March 2015 TAFWA Says Goodbye James O. Dunaway Index
P. 3 President’s Message: March 2015 P. 6 Jim Dunaway’s Fantastic Voyage to the 1956 Olympic Games in Melbourne P. 12 Remembering Jim Dunaway: Walter Murphy and Many Others P. 18 Remembering JOD: Chris Kuykendall P. 19 August 2, 1965 - Sports Illustrated Visits James O. Dunaway P. 21 Let’s Run Weighs In: The Stephanie Hightower Controversy P. 22 Lionel A. Leach’s Letter to Hightower P. 23 Hightower’s Rebuttal Letter to Leach P. 24 Let’s Run Publishes Excerpt of Tim Baker’s Response to the Hightower Controversy P. 25 Ask Lauren Fleshman: The “Cropped” USATF Commercial P. 28 2015 TAFWA Awards - Nomination Guidelines P. 29 2015 Membership Renewal Reminder P. 30 USATF Votes to Keep Hightower as IAAF Nominee. Others Seem To Agree P. 33 Partial Fixtures List
TAFWA Newsletter Page 2 - March 2015 President’s Message | March 2015 Jim Dunaway Jim Dunaway passed away in his sleep on Sunday evening March 15 at the Southern Hospitality Center in Aus- tin, Texas.
He was 87 and had been writing about track and field for more than 60 years. He also meant a lot to this organi- zation, both as a past president and as a staunch advocate behind the scenes for our independence.
Jim had been recuperating from emergency surgery last month in his adopted hometown of Austin, where he moved two decades ago after a career in the advertising business in New York. He was a graduate of Penn State, where he ran cross country, and wrote countless freelance articles for Track & Field News, American Track & Field, The New York Times, the Austin American-Statesman, the Kansas City Star and numerous other publica- tions.
He began that career in 1956 when he took a leave of absence from his profession and went to Melbourne, Aus- tralia, on a steamer ship across the Pacific. To pay his way, Dunaway wrote to medium-size newspapers across the country, persuading them to let him cover the Olympic Games for them. He went to the next 13 Summer Olympics, his streak finally ending after 2008. That included the Moscow Games of 1980, despite the absence of the American team, in which he famously uncovered the cheating by the hometown judges in the horizontal jumps.
Jim was a taskmaster, a stickler for the right turn of phrase, an old-fashioned devotee of the facts, a storyteller and a writer. He knew how to meet a deadline and how to be a thorn in the side of his editors on the other end of the phone. He was still a working track writer as recently as last summer, when he attended the USATF Na- tionals in Sacramento.
Jim made a rare concession to attend that meet by traveling by air. For most meets he traveled by automobile, alone, driving 18-hour days from Austin to the New York City Marathon, to Des Moines for the Drake Relays and to Eugene – by way of Idaho to visit friends -- for the NCAA and other meets. Finally he stopped going to Hayward Field because, without an elevator, he said he could no longer climb to the press area at the top of the stands without pausing repeatedly to catch his breath. Jim was determined, but not loony, though some might dispute that.
Dunaway is one of a handful of writers who have been named to the U.S. Track & Field Hall of Fame, along with his good friends Bert and Cordner Nelson. He knew all of the lions of American track writing – Neil Amdur and Frank Litsky of The Times, Mal Florence of the L.A. Times, Leo Davis of The Oregonian, Carl Cluff of the Oregon Journal, Ed Chay of the Cleveland Plain Dealer, Garry Hill (T&FN), Ron Reid (San Jose and Philadelphia), Blaine Newnham (Eugene and Seattle), Bob Payne (Spokane and Tacoma), Georg Meyers (Seattle), Elliott Denman (NJ), Ed Grant (NJ), Bob Fachet (DC), Scott Davis, Marc Bloom, Bill Miller, Dave Johnson, Larry Byrne, the list is endless. Dunaway was part of the immediate postwar generation of writers who reported on track and field in its boom years of the ‘40s, ‘50s and ‘60s, linking him with the namesake of our writing award, Jesse Abramson of the New York Herald-Tribune, and his contemporary, Arthur Daley of The Times.
In more recent years, Dunaway championed writers of a younger era, including the New Yorkers Peter Gambac- cini and Merrell Noden.
Before leaving the East Coast, he was a mainstay of the media section at the Penn Relays, where he teamed up with Litsky, Amdur and Miller to cover the meet for The Times. That era also produced the legendary New York “Gang of Four” – Walt Murphy, Bob Hersh, Peter Diamond and Dunaway.
TAFWA Newsletter -Page 3 - March 2015 Jim had a mixed love affair with Eugene, a place he loved to visit and also loved to skewer for its fans’ excessive devotion. In the 1970s he was an essential part of the inspiration for that decade’s two famous T-shirts created by his group of out-of-town critics, the yellow-and-green one that said Eugene: Track Capital of Lane County, surrounding a small outline of the county, and the infamous bright red STOP PRE shirt famously worn by Steve himself after winning the 5,000 at the ’72 Olympic Trials.
Dunaway was a raconteur of the old school and a man of letters and the arts. No one knew more than JOD about jazz, for example. He told the story of his early years in Manhattan, when he worked at one of the top ad agencies on Madison Avenue, staying late to crank out an important job, at which point he and his colleagues would make their way to 52nd Street, between 5th and 6th, for dinner, a few beverages and the latest bebop at the 3 Deuces, Jimmy Ryan’s, the Club Downbeat or The Famous Door. Long after midnight, he’d find his way back to his small apartment where Dunaway, a lapsed Catholic, lived across the street from St. Patrick’s Cathe- dral, an irony he cherished.
Dues & FAST Annual Yes there’s linkage. Membership dues are due for 2015 by the end of the month. Pay by Paypal, or by check, made out to TAFWA, through the mail to our treasurer, Tom Casacky. It’s $30.
If you are not paid up by the end of March, you will no longer receive the monthly TAFWA Newsletter – this thing you’re reading right now – nor will you receive your free copy in the mail of the 2015 FAST Annual. So please remember to pay your dues in a timely manner.
TAFWA Newsletter - Page 4 - March 2015 The Annual, also under Tom Casacky’s guiding hand, is expected to go to the printer later this month. We have an agreement to have USATF again be publisher of the book. The actual arrival date of the book will depend on the speed of USATF and its publishing wing, but we expect to put books in the mail in April. Dave Johnson will handle the mailing from Philadelphia.
Awards Nominations are in order for our remaining TAFWA Awards for this year – the Abramson Award for writing, the Sam Skinner Award for media relations, the Pinkie Sober and Scott Davis awards for announcing, the Rich Clarkson Award for photography, the Adam Jacobs Award for blogging, and our new videography award. Our other awards were presented last month in New York.
The criteria and deadlines for the remaining awards appear elsewhere in this newsletter.
They will be presented at our annual Spring Breakfast, Friday morning, June 12, during the NCAA Champion- ships in Eugene. This year we will be meeting on campus, not at the Hilton.
Remember James O. Dunaway. Read on.
TAFWA Newsletter - Page 5 March 2015 ------Forwarded message ------From:
Walt Murphy’s News and Results Service
To coincide with the 50th Anniversary of the 1956 Olympic Games in 2006, I asked Jim Dunaway to share the tale of his trip to the first of what would be 14 consecutive Summer Games (including the 1980 “Boycott” Games in Moscow) he would cover as a journalist.
In addition to the Olympics, Jim also covered eleven World Outdoor Championships(Through 2007), almost 50 NCAA Outdoor Championships, all but two or three U.S. Outdoor Championships over the same period, and various World Cups, European Championships, World Indoor Championships -- and literally hundreds of invitationals, relays, and conference championships, indoors and out, far too mamy to count.
He had been a contributor to Track and Field News for almost 50 years, written many stories for the NY Times, and had worked tirelessly to improve working conditions for journalists in pressboxes throughout the U.S.
I’ve considered Jim my mentor for many years, both as a writer and also as a TV “consultant”, a role he filled with ABC at the 1968-1972-1976-1984 Games and with NBC’s Triplecast at the 1992 Games in Barcelona. His story is a long one, but one well worth reading by any fan of the sport who has traveled some distance to a meet or who shares Jim’s philosophy--“To paraphrase Will Rogers, ‘I never met a track meet I didn’t like’”.)
Fantastic Voyage (My Trip to the 1956 Olympics) by Jim Dunaway
Early in 1956, I was working as a copywriter at Leo Burnett Company, a Chicago advertising agency.
I had been thinking about going to the 1960 Olympics in Rome, but the Cold War was getting pretty hot, and I thought that by 1960 there might not be any Olympics, or even any world.
So I decided to take a shot at Melbourne. I had a couple of thousand dollars saved up, and I had an idea for a way that I might earn some money at the Games, as a journalist.
My idea was to cover the Games for newspapers which had a local athlete competing in Melbourne, but wasn’t going to send one of their own reporters.
[You have to remember that the Olympics were nowhere as big a deal as they have become since the ad- vent of television. For example, there were only 70 press spots reserved for Americans in Melbourne. Only a few American papers had anyone there to cover the Games and those that did sent just one].
So I called up the U.S. Olympic Committee, then based in Chicago, and made an appointment to see Kenneth L. “Tug” Wilson, who was then the executive secretary of the USOC. I told him what I wanted TAFWA Newsletter - Page 6 - March 2015 to do, and he said something like “That’s a good idea!” and right then and there I was approved for ac- creditation.
Shortly after that, the men’s U.S. Olympic Trials were held in Los Angeles, with the top three in each event making the team. When the list was published, it included their home towns, and I looked up the newspapers for each one. Then I wrote a letter to the sports editor of 34 different papers.
There was one problem: I had never written a news story in my life. On the other hand, those sports editors didn’t know that. I didn’t have any doubts about my ability to do the job, but I didn’t want to lie about my qualifications. And I had learned a lot about selling things while writing ads.
So I got a letterhead printed up that looked like I was a freelance journalist, with a corny type face called Cheltenham Bold, and called myself “Hometown Features,” which actually was a pretty good description of what I intended to do.
Then I wrote a letter which made it sound like I had been writing about sports for years. I didn’t ever say I was an experienced sports writer, I just made the letter sound like I knew what I was doing. To the sports editor of the Valley Morning News of San Benito, Texas, it went like this:
“Dear Mr. Soandso,
How would you like to get complete, low-cost coverage of Bobby Morrow’s Olympic performance in the Olympic Games -- direct from Melbourne?
Hometown Features will be there, officially accredited by the U.S. Olympic Committee, and our package of four stories will cover Bobby from the moment he lands in Melbourne till the finish of his last race.”
Then I went on and outlined what the stories were going to cover in enough detail so that the editor could envision how he could use the stories in his paper, told him what the price would be and so on, and enclosed an order form and a return envelope.
I guess my sales letter was convincing, because nobody questioned my writing skills. In fact, one of the five papers I ended up working for actually wrote to say they’d agree to my proposal only if I were personally doing the coverage and not one of my employees!
By that time, I’d decided that if I were going to go halfway around the world to Australia, I might as well come back via Asia, Africa and Europe and see for myself that the world really is round. So one day in late July 1956, I walked into my boss’ office and said, “I’d like to take a year’s leave of absence, starting September first.”
This was the 1950s, and nobody had ever asked for a year’s leave of absence before. Most of the people at the agency thought I was crazy. But they eventually said, “Okay,” and I started packing.
I had one advantage over most travelers. My father worked for Texaco, and he managed to get me a free ride to Australia on a couple of oil tankers. So on September 1, Doug Stuart and I got into a drive- away car and headed for San Francisco via the fabled Route 66. Doug was an Australian high jumper (6-8 1/4) who attended Michigan State, and he needed to get home to try out for the Australian Olym-
TAFWA Newsletter - Page 7 - March 2015 pic team.
We checked in at the Texaco office in San Francisco, and a few days later we boarded the Margaret Ons- tad, a Norwegian tanker chartered by Texaco to transport Indonesian crude oil to California, and then deadhead back to Sumatra, where the crude was produced.
Lucky us! Doug and I were put in the owner’s cabin, where we had real beds and a real bathroom. We ate our meals with the captain, the first mate, and the chief engineer, all Norwegians, as was the crew. The captain was Nick Dahl, who had first gone to sea as a 12-year-old and worked his way up while continuing to go to school. He was also a member of the famous Bislett Club of Oslo, and he knew a lot about track and field. Outside of a few students I had known, and athletes like Doug and Kevan Gosper of Michigan State, these were the first “foreigners” I’d ever met, and while the Norwegians were cour- teous and friendly, they regarded the United States as a sort of “800-pound gorilla”.
We sailed across the Pacific non-stop to Sumatra. What I remember best about the trip was lying at the bow and sunbathing while watching the flying fish scoot along and above the ocean surface as we cut through the water. It was a very peaceful three weeks.
We cut through the Philippines just north of Mindanao and into the South China Sea. Two or three times we passed small islands, with beautiful beaches and palm trees, looking just like the kind of is- land in everyone’s dreams. I wished we could have stopped and gone ashore for a couple of hours.
We turned the corner south of Singapore, and anchored in an inlet called Sungai Pakning. Doug headed to Singapore, where he would fly to Sydney and try to qualify for the Games without success (those three weeks on the tanker with no place to train were too much to overcome). I said goodbye, and soon found myself in a village of a few hundred houses which, in spite of the jungle all around it, looked like an American suburb. Almost all the people who lived there were American oilmen and their families, and they had brought their environment with them, swimming pool and all. They were even working on building a nine-hole golf course.
One Texaco man I met there was Ross Nichols, who finished 5th in the 110-meter hurdles at the 1928 Olympic Trials. The oil was amazing. It was so close to the surface, and the ground was so soft, that you could actually see the rotary drill slowly going down.
After a couple of weeks, I caught an Australia-bound tanker bound for Sydney, with British officers and a crew from Goa(a state in India). It was at the time of the Suez War, and then the Hungarian Revolution, and I kept up with the news bulletins from the radioman and wondered if there would be any Olympics by the time I got to Melbourne. I also learned to play darts.
The tanker docked in Botany Bay, a few hundred yards from the spot where Captain Cook first landed and laid claim to Australia for Great Britain. A day or two later I took a train to Melbourne. It’s easy to remember the date -- November 5 -- because it was Guy Fawkes Day and that night as we sped through the countryside there were many bonfires.
The next day, I picked up my press credential in Melbourne. I found a room above a pub called Young and Jackson, amazingly a short walk from the Melbourne Cricket Grounds, the main Olympic Sta- dium, known as the MCG.
TAFWA Newsletter - Page 8 - March 2015 A word about Young and Jackson. I had stumbled on to the most famous pub in Melbourne, and maybe in Australia. By law, any place that served drinks had to have rooms for guests, but most Melbour- neans thought of Y&J as just a place to drink and were surprised when I told them I was staying there.
Young and Jackson was famous because behind the main bar was a huge painting of a nude called “Chloe.” Australian beer was (and may still be) a lot stronger than American beer, and Australians drank a lot of it. And because the pub was just across the street from the main railroad station, a lot of commuters would stop in for a beer or two after work.
Australia was in many ways still very Victorian, and one of the ways was that the pubs had to stop serving at 6 p.m. After that, the customers had 15 minutes to finish their drinks before the bartender said, “Time, gentlemen!” So, many of the customers would order several beers just before 6:00 -- as many as eight or ten -- and then proceed to polish them off in 15 minutes before staggering across the street to take the train home.
My press credential was a badge -- a bronze oval shaped like a track with a ribbon that said “Press.” With it, I could go anywhere. The trams and busses were free, the training and competition venues were open to me, I could walk into the Olympic village at any hour of the day or night as long as I had my badge.
Australians love to gamble. As the saying goes, if there are two flies on a wall, they will bet on which one will move first. I found this out a few days after I arrived, on the day of a horse race called the Mel- bourne Cup. It’s like the Kentucky Derby, only multiplied by twenty. I was on a tram that afternoon, and suddenly the tram stopped in the middle of a block, and everybody trooped into a pub to listen to the Cup on the radio. After the race was over -- and some money changed hands -- we all got back on the tram and off it went.
There was a practice track not far from the MCG, and quite a few times I went there to watch Kevan Gosper and Chris Brasher, among others, train. The head starter of the Games, Julius “Judy” Patching, spent hours there helping sprinters from many countries practice their starts. A real gentleman.
The most popular practice track was just outside the Village. There, one could not only watch the ath- letes train, but get into conversation with them. I spent several hours with Lee Calhoun (I was covering him for the Gary (Indiana) Post-Tribune) watching him work out and chatting with him about hurdling and sprinting. Once I joined a group clustered around Emil Zatopek; he was amazingly relaxed as he cracked jokes and talked about his training for the Olympic marathon.
I was also covering a couple of basketball players for the Oklahoma City Times and the Amarillo News- Globe, and I would watch them practicing and then go eat with them in the Olympic Village dining hall.
There were several pre-Olympic track meets. They were really needed because most of the athletes were from the Northern Hemisphere and hadn’t competed for several months, to say nothing of hav- ing traveled thousands of miles to get to Australia.
On November 10 I rode a train with some of the American team to a meet at Puckapunyal Army Base; I had a long conversation with Bill Dellinger (a junior at Oregon), and another with Parry O’Brien, who 10 days earlier in Los Angeles had raised his shot put world record to 63-2.
TAFWA Newsletter - Page 9 - March 2015 A few days later, there was a meet near Melbourne in Geelong, John Landy’s home town. He didn’t run, but there was a terrific two-mile, won by Chris Brasher (later to win the Olympic steeplechase) in 8:45.2, with American Phil Coleman second in a national record of 8:47.8. On November 17, there was a meet at Bendigo, a country town, where Jack Davis beat Lee Calhoun by two meters with a stunning 13.3 high hurdles time. After the meet the ladies of the town served all the athletes and most of the spectators in a big hall with long tables and lots of home-cooked food…real old-fashioned country hospitality.
One pre-Games moment sticks in my memory. It was when I got Lee Calhoun to come to the Olympic pool and introduced him to diver Jeanne Stunyo. They were both from Gary, but had never met. I took a picture of Jeanne leaning down from the diving board as Lee reached up, and sent it to the Post-Tri- bune. The paper got their money’s worth from those two. Lee won the gold in the 110-meter hurdles and Jeanne took the silver in springboard diving.
Finally, the Games began. I don’t really care much for parades, but the opening ceremony was some- thing special -- elegant in its simplicity. It began with a band playing as the athletes marched in, coun- try by country, and then stood behind their flags in the infield. After a couple of two-minute speeches, the band played the Olympic hymn, world record holder John Landy (3:58.0) took the Olympic oath in the name of all the athletes, and an 18-year-old Aussie athlete named Ron Clarke ran into the sta- dium with the Olympic torch, ran around the track holding it high, and then climbed the stadium steps to light the flame. Prince Philip said, “I now declare open these Games of the Sixteenth Olympiad of the modern era,” and everybody cheered. Then the athletes marched out as the band played.
That was it. No folk dancing. No mass calisthenics. No spectacular pageant recounting the glorious his- tory of the host nation.
Just the athletes.
I remember thinking that this was the first parade I’d ever really enjoyed.
In the days before the Games I’d already written articles on each of the athletes I was covering. The first was about their arrival in Melbourne and life in the Olympic Village, and the second was about how they were training. As the competition began, my third and fourth articles were written about each athlete’s prospects and chief opponents.
I was typing like a maniac on my old Royal portable. I wrote more than 30 stories in three or four weeks. I wish I had saved them, or the clips.
The Olympic Stadium had originally been built for cricket, hence its name, the Melbourne Cricket Grounds, or MCG. It held more than 100,000, and despite the fact that there were less than 15 million Australians, they pretty much filled it every day of the Games.
The ‘press stand” was the only part of the stadium which was covered. It was the part of the MCG which was ordinarily reserved for members of the Club. Not only did the press have the best seats in the house -- right on the finish line -- but just behind us was a cozy little members bar, which for the Games was the press bar, where we could get cold Australian beer and delicious sandwiches. And when there was too much action to leave our seats (there was no TV, remember), young vendors came
TAFWA Newsletter - Page 10 - March 2015 around frequently with delicious hot meat pies.
I don’t remember all the reporters I met there, but they all treated me as an equal, probably because while they knew a lot more about journalism than I did, I couldhold my own about track and field. I remember once being on a taxi ride withJesse Abramson of the New York Herald Tribune, Allison Danzig of The New York Times, and John Lardner of Newsweek (Many T&F writing awards are named after Abramson). We must have been going to some non-track event, or to a restaurant. Cordner and Bert Nelson I knew from Track Field News. Others I became friends with included Mary Snow and Roy Terrell of Sports Illustrated (Roy later became the editor), and Milton Marmor of the Associated Press, the only reporter present when Roger Bannister ran the first sub-four-minute mile.
There was no instant replay or big-screen TV. If you wanted to know what happened,you had to watch -- and watch closely -- and take notes before it all became a blur in your mind. Results were announced on the scoreboard, and you better write themdown in your program, just like the paying customers, because the results weren’tprinted up and handed out to the press as they are today.
Outside of an excellent team brochure put out by the USOC, you had to supply your own information, your own stats, your own biographical data. The only person there who was fully equipped to cover the Olympic was Jesse (Abramson). He had it all in his head.
It was an exciting month.
When it was over, I traveled around Australia for two months, then went through 23 other countries in Asia, Africa and Europe before finally arriving back in the United States on another Texaco tanker which landed me in Portland, Maine.
TAFWA Newsletter - Page 11 - March 2015 ------Forwarded message ------From:
As you’ll see when you read the following testimonials from some of the most influential people in the sport, Jim Dunaway, who passed away on Sunday night at the age of 87, was more than a Hall-of-Fame journalist--he was a good friend, a mentor, and a tireless protector of all that was good about the sport of track and field.
The IAAF described Dunaway as “a doyen of athletics journalism” and there is not a more appropriate phrase to describe him. He will be honored this year at the Penn Relays and Nike Prefontaine Classic, and a press row seat will be left open in his memory at the 2015 USATF Outdoor Championships.
USATF Obituary: http://www.usatf.org/News/2010-National-Track---Field-Hall-of-Fame-inductee-. aspx http://www.usatf.org/news/view.aspx?DUID=USATF_2010_11_22_14_49_13 http://www.usatf.org/halloffame/TF/showBio.asp?HOFIDs=244
(2010 Article): http://ny.milesplit.com/articles/56630#.VQh7rxy1_74
IAAF Obituary: http://www.iaaf.org/news/iaaf-news/james-dunaway-obituary
Here are just a few samples of my own fond memories of Jim.
This was actually before I got involved in the sport, but Jim was instrumental in getting officials at Madison Square Garden to release place times in all of the running events. Previously, only the win- ning time was published.
Some of you will remember Delano Meriwether, the sprinting M.D. from the D.C. area. After winning the 100-yard dash at the 1970 National Junior Championships(when it had a different meaning than the current age-based Juniors) in Wantagh, Long Island, he was asked during a post-race interview about his training methods. He said that he had gotten help from a how-to book publshed by Sports Illustrated. Dunaway, one of a handful of reporters on hand for the event, said with a smile, “I wrote that book!”
That same year, Jim got me my first TV job with ABC, which was to operate the bulky timing device that relayed the finish time to the screen. He would become a great supporter as I became more in- voved with the TV end of the sport over the years. Jim was also responsible for my participation in one of the great “freebies” of all time, an all-expenses paid trip to the inaugural World Junior Champion- ships in Athens, Greece, in 1986. Just another example of Jim looking out for his friends.
Jim was inducted into the National T&F Hall of Fame in 2010 and would be a unanimous choice for the “Father’s Hall-of-Fame” if one existed. His son David was born with hydrocephalus, a condi- tion that affects the brain and requires those afflicted to receive special care. While still living in New
TAFWA Newsletter - Page 12 - March 2015 Jersey, Jim would bring David to track meets in the Metropolitan area, allowing many of us to get to know his son.
As David got older, he moved with his father to Austin, Texas, where he could live in a facility that could provide better living conditions for him. A yearly highlight that will be missed is the Christmas card that Jim would send out, usually with a holiday-themed picture of David on the front and a hu- morous (and touching) transcript of a conversation between father-and-son on the inside.
As photographer Victah Sailer said, “He loved his son so so much. He had OUR passion for our sport but it was so small compared to his love for David. That impressed me so much”.
Stan Huntsman, another Hall-of-Famer, and his wife Sylvia were Jim’s good friends in Austin and Syl- via visited him many times these last few weeks as his condition fluctuated between hopeful and dire. Another regular visitor was Chris Kuykendall, who kept Jim up-to-date on the latest happenings in the sport, both on and off the track.
I had hoped to visit Jim when I traveled to Austin next week for the Texas Relays, but I can imagine him saying, “Sorry, Walter, I can’t wait that long”. That’s OK, Jim-considering the way things were go- ing, I’d rather see you go sooner than later.
Walt Murphy
This is an exchange of responses from a small circle of friends after they learned of Jim’s passing:
Frank Litsky (Formerly NY Times) Jim Dunaway was a one-of a-kind gem. He kept his chin up all his adult life despite the dirty tricks life played on him. He loved track and field so much that he abandoned a lucrative business career to watch meets and pass along his wisdom to readers everywhere. For so many years, New York Times readers benefited from that wisdom, notably when he detected the brazen misconduct by Russian on-the-track officials during the 1980 Moscow Olympics. He was my right hand for years at the Penn Relays and, before Walt Murphy’s reign, with the New York Track Writers Association at a time when track and field meant something to newspapers.
He was humble to a fault. The day he was told he had been elected to the National Track Hall of Fame, he was almost in tears because he doubted he was worthy of such an honor and wondered why it had been bestowed on him. He never realized how important he was to the sport and how much he had contributed to it, especially to those of us who did what he did, but not nearly as well. Happily, we real- ized his greatness. There was only one Jim Dunaway in our lives. Thank God we had him.
Dick Patrick (Formerly USA Today) To all of you Dunaway fans: After leaving home early this morning and not returning until an hour ago, I logged onto my email and have since been channeling my inner James O. I can just hear Jim, “Figures you’d be the last to know. You need to check in with your sources constantly. Every damn day.”
The first time I met Jim was in the fall of ‘87 -- that’ s 1987 and not 1887 -- at a function preceding the New York City Marathon. When I mentioned my name, he replied, “Oh, you’re the new guy at USA
TAFWA Newsletter - Page 13 - March 2015 Today who’ s been writing about our sport.”
He followed that convivial intro with increasingly intensive rounds of questioning. Evidently I con- vinced him that I was a long-time follower of the sport with sincere interest in it, though I had little experience of covering athletics at the highest level. Thus began a 28-year relationship that went be- yond him mentoring me.
Not only did he edit me more intensely than anyone at USA Today, he aided me through my first expe- riences at World Championships and Olympics. He saved my sorry butt many times with his expertise at major meets and provided me with many freelance opportunities as well as advice for life in general. It was almost like having a third parent.
I remember being at a major meet at the University of Texas, probably an NCAA Championship, in the 1990s, and having a riveting conversation with Jim and then-UT assistant Dan Pfaff. Jim was at his outraged best, though I don’t remember the topic. He stalked off, telling Dan and me that he was chas- ing a major story. Pfaff: “That guy has more piss and vinegar than guys half his age. I hope I have that passion at his age.”
Me: “I wish I had that much piss and vinegar now.”
Think of the length of his career. His first major assignment was the 1956 Olympics when he mailed some dispatches back to the U.S. He was writing on instantaneous deadlines for websites in the 2000s. Think of the depth of his career. He dug out the story of the Russians cheating at the 1980 Olympics. The US boycotted but Jim was devoted to seeing cheating in the sport he loved being exposed.
Think of his selflessness. Good Lord, how many people did he mentor? Look at all the wonderful people on this email thread whom he helped. There aren’t a lot of journalists who cover the sport. Nobody covered it with more passion than Jim, who managed to be both competitive and helpful simultane- ously.
The man loved the sport, excellent journalism and his son, David, while also fashioning an impressive business career. We need to name a track journalism award for him so we can keep his memory alive. But I can’t think of details now. I’m grieving too much.
Marc Bloom (Author, NY Times Contributor) #1 A very sad day indeed. Jim, who I believe was 86(he was 87-WM), was a wonderful, giving mentor of mine in the early days, and a mentor to many others including Peter Diamond. I’d spoken with Jim pe- riodically in recent months, most recently some weeks ago. He seemed quite deflated. Hopefully he had some peace knowing how much his friends and colleagues cared about him, and most especially that he had done all he could to assure that David would be taken care of. I hope that we as a track group, TAFWA, etc., find a way to properly salute and remember Jim. (Already in the works-WM).
To add to my earlier, brief comment to what has become quite a beautiful and moving collection of eu- logies. Wouldn’t be nice if all of this found its way onto the T&FN website. I didn’t see anything about Jim on the site. My friendship with Jim spanned 50 years. I met Jim at the 1964 Penn Relays when I was a 17-year-old high school senior. I walked up to the press box flashing my new T&FN “correspon- dents” ID, assuming that was my entrée into every meet including the Olympics. The yellow-jacketed
TAFWA Newsletter - Page 14 - March 2015 security guards told me to beat it. When I protested, Jim heard the ruckus and told them, “He’s with me.” Since I practically worshipped the T&FN masthead, especially this guy who was the Eastern Edi- tor, to meet Jim in that way was like meeting Paul McCartney. Jim immediately went down a list of everything I needed to do to learn about track writing. First: come to the NYC Track Writers luncheon meetings at Mamma Leone’s--which, in that era of track’s heyday, were held (and well attended) in spring as well as winter. I did. Jim introduced me to Jesse Abramson and everyone else. I saw my first press conference in action. That was my Woodward-and-Bernstein moment. Jim didn’t stop there. He started to get me gofer gigs. Jim did the TV coverage stats then, and one job I can recall in the mid- 60s at a Garden indoor meet was starting the clock that showed each event’s running time on your TV screen. Little did I know that during the telecast I would be sitting in the announcing booth next to the two commentators who happened to be... Howard Cosell and O.J. Simpson. (I actually got paid for that.)
Mary Wittenberg(President/CEO NYRR) And, here I was so flattered that Jim took time to call me and critique me on my various speaking en- gagements. Frank (Litsky), after your birthday party a few years ago, Jim called me to say he liked the beginning of my toast to you but felt I missed an opportunity to punch the close. He was right. Got to love that - who else takes the time - or has the fortitude to talk straight with us like that?
Peter(Gambaccini) I am only sorry that despite Jim’s advice, my speaking hasn’t soared to the heights of your writing Most of all, I respect how much Jim loved and respected his fellow long time writers and followers of the sport. I will miss him as will our team here at NYRR.
Peter Gambaccini (RunnersWorld.com) Jim, for reasons that were generous, flattering, and a little mysterious, took a huge interest in me and my career and called me regularly to see how I was weathering the changes the profession is endur- ing. His concern was genuine and humane and meant an enormous amount to me. He would say to me, almost every time he called, “I care about you.” It always disarmed me; that’s not the kind of thing we writers tend to say to each other. The crusty guy had a warm heart and a giving soul. I already miss him.
He could be a caustic and tough critic, of course, refreshingly so. So when my New York City Marathon “coffee table” book came out and he called and complimented it rather lavishly and glowingly (it did have lovely pictures), I said to him, “Jim, this is the praise that means more to me than anything.” And it was.
Peter Diamond (Senior Vice President, Programming, NBC Olympics) Jim was a great guy, a great father, and a mentor-sometimes stern-to all of us…he knew the sport and cared so deeply about it…he also cared deeply about all his friends…
Tracy Sundlun (Senior VP-Competitor Group, Inc.) While all of you can write so well, and so eloquently express your experiences with Jim and your sad- ness upon his passing; I am just sitting here miserable about the death of such an important person in and to a sport I so love … and who I called a friend … and the fact that I never said good-bye or told him recently that I loved him and appreciated him and admired him … and that I am going to miss him … and that I have tears in my eyes and my heart is in my throat … and that I will never forget him. Rest In Peace, my friend … TAFWA Newsletter - Page 15 - March 2015 Larry Eder (RunBlogRun.com, Publishing Director Fortius Media Group , LLC. My son, Adam, first met him at the 2004 Olympic Games. It was late after a session, and we headed out for cocktails and dinner. As the evening wore on into morning, and the cocktails and dinner ended, the stories continued. Adam was mesmerized. For nearly the decade after that, Adam and his video team would join me for dinner with James around NYC, or Austin. Many will recall that James worked for Ted Bates, Advertising, one of the true iconic agencies. For me, though, the love and affection he had for his son, David, and his concern on what would happen to David after James died, was always top in my mind. It was James who reminded me of a 1960 Olympic event (this was in late January/ear- ly February 2015), as if it were yesterday. James helped me with my writing for years. His best advice: “You write best when you don’t pretend to be a writer.” He also scolded me about respecting writers and the profession. We had some heated discussions, and then, we would figure things out. I always learnt from James. He told me that I should aspire to be a publisher like George Hirsch (a goal of mine, still), who he respected from his time writing for RW.
James Dunaway is a man of some complication, and it was in that complication that I found his hu- manity: his affection for his son, David, his pride in Walt Murphy, Marc Bloom and the countless ones he mentored. His castigation of some was another sign of his affection.
Watching a track meet with James was an experience. A writer, trying to impress Dunaway, once was sitting by James and I, and interjecting commentary while Dunaway and I were trying to watch and observe the meet. James turned around, before I could warn the writer and let loose a line of wonder- fully colorful and creative obscenities. The gist of the matter was that we were trying to watch the damn track meet and stop the unwanted or unneeded, in Dunaway’s mind, commentary. Smiles were seen up and down the media row, and the young writer was silenced. James was quite nice to the young perpetrator in subsequent meetings, probably censoring himself in future conversations. James last edited our XC 2013-2014 issue in October 2014. His notes, his comments, were quite amus- ing as he was having issues with another computer. I was grateful for his time, his mentoring, but most of all, our conversations.
That James Dunaway was a member of the USATF Hall of Fame was some mystery to him. It was a genuine mystery, because he never knew who nominated him. His speech was short, sweet and perfect Dunaway. A mantra for many who had been advised by James: “never say with three words what one can say with one word.”
Merrell Noden (Formerly Sports Illustrated) Like everyone else who’s commented here, I know I will miss his monthly calls to discuss grammar, track politics, and the correct way to spell “impostor.”
I was thinking about Jim yesterday while contemplating the whole question of whether Grant Fisher deserved a DQ (at the New Balance Nationals). It reminded me of a piece of Solomonic wisdom Dun- away had given me following the 1992 Olympic 10,000 meter final. I can’t recall exactly what made the finish between Skah and [maybe] Hamid Boutayeb controversial but I remember admiring Dunaway’s logic in resolving it: Both men, he said, clearly were willing to let the race come down to a final sprint and once the sprint had begun, it was clear that Skah was the faster of the two. That may not have been strictly the way the rules have it, but I thought Dunaway’s logic was impeccable.
He clearly cared deeply about a number of things: his son, track and field, and writing well. I’m sure I’m
TAFWA Newsletter - Page 16 - March 2015 going to miss him, crusty old cuss that he was.
Frank Gagliano I am so sorry!!!! Great man. Loved the sport of track and field. He will be missed, gag.
Kim Spir, TAFWA Newsletter Editor I will miss Jim beyond belief. I’ve known Jim for almost 20 years.
When I took the job as the TAFWA newsletter editor, Jim called me to complain about typos in stories I’d pulled for the newsletters, the direction of the future of track and field, his dating and love life or lack thereof, his passion for his son, and his undying love for TAFWA and the sport of track and field. What we could fix, and make better.
He complained constantly “I’m a 30 year-old in an old man’s body.” That body was the reason he stopped attending meets at Hayward Field. It’s an endless trek up the stairs to the top where the press sit, and he could no longer make that trip on his own.
His Christmas cards left me in tears. They were a mirror to Jim’s soul. His son ruled his world.
He’s always been there for me, honest and cranky, confronting and angry. I tried my best to be there for him. Sometimes he made that difficult, but I never stopped trying.
I always thought to myself, even when Jim was making it impossible to love him or reason with him, it didn’t matter where you were in Jim’s world. It only mattered that you were there.
TAFWA Newsletter - Page 17 - March 2015 From the Austin American-Statesman via Chris Kuykendall
< Any sports journalist who has covered the Texas Relays over the past five decades undoubtedly bumped into the little guy with a floppy hat in the press box or the infield. Jim was a living encyclope- dia of track and field knowledge and could recall events from forever ago faster than any Google search. He covered an amazing 14 consecutive Olympic Games during a stellar career that was highlighted by his 2010 induction into the National Track and Field Hall of Fame. Remember the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow, which the U.S. boycotted for political reasons? Jim made the trip anyway. He also covered 50 NCAA outdoor championships for a variety of publications, including the American-States- man, for which he proved most reliable. Our business encompasses many areas, but at its core, the storytellers have always commanded the most attention. That’s what I liked most about Jim. He had great stories and could make us all laugh. He will be missed.>> Links to other tributes. Thanks, Chris Kuykendall Decathlete Trey Hardee, who lives in Austin with wife Chelsea Johnson the former pole vaulter... http://camillestyles.com/beauty-and-style/love-work/love-work-trey-hardee-and-chelsea-johnson/ [click on LAUNCH THE GALLERY] < TAFWA Newsletter - Page 18 - March 2015 TAFWA Newsletter - Page 27 March 2015 TAFWA Newsletter - Page 28 - March 2015 http://www.letsrun.com/news/2015/03/ editorial-the-system-didnt-work-usatf-board- should-do-the-right-thing-and-reverse-the- stephanie-hightower-decision-next-week/ Editorial: “The System Didn’t Work” – USATF Board Should Do The Right Thing And Reverse The Stephanie Hightower Decision Next Week by: LetsRun.com |March 6, 2015 Next week, the USATF Board of Directors meets in Los Angeles and has the opportunity to do the right thing and reverse its decision to nominate Stephanie Hightower to the IAAF Council. In December at the USATF annual meeting, the USATF delegates voted at an overwhelming 85% clip to nomi- nate current IAAF Senior Vice President Bob Hersh as the United State nominee to the IAAF Council. Then the USATF Board of Directors, in a sign of ignorance of what their role is, voted by an 11-1 margin to overrule the delegates, and nominate one of their own, Stephanie Hightower, to the IAAF Council. Thomas Jefferson eloquently said, “That government is the strongest of which every man feels himself a part.” A system which ignores 85% of the people is definitely not a system where every person feels themselves a part. That’s a system that needs to be reformed. Absent extraordinary circumstances, the Board should never exercise a veto over 85% of the delegates. Lionel Leach, USATF Youth Chair, said it more succinctly when he told LetsRun.com, “The system didn’t work.” What the Board failed to realize is that just because a system can do something does not mean it should. In its explanation of its decision, the Board acted like the USATF delegates were not informed on what they were vot- ing on. That is condescending, insulting, and untrue. Stephanie Hightower’s name was on the ballot. The USATF delegates, who had elected Stephanie Hightower as President of USATF twice, had a clear cut choice. Did they want Bob Hersh to be the USATF nominee to the IAAF Council or did they want Stephanie Hightower? 84.8% of the delegates chose Bob Hersh, 15.2% chose Stephanie Hightower. It’s hard to get a more overwhelm- ing result in a legitimately held vote. The Board with no sense of irony said by ignoring 85% of its membership and selecting Stephanie they was act- ing in the “best interests of the organization.” The Board also wrote in justifying its decision, “As a board, we act as earnestly and deliberately as we can to ad- vance the organization and the sport, with sensitivity to the consideration of all constituents but without being swayed by specific, special interests.” The only special interests acting here are those of the Board in selecting one of its own. The constituents more than made it clear who they wanted. Does USATF want to continue to be an organization where the members and athletes feel they have no voice? The Board needs to think about what its role is and remember ultimately who it is responsible to, the member- ship of USATF. The USATF Board needs to nominate Bob Hersh to the IAAF Council. We will be writing more on the Stephanie Hightower/Bob Hersh situation in the next week. Whether you agree or disagree with us, we would love to here from you. Email us at [email protected] TAFWA Newsletter - Page 21 - March 2015 March 8, 2015 Dear President Hightower, As I lay in bed on Sunday, March 8, 2015, I was reminded of the great sacrifices that Martin Luther King, Jr., Congressman John Lewis, and 600 others made to register African-Americans voters in the south. As you know, 50 years ago this past Saturday protesters attempted to march from Selma to Montgomery only to encounter violent resistance by state and local officials and law enforcement. This day is known as “Bloody Sunday.” Alabama state troopers wielding whips, nightsticks and tear gas threatened and attacked the marchers. Governor Wallace refused to protect the marchers and al- lowed the attack to take place, making this day one of the most disturbing days in our nation’s history. Wallace believed in discrimination, disenfranchisement, and plain bullying. We all recog- nize bullying as the use of superior strength or influence to intimidate those who are weaker and to force them to do the bully’s bidding. In the wake of this seminal American moment, a half century later, I am saddened to say I have heard about and then read a disturbing letter that makes our governor, Bully Supreme Chris Christie of the great state of New Jersey, look like an angel. You see, I have witnessed bullying in all its forms. Every day the members in the union I represent are bullied by their bosses all day long. I don’t let them get away with it, and I most certainly will not allow it to happen in the USATF, the organization I love most in the world. Our good friend Timothy Baker received a letter from you that was offensive, disrespectful and downright abu- sive. It was Bullying 101, intended to intimidate Mr. Baker to do what you want. He was shaken by this threat and I am appalled to know that you would send this travesty to him. Mr. Baker has been a pioneer in the sport for several decades, from his time as meet director of the Penn Relays to his time on the Law and Legislation committee. As you wrote in the first line of your letter to him, “You have a long history of contributions to USATF, and I appreciate your active engagement in USATF committee efforts in particular.” In the face of that acknowledgement, how you can write such an abusive letter to him is astound- ing at best and intolerable at worst. This is the same man who spent thousands of dollars of his own money for your election nine years ago and got people to sign your petitions for you can become a candidate. He has been a loyal and dedicated solider for you for years; and, just because he holds a different belief than yours about the direction of the organization, you think you are allowed to write a letter like this to bully him. You are right, the organization has seen tremendous growth both in membership and in revenue, and this came about from the tremendous work and the volunteerism of thousands of hard working members of USATF. In fact, in the youth program alone we have seen an increase of over 30,000 new members in the last 8 years. The growth in revenue has resulted directly from Max’s hard work to bring home the bacon, which helps our com- mittees develop the tools to get the job done. By comparison, you have been little more than a bystander. In fact, you have divided this organization into the “Haves” and the “Have-Nots.” I dare say that Max’s legacy to the USATF far outdistances what you will leave. As a constituent leader, I have an obligation to this organization and to the youth membership – better known by all as my 85,000 babies – to protect their rights, and to make this sport of track and field better than the way I found it. And I know Mr. Baker wants the same; but, your reckless behavior and bullying tactics with folks who do not see eye-to-eye with you are not in the best interest of track and field as a whole. Although he did not vote, Mr. Baker was not acting any differently than the 85 percent who have disagreed with you, in every voting session of the Law and Legislation committee. TAFWA Newsletter - Page 22 - March 2015 I fear that you are starting to believe that as long as people disagree with you, they are not doing what is in the best interest of USATF. I fear that you are starting to rule like a dictator instead of respecting the democratic process, which has defined our organization for longer than I can remember. Your goals are different from the goals of the rest of the organization. It’s all right to disagree, but it is not all right to use your position as president of this organization to BULLY and intimidate anyone, let alone loyal and dedicated members of this great organization. You are probably wondering why I am writing this letter to you and responding rather than Mr. Baker himself. I am writing this letter because I will not allow anyone to be bullied in any way whatsoever. The letter you wrote to Mr. Baker is offensive, plain and simple. This man has worked too hard for this sport and deserves to be treated with greater respect than you have shown him. If you decide to remove him from the committee, as he was your appointment, that is certainly your choice. However, this is not your committee and this should not be a case of agree with me or else. In closing, this organization is called USATF not Ms. Hightower Track and Field. How dare you send this man a letter in this tone. The tone of this letter reminds me of October 20, 1973; it was known as the Saturday Night Massacre. That was the night when President Richard Nixon dismissed special prosecutor Archibald Cox and asked for the resignations of Attorney General Elliot Richardson and Deputy Attorney General William Ruck- elshaus during the Watergate scandal. As memory serves, President Nixon was removed from office as a result of his abuse of power. You may view that as a threat or a history lesson. Either way, I don’t care. What I do care about is the integrity and leadership of USATF; hopefully, you will find it in your heart to display more of both. Yours in Track, Lionel A. Leach USATF Youth Chairman Letter from President Hightower March 6, 2015 Via Email Mr. Tim Baker 429 N Street SW, Apt S805 Washington, DC 20024 [email protected] Dear Tim: You have a long history of contributions to USATF, and I appreciate your active engagement in USATF commit- tee efforts in particular. I write today because your activities at the 2015 USATF Annual Meeting in Anaheim were cause for concern, particularly given your position and role in USATF. As you know, USATF is experiencing tremendous growth, and this is an exciting time in the history of our orga- nization. Along with this growth comes change. These changes are extremely positive, particularly our growth in revenue. Some changes are uncomfortable for some, but they are part of our evolution and necessary to move us forward. TAFWA Newsletter -Page 23 - March 2015 Those of us who are constituent leaders must take care to engage in productive debate. But in the end, we must ultimately unite in the shared goal of improving and growing the sport. During the Annual Meeting, in your public statements and committee activity, you were very outspoken and critical of decisions made by the board and committees, and critical of the overall direction of USATF. These statements were not part of constructive debate, they were destructive statements seemingly made with the intent of undermining the direction of the organization. Tim, you have long been one of the leaders of the law & legislation committee, but you need to understand that this type of behavior is counter-productive to our mutual goals and is not conducive to the overall success of USATF. The members of the law & legislation committee are critical to ensuring the organization’s governance structure is best suited to help the USATF achieve success. You are my appointee on my committee, but your statements and activities seem to indicate that your commitment to advancing mutual organizational goals may be waning. If you would like to continue as my appointee, please call me so we can discuss. Sincerely, Stephanie Hightower Stephanie Hightower USATF President cc (via email only): Jim Murphy, USATF L&L Chair LetsRun’s Wejo Gets Response From Tim Baker As the latest USATF kerfuffle goes on, in which president Stephanie Hightower sent a critical e-mail to Tim Baker, Weldon Johnson of letsrun.com fired off a communique to Baker, saying, “I am curious what you may have said or done to give Stephanie the impression, “During the Annual Meeting, in your public statements and committee activity, you were very outspoken and critical of decisions made by the board and committees, and critical of the overall direction of USATF.” Baker responded, “I don’t have a clue about what she was talking about and you should ask her. You might note that she gives no specifics about anything I said or did. She only characterized my actions as negatives She also doesn’t seem to understand what the Law and Legislation Committee Does. We try to bring peace to the warring factions in USATF. The fact the at L&L package was approved by a vote of 92 to 8% of the membership indicates that we did a pretty good job. The fact that Ms. Hightower was in the 8% should give her pause concerning where she stands. Also, she seems to suggest that since she appointed me to the Committee, I am required to speak and vote in favor of what she wants. “I have been appointed by 4 different Presidents, and in the past it has always been understood that they expected me to do what was best for the organization. If she feels that I should be a puppet and she pulls the strings then she should terminate my appointment. I she does, I will continue to hold the positions I have held all along, and speak out as a member of USATF.” TAFWA Newsletter - Page 24 - March 2015 http://asklaurenfleshman.com/2015/02/usatf-yourwelcome-commercial-the-problem/ February 4, 2015 Cropped: The USATF #YoureWelcome Commercial USATF just launched a commercial “You’re Welcome” about the sport of Track and Field on NBC. And while I’m thrilled to see a professionally produced track and field commercial, it highlights a problem within our govern- ing body that hurts everyone with a stake in the sport. In this extremely rare opportunity to showcase the top athletes in our sport, USATF has shown a massive disparity in the way they treat NIKE vs non-NIKE athletes, a problem that goes far beyond this one video, and will keep expensive initiatives like this from making a real impact on the lives of athletes moving forward. But before I go into the why, here are a couple quick screenshot examples. Feel free to do your own homework. Nike Athletes’ Talking Moments (see photos on next page). Zoomed out. No question who sponsors them. Plenty more examples like this. Not every single Nike athlete has an extremely prominent logo, but every single current non-Nike athlete is cropped out, obscured, or minimized. Non-Nike Athletes’ Up Close Talking Moments (see photos on next page). The action shots are even worse. With the exception of Jeremy Wariner in Adidas, you will be hard pressed to find a sporting moment with any other visible logo representation. USATF’s national team is sponsored by Nike, but what does that really entail? How far does it trickle down? Does it give them the right to brand all athletes with NIKE forever, without permission, without compensation? Does it give USATF the right to asphyxiate the sport, creating a sponsor ecosystem that keeps the majority of pros under the poverty line? Do you know why Saucony sponsors Duane Solomon? Why New Balance sponsors Brenda Martinez? Hoka, Leo Manzano? So that they can get national and international exposure when these athletes are showcased, so they can align their brand in the public eye with the individuals they pay money to. When USATF spends all it’s mar- keting dollars showcasing only NIKE athletes in a meaningful way this is what happens: The sponsors go away. Sponsors give smaller salaries on average to reflect limited return. Without competing offers from other brands, Nike deals shrink too. THE WHOLE SPORT SHRINKS. This isn’t a Nike athlete vs non-nike athlete thing. It’s a sport problem. So while it’s awesome we have a cool commercial on NBC, (was it an MSI project like Road to Sopot? I’m curi- ous,) we need more than good production value to save us. We need a neutral governing body that provides a seat at the table for everyone. That showcases athletes across all brands and shows respect and appreciation to the companies keeping food on their table. If USATF can’t afford to operate this way, then they don’t deserve to operate. TAFWA Newsletter - Page 25 - March 2015 Nike Athletes’ Talking Moments Non-Nike Athletes’ Up Close Talking Moments USATF selling the national team uniform is one thing. But what else have they sold? Serious question. Email me if you know. TAFWA Newsletter - Page 26 - March 2015 A USATF Calendar was recently mailed out to all USATF members. Included in it was a photo of Leo Manzano (HOKA ONE ONE) in a USA Nike uniform rather than his sponsor’s uniform. He was not asked permission nor compensated for a photo being used that undercut his sponsor relationship. When Jenny Simpson (New Balance) won female athlete of the year, what photo was circulated by USATF? An old photo in a Nike uniform. When someone google’s an athlete’s name, their USATF bio is often the first hit. Look at Leo’s bio on USATF.org. Look at Emma Coburn’s. Bios are maintained by a paid employee of USATF. If Alysia Montano and I hadn’t made a formal complaint, ours would still be up in Nike too. These are just a few examples of a systemic problem that has to be addressed. USATF has their salaries guaranteed for the next 23 years. We don’t. And if USATF is entering into sponsorship contracts that demand they shrink us, crop us, silence us, prevent us from thriving, and stifle competition in the marketplace, that isn’t right. In fact, I’m pretty sure it’s illegal. ————————————————————————————————————— Note: The views in this article are my own. Others have perfectly valid opinions that differ from mine, including Brenda Martinez. Read her’s here. My understanding is that no athletes were paid to be in this commercial, they were all wearing their sponsors gear, and they were not made aware that their logos would be cropped before the ad was released. If anyone has information that is different from that, feel free to clarify in the comments below. Editor’s note: follow the above link to read all comments. TAFWA Newsletter - Page 27 - March 2015 2015 TAFWA Awards Recognizing excellence in track & field journalism, announcing, photography, film & video, blogging and books in 2014 as well as ongoing cooperation with the media. General information: These awards will be presented in June 2015 for work in 2014 unless otherwise noted. Self-nominations are allowed. Please include nominee’s name, address, e-mail address and phone. Jesse Abramson Memorial Award - For excellence in track and field journalism Award Chair: Don Kopriva ([email protected]). Nomination Deadline: Friday, May 8, 2015. Sam Skinner Memorial Award - For ongoing cooperation with the press Award Chair: Don Kopriva ([email protected]), Nomination Deadline: Friday, May 8, 2015. Note: Submit name of nominee and a brief narrative. Announcing Awards - For excellence in track and field announcing: Scott Davis Memorial Award: presented to a current announcer Pinkie Sober Award: presented to a retired announcer or posthumously Award Chair: Dave Johnson ([email protected]). Nomination Deadline: Friday, May 8, 2015. Rich Clarkson Photography Award - For excellence in track and field/cross country/road racing still photography Award Chair: Jack Pfeifer ([email protected]). Nomination Deadline: Friday, May 8, 2015. Note: Submit an electronic portfolio. Adam Jacobs Blogging Award - For excellence in online personal writing on track and field, cross country or road racing in 2014. Award Chair: Parker Morse ([email protected]). Nomination Deadline: Friday, May 8, 2015. TAFWA Videography Award - For excellence in online video journalism. Award Chair: Saudia Mitchell ([email protected]) Nomination Deadline: Friday, May 8, 2015. TAFWA Newsletter - Page 28 - March 2015 Membership You still time to pay your dues for the 2015 calendar year. They are $30, payable to TAFWA, and may be sent by check to our treasurer, Tom Casacky, or to Tom by Paypal. You need to keep up your membership in or- der to continue to receive this Newsletter or to get a copy of this year’s Annual. TAFWA Newsletter - Page 29 - March 2015 http://timesofsandiego.com/sports/2015/03/14/usatf-board-sticks-to-course-keeps-hightower-as-iaaf-council- nominee/ USATF Board Keeps Hightower as IAAF Council Nominee, Defy- ing Calls to Rescind POSTED BY KEN STONE ON MARCH 14, 2015 IN SPORTS | Updated at 4:55 p.m. March 16, 2015 USATF President Stephanie Hightower. Image via iaaf.org SANTA MONICA — Three months after their annual convention, directors of USA Track & Field Saturday reaffirmed their controversial decision to nominate USATF President Stephanie Hightower for a leadership role with the sport’s world governing body. By a 12-1 vote, the board agreed not to rescind its earlier decision, despite a 392-70 delegate vote in December favoring Bob Hersh, 75, for membership on the 27-member IAAF Council — where he is a senior vice president on the powerful Executive Committee. USATF board met at Loews Santa Monica Beach Hotel. Ken Stone photo. The dissenter was three-time Olympic racewalker Curt Clausen, one of three ac- tive athletes on the board — and a former resident of the Olympic Training Center in Chula Vista. William Shelton, a Wall Street veteran, was the new vote backing Hight- ower. “I was not convinced there was a compelling reason to overturn the vote of the membership,” Clausen said, “and I maintained that position today. The vote wasn’t a decision on who to pick today. It was about whether to rescind the earlier decision.” Clausen said that in January, the Athletes Advisory Committee he represents voted 13-6 (with four abstaining) to call on the board to reconsider its Dec. 5 decision picking Hightower. Board members took issue with Hersh’s argument that a newcomer to the IAAF Council had no chance of being elected to the more influential vice presi- dency. Several said it was racist or sexist to make the case that Hightower, who is black, shouldn’t be USATF’s nominee. Mickey Carter, a CBS executive on the board, was one of several black members to voice offense. “This reinforces for me the need for change,” Carter was quoted as saying by the Orange County Register. “I’m thrilled this body has the courage to change some of these things.” Hersh responded that race was not a part of his earlier pitch — but that gender was, saying he would be remiss TAFWA Newsletter - Page 30 - March 2015 if he didn’t mention the “political reality” at the IAAF on electability to the Executive Committee. He said he didn’t mean to offend. But Becky Oakes, a top official in high school sports, said the United States should promote women as leaders within the IAAF, despite its male culture. “This board did what the board should have done,” said Oakes, who is white. “This body had to do the heavy lifting” in considering the merits of Hersh and Hightower. Steven Miller, the board’s vice chair, gave an impassioned statement that the board had the duty to vote as it wished — even if it went against constituent feelings. He said constitutent groups can remove their board mem- bers. He likened the December vote to several presidential elections, including John F. Kennedy’s, where he said the opposing candidate got more popular votes but didn’t win the White House. Hersh’s argument to the board that he was a better pick was made in open session. A vote to move to executive (closed) session was defeated in a show of hands. Hightower was among those wanting the debate to be public — contrary to Hersh’s wish it be closed so he could discuss confidential IAAF issues. Olympian Curt Clausen, who cast lone dissenting vote on USATF board regard- ing IAAF nominee issue. Ken Stone photo Hightower, speaking to media after the meeting, said she still needs “to go through the process” of gaining election to the IAAF Council. She said she would “utilize the relationships that I have, the relationships that I built up, the good will that we have built up as a federation in the last couple of years.” Replying to a question on her being targeted for impeachment and removal, Hightower said she would stand on the merits of her six years as president, taking it “from a $13 million [a year] organization to a $30 million” group. “We’re now paying officials, which has never been done -be fore. We have increased the prize money for our athletes” and attracted international competition to the United States. “If people don’t appreciate the fact that we’re trying to run our business as a business, as opposed to the may we maybe ran it in the past … then there’s not anything else I can do.” Hightower said she keeps the athletes “foremost at the center” of her decision-making, and the organization was secondary. She said she didn’t take criticism personally. “This is about how we move our organization forward. “The only thing I ask is we do it in a civil manner. Have I been afforded that over the last couple months? No.” Several USATF officials were queried about whether Hightower could stand for election to the IAAF Council if she were removed by impeachment. None could immediately answer the question. In the board’s first meeting since its 11-1 vote for Hightower at the Anaheim convention, directors disregarded an outcry from local associations, online message boards and a 3-month-old petition. Weldon Johnson, a founder of the popular letsrun.com site, took the unusual step of replacing his homepage with a “splash page” devoted to the cause of returning Hersh to the powerful governing body. “The board can do the right thing this weekend and reverse its decision,” the page said. “If you care about this issue, take a moment and spread the word with #WeAreUSATF.” Johnson, known as Wejo and a former national-class distance runner, posted an editorial lashing the board. His comments came a month after a rebuke of directors from Carlsbad’s Willie Banks, the former world-record- holder in the triple jump. Banks, who served on the board for six years, ending in October, had labeled the board vote “totally unforgivable.” On Sunday, he told Times of San Diego: “I stand by my previous statement.” TAFWA Newsletter - Page 31 - March 2015 On a Track & Field News message board, one thread devoted to the Hersh issue had been visited close to 15,000 times, and had more than 130 comments Friday night. The board defended its move in a 1,000-word statement Dec. 9 that concluded: “We follow USATF procedures and make hard choices. We recognize that this choice was unpopular among those in attendance at the Annual Meeting, but we believe we made the right choice for the organization for the right reasons. We are optimistic that the coming year will continue the growth of the organization at all levels.” On the eve of the board’s meeting at the Loews Santa Monica Beach Hotel, a veteran track official told Times of San Diego that if the board didn’t reverse its decision, “USATF will be even further out of the IAAF loop with resulting damage to U.S. prestige and influence.” The source — wanting to be identified as “a parent, athlete, coach, volunteer, official, promoter and administrator very concerned about our sport” — said Friday that “from what I have seen at many of the recent world championships, Stephanie consistently has acted as an arrogant and ugly American marching into meetings like royalty and marching out in the middle with [USATF CEO] Max [Siegel] in tow.” “If past history is any indication of future actions,” the source said, “she would be a disaster even if she could get elected to the IAAF Council — which is not a sure thing at all.” The source speculated via email that former world-class hurdler Hightower, 56, “just woke up one day recently and suddenly realized that she was going to lose all her privileges and PERKS at the end of her [term, ending in 2016] and set out on a campaign to somehow retain them at whatever cost to the credibility of USATF and its administration.” The final word on whether an American returns to the IAAF Council will come in late August at a congress being held alongside theIAAF World Athletics Championships in Beijing, China. Earlier at the board meeting, members raised concerns about a letter written by USATF Youth Committee Chair- man Lionel Leach, expressing outrage over a Hightower letter to her Law & Legislation Committee appointee Tim Baker. (She said her “cover letter” was part of a broader context of writing to all committee chairs asking advice on who to appoint to panels and who to remove.) “Obviously this conversation was spurred by the mass email that youth chair Lionel Leach sent to the youth email list,” said a Facebook post by Becca Gillespy Peter, a USATF activist and meet organizer, one of a dozen observers of the board meeting. “The National Office has received many complaints about it and even a threat of legal action. The email allegedly was sent to some youth athletes.”* “These kids idolize this body,” said board member Sam Germany, who referred to Leach’s letter as “bullying.” Hightower wanted to know who had access to the email database, and told USATF board counsel Larry James to come up with a policy regarding the email database. Also attending the meeting were Olympic sports writers with opposing views — Scott Reid of the Orange County Register and Alan Abrahamson, formerly with NBCS- ports.com and the Los Angeles Times and now with 3wiresports.com. Reid wrote in December: “Hightower is the poster child both for why U.S. track, despite its competitive suc- cess, has continued to fade from the radar of mainstream America, and an increasingly all-too-common class of Olympic and international sports officials who have betrayed what’s best for their sport to chase their own self-serving agendas.” But late Saturday, Abrahamson wrote: “The decent thing now would be for Hersh to concede. In politics, there are winners and losers. He has lost. Now he should do the decent thing, and the sooner the better, for the sake of the sport — and the organizations — he purports to love.” TAFWA Newsletter - Page 32 - March 2015 Partial Fixtures List 2015 Mar. 25-28 Texas Relays, Austin Mar. 28 World XC Championships, Guiyang, China Apr. 16-18 Mt. SAC, Walnut, Calif. Apr. 22-26 Drake Relays, Des Moines Apr. 23-25 Penn Relays, Philadelphia May 2-3 World Relay Championships, Nassau, Bahamas May 21-23 NCAA Div II Championships, Allendale, Mich. NCAA Div III Championships, Canton NY NAIA Championships, Gulf Shores, Ala. May 28-30 NCAA Div I Regionals East – Jacksonville, West – Austin May 29-30 Prefontaine Classic, Eugene June 10-13 NCAA Championships, Eugene June 12 TAFWA Spring Banquet, Eugene June 13 adidas Grand Prix, NYC June 19-21 New Balance Outdoor Nationals (HS), Greensboro NC June 25-28 USATF Championships, Eugene June 28 TAFWA Breakfast Social, Eugene, Ore. July 15-19 World Youth Championships, Cali, Colombia July 31-Aug. 2 PanAm Juniors, Edmonton Aug. 22-30 World Championships, Beijing Nov. 21 NCAA XC Championships, Louisville, Ky. TAFWA Newsletter - Page 33 - March 2015