USA Boxing Upheaval - Here We Go Again

[boxmel]

Hot off the press - CEO Jim Millman has been given a 2-week notice (he and his attorney will have plenty to say about the amount of his severance pay - I heard $500,000).

Julie Goldsticker and Michelle Nadeau have been fired, starting Monday. More to come - stay tuned.

[Kolya]

Oh God, not this again.

[Mauler]

I guess that wold explain why the website hasn't been updating the results. I'm glad I told all my friends and family to check the site to follow the tournament.

[ringsidemike]

foreals right! We need media relations this week more than ever during the year! What awful timing.

So Suzanne G. stays?

[Dennis]

Mel - I heard some rumors, but I haven't seen anything official. Have you?

[boxmel]

Nothing official - but I consider my source very reliable.

[Dennis]

There is definitely something happening, but I wish it wouldn't during the tournament. Let the athletes finish the competition before any turmoil.

[boxmel]

So Suzanne G. stays?

What I heard was that all the females who were doing the bout sheets and other tournament stuff were fired. I only know about Julie and Michelle for sure; don't know about Suzanne. Guess we'll find out soon enough.

[boxmel]

There is definitely something happening, but I wish it wouldn't during the tournament. Let the athletes finish the competition before any turmoil.

You have to remember that along with the tournament, the BOD is also meeting/has met. Then you have to remember that the athletes are never first. Politics has been the most important part of USAB for a very long time.

[Dennis]

If they fired them, did they expect that they would work harder for the rest of the tourney? Not the best management decision.

[boxmel]

I think USAB is full of bad management decisions. D

[!! Shawn]

Nothing official - but I consider my source very reliable.

I believe you are correct, I heard some people on the phone in the stands complaining that they were just fired.

[!! Shawn]

So Suzanne G. stays?

What I heard was that all the females who were doing the bout sheets and other tournament stuff were fired. I only know about Julie and Michelle for sure; don't know about Suzanne. Guess we'll find out soon enough.

Yes, they were still doing the work today, but yesterday I heard them talking about getting fired, I don't know if they got unfired, or if they are not fired till after the tournament is over.

I'd also like to say that I caught a judge sleeping through the judges meeting at the beginning of the day today, and nodding off while at the buttons scoring a fight.

The scoring today was possibly the worst scoring I have seen this side of the Olympics.

Something really needs to be done.

[mr. detroit]

why is there allways drama with this org.? cant these people put there selfish issues aside for one tournament and let it be about the fighters? this is sick and they need to be ashamed of themselfs. boxmel, im just curiouse as to why your not pushing to get higher in the u.s.a boxing org. you seem to know alot about how things should be ran and could probely be a great asset at the higher levels of usa boxing. Dennis as well. you should both concider it, we need more people like yall in this org. plus, i heard colorodo was nice!

[boxmel]

I'd also like to say that I caught a judge sleeping through the judges meeting at the beginning of the day today, and nodding off while at the buttons scoring a fight.

Was it a he? Also a referee? Rather on the plump side?

[boxmel]

boxmel, im just curiouse as to why your not pushing to get higher in the u.s.a boxing org. you seem to know alot about how things should be ran and could probely be a great asset at the higher levels of usa boxing.

Thanks much for the compliment. I'm not PC; I'm not in the "in crowd," nor do I care to be; I speak my mind and those in charge don't like me much (feeling is mutual). I don't play games and I don't kiss arse.

[boxmel]

Yes, they were still doing the work today, but yesterday I heard them talking about getting fired, I don't know if they got unfired, or if they are not fired till after the tournament is over.

My understanding is that they all knew this week that they wouldn't be back after the tournament. I also heard the incident that caused the mutiny was because Frank Filiberto yelled at one of the girls, who is pregnant, and was quite rude to her

[mr. detroit]

ya well, i guess i dont blame you for that boxmel. its still a shame though.

[boxmel]

ya well, i guess i dont blame you for that boxmel. its still a shame though

You just have to remember that the people in charge don't care about the athletes. It's all about power and ego. Should there come a time when people who put the athletes first are in charge, I might consider being part of the national scene again - but, until that time, I'm quite content to work local shows.

[squarering]

It makes me sick to my stomach that the sport we love so much can't have people with the same passion at the top. You hear of inappropriate spending ect ect. I don't get it. money comes in,,,you deposit it and log it just like on quickbooks, then money goes out and you log it and enter it. In 1 minute you can every penny accounted for. Yes it works just as well for big business as small business. We need this like a whole in the head, as if enough hasn't knocked us down already. I call on Dennis Shimmal to step up and take the top position. His law background would be invaluable, he loves boxing and he is involved on many levels. That is the answer in my book. We need good direction from the top way up top if you know what I mean.

[Mauler]

I would be interested to talk to some people from some of the other olympic sports organizations. Is USA Swimming, figure skating, wrestling...etc, this incompetent? Or is this boxing specific?

[boxmel]

I would be interested to talk to some people from some of the other olympic sports organizations. Is USA Swimming, figure skating, wrestling...etc, this incompetent? Or is this boxing specific?

The USOC has, in the past and rarely, taken over and successfully reorganized a few other NGB's - I think Taekwando was one. USA Boxing has, unfortunately, been the poster child for dyfunctionality for some years - more so than any other NGB.

[bwadd21]

unfortunatley USAB is all we got! if we want to keep doing what we do, we hae to deal with the crap that comes with it. Its all about the athlete on the local level, no doubt, but once you get to the national scene its a whole new ball game. As a coaches i hope we always remember if it wasn't for the kids showing up in our gyms everyday, there would be no USA Boxing

[boxmel]

unfortunatley USAB is all we got!

Not if the USOC steps in.

if we want to keep doing what we do, we hae to deal with the crap that comes with it.

Why? It's just this kind of mentality that allows said crap to flourish and grow. I'm willing to bet that if every coach in every LBC stood up and demanded a change, it would happen.

[NYboxing]

I am speechless

http://usaboxing.org/blog/post/881

In This Corner
USA Boxing CEO, Jim Millman USA Boxing

WANTED: THE NEXT BILL …
A Fabulous Five of Our Own
by USA Boxing CEO, Jim Millman / June 17, 2009

Until the economy has a personal effect and hits home or close to home, it's easy to become numb to the numbers of it and forget that with every lay-off or lost job, a real person and his/her family is dramatically impacted.

At USA Boxing, five wonderful people lost their jobs this week - - a result of too little revenue, too many costs, and the somewhat inevitable fate that befalls a sport that finds itself near the bottom of the sports economy at the worst of times.

Julie Goldsticker is a consummate professional. Her instincts and insights about the news of boxing far exceed the attention the sport generates. A brilliant writer, Julie is highly respected nationally by the media, by the USOC, and every boxer, coach, and boxing family member she encounters. She has lived and died with the organization and Olympians who she has framed to the media in not an artificial light, but with a balance and understanding that gives the press a view that the positive character and qualities of amateur boxers ARE the important stories.

Jessica Cross has served as Marketing Manager at USA Boxing since November 2007. Faced with a brutal sponsorship market, Jessica has helped USA Boxing professionalize its approach to both sponsors and Foundations. She has led the management and operation of the new USA Boxing Gloves Not Guns program, the first program from the National Office directed at introducing at-risk teens to boxing. She also has done an excellent job managing the $100,000 Urban Development Grant from the USOC, which 9 different Local Boxing Committees are sharing to promote new membership.

Michelle Nadeau started at USA Boxing as an intern, and with a quick grasp of media and a personality that invites co-workers and external parties to want to work with her, was promoted to Broadcast & Digital Media Manager. Michelle coordinated the organization's programming and web content elements, managed USA Boxing's new LBC Webinars and e-newsletters, and helped administrate USA Boxing's partnerships with both Golden Boy Promotions and Octagon.

Suzanne Grassel also joined USA Boxing as an intern. Suzanne supported USA Boxing's electronic and traditional public relations vehicles, and is also a highly talented writer. At 23, her passion, work ethic, and talent point to an incredibly bright professional future.

Pam Crowley made an extremely positive impact upon the organization in only five months. Her work in marketing gave USA Boxing another highly capable professional, particularly in her work on Gloves Not Guns and the Urban Development Grant Program.

These five "superstars" also demonstrate a level of character, conscientiousness, and dedication rarely seen in today's society. Faced with the impending loss of employment this week, each turned in brutally long hours under extremely challenging circumstances in teaming to stage the 2009 USA Boxing National Championships in Denver.

Not only were the Nationals being held for the first time in a major market after years in Colorado Springs, they also took place for the first time as a three-tier National Championships, with the Senior Men, Women's, and National Juniors tournaments happening concurrently. Not many teams of professionals would work with the commitment of Julie, Jessica, Michelle, Suzanne and Pam, under the cloud of imminent lay-off.

My gratitude to them goes beyond words, and they will hopefully be able to teach their children and grandchildren about loyalty and dedication through the experience they had with USA Boxing.

USA Boxing has suffered other lay-offs, and this column in no way diminishes the contributions and dedication of our other valuable people. But the unusual circumstances of maximum effort at our Nationals, delivered under the stress, pressure, and depression of lost jobs, I find to be just remarkable. Thanks again to all.