OP
OP
miguksaram
Master of Arts
Do you honestly have any clue as to what you are talking about here?
United States Taekwondo Committee - What it is about
- Thread starter miguksaram
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troubleenuf
Blue Belt
This was sent to me by someone who does have their garage full of paperwork instead of cars... Wasnt going to post it but since you asked here it is. This was what led to the USTUs downfall and decertification along with the hierarchy being removed.
The issue was not that the money was missing, but that it was majorly misspent. There was an investment account but it had been cashed out and used to pay bills. At the time the USOC negotiated the remediation plan, the USAT was $1.2M in debt. There were credit cards and phones that were out there racking up charges that were not in the best interests of the organization.
For example - the last JO's held under the USTU saw officers and some grandmasters and invited visitors from PATU countries staying at the Peabody - a very expensive place. There were room service bills at 3 am etc... thousands of dollars, the referees and other non-ranking officials were put in the cheap seats. Credit card statements had things like condoms and teeth cleaning (accidentally used wrong card). During the year or so Mike Weintraub was Executive Director, his office spent $247K - his dry cleaning, i have been told hookers, lunches at the peabody for his friends, and other non-USTU expenses - bought out his retirement etc.... Air freight of medals from Korea to Orlando - about $26,000. Loans to employees - one of which was written of in 2009. Things like this.
As far as out and out theft, I remember cash receipts bag disappearing from an office after jo's - that was never solved. I was told that the amount of money collected for payment to referees was lighter when it arrived to go into envelopes then before - things like that. They were never able to prove out and out theft - major mismanagement and some more than questionable wire transfers. Cash receipts were accepted at one point for team travels to Korea, but when the travel agency was contacted the actual amount was a lot less.
Then there were the state organizations, all the appointed votes on the BOG (Board of Governors} and on and on - but the Colorado Attorney General and the DA in Colorado Springs never pressed charges on anyone. It would have cost more to pursue than the org had and it was time to move forward.
The issue was not that the money was missing, but that it was majorly misspent. There was an investment account but it had been cashed out and used to pay bills. At the time the USOC negotiated the remediation plan, the USAT was $1.2M in debt. There were credit cards and phones that were out there racking up charges that were not in the best interests of the organization.
For example - the last JO's held under the USTU saw officers and some grandmasters and invited visitors from PATU countries staying at the Peabody - a very expensive place. There were room service bills at 3 am etc... thousands of dollars, the referees and other non-ranking officials were put in the cheap seats. Credit card statements had things like condoms and teeth cleaning (accidentally used wrong card). During the year or so Mike Weintraub was Executive Director, his office spent $247K - his dry cleaning, i have been told hookers, lunches at the peabody for his friends, and other non-USTU expenses - bought out his retirement etc.... Air freight of medals from Korea to Orlando - about $26,000. Loans to employees - one of which was written of in 2009. Things like this.
As far as out and out theft, I remember cash receipts bag disappearing from an office after jo's - that was never solved. I was told that the amount of money collected for payment to referees was lighter when it arrived to go into envelopes then before - things like that. They were never able to prove out and out theft - major mismanagement and some more than questionable wire transfers. Cash receipts were accepted at one point for team travels to Korea, but when the travel agency was contacted the actual amount was a lot less.
Then there were the state organizations, all the appointed votes on the BOG (Board of Governors} and on and on - but the Colorado Attorney General and the DA in Colorado Springs never pressed charges on anyone. It would have cost more to pursue than the org had and it was time to move forward.
OP
OP
miguksaram
Master of Arts
OK...that is fine and dandy but what does that have to do with the USTC? USTU and USTC are not the same thing and please do not start with they were ran by the same people. While they share some leadership members, the goals are purposes are entirely different.
So if the issue is with USTU stem a new thread about it.
troubleenuf
Blue Belt
You should probably read the post first. The third post in this thread reads as follows "Operated by Sang Lee, former head of the USTU which was the NGB before USAT was established and Sang and many others were unceremoniously told to not let the door hit them in the a$$ on the way out." My response was to this post and your question was to that post followed by my response to your question... get it? I also believe it should be remember that some of these people were responsible for what happened with millions of dollars in budget being "mishandled" and $1.2 million more being overspent. That is not just a few dollars missing and yes I do feel it leads to their credibility. You might not but I do.
The fact of the matter is the the year before the switch, we got a clean bill of health from both the USOC as well as our auditors. Suddenly, we became an "unstable organization" soon after Jay Warwick left, according to a letter from the USOC, which was the beginning of the campaign against USTU and its Korean born leadership.
The financial stuff was the excuse but that wasn't the reasons. The real reasons were two fold: 1) USOC had underwent a major reorganization and they wanted all of the NGBs to do the same, which was to switch the NGBs from a volunteer leadership based organization to a staff leadership based one. USTU was the test case, at least according to USOC's plan under Jim Scherr (USOC Executive Director) and Jeff Benz (USOC General Counsel). 2) Jim Scherr wanted to get rid of all of the Koreans, especially President Sang Lee.
By the way, Jeff Benz was recently brought back as one of the members of the ad hoc committee which suggested by law changes which are part of the grivences filed by several members.
The plan worked, because the organization was changed to staff led (Bob G. and now David Askinas) and most of the Korean borns have left the organization. Their miscalculation was thinking that the American borns would stay, which would keep the organization financially healthy. However, when the Korean born instructors left, they took their students with them, which resulted in an 80% decrease in membership.
But the more lasting result has been the complete neuterization of both the USOC and USAT in the world community. Since the staff takeover, USOC's input into the IOC has shivelled up, as shown by USOC never having won a host city bid for an Olympics, loss which cost tens, if not hundreds of millions of dollars for the failed attempts. The staff leadership did not have the type of long term relationships that in part make such bids possible. Baseball, America's past time, was eliminated as an Olympic sport during the USOC staff leadership's tenure. That alone should be an indication of how the IOC feels about the US and its staff leadership.
USAT also suffered the same sort of loss of international prestige and power at the WTF level. USAT and its leadership have pretty much no juice at the WTF level, and the little they have come from USTU leaders (Dr. Ken Min for example) and not anything that can be attributed to USAT. David Askinas in particular has managed to alienate the WTF with his poor behavior and antics during WTF events. There is no excuse for yelling and swearing at referees on calls or giving them the finger. Our USTU leadership would never do anything like that.
Also, the USOC under Mr. Scherr and Mr. Benz halted their agenda to get the NGBs in line when it was clear that the NGBs would not put up with such shenanegans. Triathlon threatened to surrender their USOC membership if the USOC forced them to reorganize, and other NGBs expressed the same sentiment. The net result is that only USTU was forced to change, which led to the horrific results we have today. Be careful what you ask for, because you might get it.
But the people who complained did get their wish, which was to eliminate the Korean born leadership from the equation at USAT. The resulting seven years of American born leadership, I think speaks for itself. No need to go into detail about that, which I believe has already been covered here.
Most people I know who lived through both eras, USTU and USAT, say that the USTU experience was infinitely better than the USAT experience, that they really don't care if someone mistakenly charged a USTU credit card for condoms or whatever else people complained about, because even with that, the direct effect to the membership was insignificant when compared to the effect of what USAT is doing to the few members that continue to hang on. Put another way, whatever complaints people may have had regarding USTU, multiply it by ten or twenty and that is how people feel about USAT.
The mistake of the people who wanted the Korean borns out of the organization was assuming that the USOC had USTU's best interest in mind. It is probably the same mistake that the WTF may be making when it assumes the IOC has Taekwondo's and the WTF's best interest in mind during the upcoming vote for the 25 core summer sports.
troubleenuf
Blue Belt
While there can be no doubt that the current situation is by far not what was hoped for it is easy to forget the past and think that it was better then than what we have now. The arrogance of the Koreans we had to put up with was extreme. They not only thought they had needed no oversight they actually BELIEVED we didnt deserve to have any say in what went on. Askins is an idiot. The USAT has lost all credibility. No question of it. But that does not excuse what happened during the USTU days nor the money that was misspent and disappeared. And it does go to the credibility of those who were responsible for it. You can put any spin you want on it but when the money that was entrusted to people is spent on hookers and booze they should be held accountable for it. And it wasnt just a few condoms... it was 1.2 million in debt. 1.2 million. if that was in just condoms that was one hell of a lot of condoms dont you think?
Actually, that 1.2 million figure was grossly exaggerated ,and not supported by the documentation. Neither was the $900K figure before that one. But it doesn't really matter at this point.
I will leave you with these questions: What is your solution? And what are you prepared to do to make your proposed solution a reality? And perhaps most important, who will assist you in making your proposed solution a reality?
OP
OP
miguksaram
Master of Arts
You are right. I am not used to seeing people putting their reply before the quote they are replying too. I thought you were just throwing the statement out there. My apologies on that.
Since I was never involved in the USTU I do not know what happened. As far as I'm concerned the credibility of USTC leaders is fine. Why because I do not know the real happenings of what went down between the USTU and USOC, so I could not possible judge them fairly based on hear-say, half facts, or rumors. What I am involved in is the USTC and thus far they have been very opened about where the money is being spent.troubleenuf said:
I have placed my support and reputation behind the USTC and their leaders because of the vision and drive that they have. Time will tell if I did the right thing. Thus far it has proven to be a good decision.
