastics, like America itself, is enormously proud of all our athletes, and nothing -- not the level of their success in Athens, the decision they make about what they will do after the Games, or some ill-chosen words -- will ever change that. That sentiment remains as true today as it was on the day that I wrote it. Finally, as it relates to unfounded allegations of this nature, I hope it is apparent to all that USA Gymnastics has every imaginable reason for wanting to maintain good working relationships with our Olympians. These American heroes are the most important resource we have in our efforts to continue to grow our sport. While I am very aware that circumstances may have conspired to strain our relationship with one or more of the members of our Olympic Team, all of us at USA Gymnastics will do all we can to make certain that each of our athletes understand how much we value their achievements and the contributions they make to our sport. 4. USA Gymnastics has acted unfairly in its treatment of Courtney McCool. The agreement that each of our Tour participants signed includes a provision that states, As part of this obligation to participate, you agree that you will not participate in any other gymnastics exhibition or series of exhibitions that conflict with your obligations under this Agreement without first obtaining the permission of USA Gymnastics to do so. In an apparent belief that our Tour would not include a stop in Kansas City, but without first seeking our approval, Courtney committed to participate in the Kansas City stop of the Rock-N- Roll Gymnastics Tour. When we were made aware of this fact, we informed Courtney and her parents that we had added a Kansas City stop and that her performance in the Rock-N-Roll Tour would present a conflict with her obligations to our Tour, and a breach of her agreement with us. Being fully apprised of the consequences of that breach, Courtney made her decision to perform. Please understand that this is not just a situation where the actions of an athlete are at odds with a commitment she made to USA Gymnastics Our obligations in the conduct of this Tour include our responsibility to protect the interests of all the athletes who agreed to participate in the Tour. (Remember, their ultimate compensation is tied to the success of the Tour). Courtney's decision to engage in direct conflict with our Tour was clearly at odds with the interests of those athletes. Had we failed to act under those circumstances, we would indeed deserve to be criticized. Unfortunately, a list of the false allegations and baseless rumors could go on for many more pages, but I will spare you that painful litany. I hope, however, that the examples I have provided give you a sense of the significant toll this sort of activity takes on our sport. It dissipates our goodwill in the marketplace, it hurts our ability to help our members attract new
Sincerely, participants to our sport, it adversely impacts our relationship with the USOC and our sponsors, and it drains our resources. We simply can't afford it. Thank you for taking the time to review this lengthy message. It is sent to you in hopes that it will help to set the record straight, and that it will cause of all of us to keep in mind the ways in which what we say and do can impact our sport. As we embark on a new Olympic quadrennium, I hope that all of us will be able to channel our passion for gymnastics in ways to build up, rather than tear down, our great sport. Let the legacy of these Olympic Games be a commitment by all of us to demonstrate in our dealings with each other all of the skill, grace and sportsmanship that characterized the remarkable performance of our Team in Athens. Robert V. Colarossi Robert V. Colarossi President/CEO USA Gymnastics