By Ellen Rugeley
Following a two day Hearing at the Headquarters of the USOC in Colorado Springs, a three person United States Olympic Committee (USOC) Hearing Panel issued a summary decision, which found that USA Taekwondo, the National Governing Body (NGB) for the sport of taekwondo in the United States,is out of compliance with several sections of the Ted Stevens Olympic and Amateur Sports Act (the Sports Act) as well as sections of the USOC Bylaws, applicable to NGBs
It is expected that the USOC Hearing Panel will issue a more detailed decision, setting forth its reasoning for its decision, and remedies that USAT should adopt to meet the Federal statutes requirements
The complainant was Bernard Robinson, a long time USAT Referee, who filed a “Section 10 Complaint” against USAT Taekwondo in August 2011, for USAT’s non-compliance with the Sports Act. He was represented by Edward Williams of Stewart Occhipinti LLP, and alleged that USAT was out of compliance with fundamental requirements mandated by the Sports Act, including that USAT lacked the financial and managerial capability to fulfill its obligations as NGB for the sport.
Robinson filed a grievance against the USAT on February 8, 2011 in an attempt to resolve the alleged non-compliance issues within USAT without utilizing the remedies available under the Sports Act. However, when USAT “failed and neglected” to schedule a hearing to consider the grievance, Robinson escalated his claim by filing his complaint with the USOC.
The Hearing Panel, comprised of Sarah Konrad, USOC AAC member; Glen Merry, CEO of US Rowing; and Suzanne Lyons, USOC Board member, heard and considered the case as presented by the respective parties, including testimony from witnesses and documentary evidence, pre-hearing briefs, opening and closing statements, and arguments on various issues.
The Panel’s objective was to determine if USAT is in compliance with the Sports Act and the USOC Bylaws.
The Panel found sufficient evidence to support Robinson’s complaints pertaining to USAT’s: managerial capability, board competency and effectiveness, financial well-being, athlete representation, grievance procedures, and communications with members and transparency of activities.
The Panel ruled that USAT is not in compliance with the Act and USOC Bylaws. The Panel recommended that USAT be placed on probation in order for it to address its compliance issues. In addition, USAT should be tasked with a tangible set of remedies, with interim checkpoints, that can be realistically completed within an initial six month timeframe. This timeframe may be extended if USAT shows that it has been undertaking appropriate efforts, but nonetheless needs additional time to rectify its compliance issues.
“This is a great win for the membership of USA Taekwondo against the NGB, which had clearly gone off the reservation and was no longer serving its constituency in accordance with the requirements of the Sports Act and USOC Bylaws,” Williams told Sports Litigation Alert.
The Panel acknowledged that USAT had been attempting to address some of these issues and noted that progress toward compliance has already been made in several of these areas. Specifically, USAT has hired an interim CEO to address certain management issues, has put together a budget for 2012 and has taken other steps aimed at improving its financial health. However, additional steps are required for full compliance to be achieved.
Two weeks after the ruling, the Panel proceeded to the “remedy” phase, in it invited the parties to provide written submissions as to remedies they propose that would allow USAT to address its compliance issues during the probationary period.
