It was nearly 40 years ago that Steve Prefontaine was the face of resistance to the Powers-That-Be in American Track and Field. Not much has really changed since then, despite the acronym mutations of AAU to TAC to USATF etc. etc. etc....
It's pretty easy to see why this happens. Despite what many of us feel, Track and Field is not on the American radar except every 4 years at the Olympics. And then only as far as gold, silver and bronze are concerned. It's easy to become a big fish in the hierarchy of the ruling class in our sport in the in-between years. And it's easy to become flushed with power, and start to do more and more self-centered things without much opposition. Pretty soon, the athletes become nothing more than a nuisance. Which is where we are right now. High salaried egomaniacs ruling the masses only searching for more power and money, or at least a huge golden parachute. Rinse and repeat.
But maybe there has been a milestone passed with the latest controversies at the Indoor Championships. The raw power-grab seen by everyone, with the back-door shenanigans exposed to even the main-stream news outlets, put our sport in the worst of lights. As a new dues-paying member of USATF, I hope we can right the cruise ship trashed by the cowardly Captains of the past. It may take some time, but I'm ever hopeful.
 |
| The USATF Cruise Ship. |
No comments:
Post a Comment
Thanks for commenting. Keep up the good work! (Try to mention others to encourage them to comment too!)