Last week I also made my first trip to the USATF National Office in Indianapolis, where I had a chance to get to know the staff I will be working with, and they got to know a bit about me. I didn't get hit by any spitballs, which is a good sign, as I laid out my management style and goals for the office.
I know a lot of people aren't going to like his 'style' (non-suitish), but I do!
Last week I also made my first trip to the USATF National Office in Indianapolis, where I had a chance to get to know the staff I will be working with, and they got to know a bit about me. I didn't get hit by any spitballs, which is a good sign, as I laid out my management style and goals for the office.
I know a lot of people aren't going to like his 'style' (non-suitish), but I do!
TrakFan wrote:Too much of that initial blog is about Jones...
It's like cockroach infestation You can ignore them and hope the problem goes away, or you can shine a bright light on it and smack the little critters every time they show their nasty little heads. The short-term result is messy squashed bugs, but the long-term result is that you have fewer pests.
Unfortunately, although Logan's background is marketing, and presumably that will be a primary focus in his new job, he must know that one of USATF's biggest marketing challenges is overcoming some of the image problems that have been created by high-profile doping cases. He can't just ignore the issue.
If he doesn't make a big deal about it, people will accuse him of ignoring the problem. You know they will. This way, nobody can say he isn't interested in cleaning up our act. We are way past 'image' problems now. We need a new sheriff in town, packing lots of heat. If only for the show.
tandfman wrote:Unfortunately, although Logan's background is marketing, and presumably that will be a primary focus in his new job, he must know that one of USATF's biggest marketing challenges is overcoming some of the image problems that have been created by high-profile doping cases. He can't just ignore the issue.
Great. Then work on the fish in the ocean and not the ones in the barrel.
It appears that he believes he needs to be doing what he's doing right now, and there's no reason to think that he won't continue to be outspoken on this subject. Whether anything he says or does makes a big impact remains to be seen. Wouldn't it be nice if he did make a big impact!
tandfman wrote:It appears that he believes he needs to be doing what he's doing right now, and there's no reason to think that he won't continue to be outspoken on this subject. Whether anything he says or does makes a big impact remains to be seen. Wouldn't it be nice if he did make a big impact!
I imagine he:ll have a blog about how wonderful the Olympics were the day Jones is released (5/9). It won:t be much outside of closing ceremonies (12 days), but he:ll want folks to recognise all that the Olympics were for the athletes, and not all that a mental institution was for one individual. Whatever news surfaces the day she is released to probation, I:m positive USATF will spin things another direction away from her.
tandfman wrote:Fortunately, roadkill is all there is for him to deal with right now. I hope it stays that way.
Of course you're right.
I had forgotten that the marketing skill that he used to build MLS and Arena Football into raging successes was based on his first official act in each league being to send out a release to all the newspapers in the country laying bare the criminal records of its players.
tandfman wrote:That wouldn't be fair. The Jones stuff was less than half of what he wrote about. I'm sure he'll show us other tricks soon enough.
It was less than half, but the ONLY athlete's name he brings up at all is Jones? I'm not an "armchair" blogger, but it would have been great to throw out a few names of those making their first trip to the BIG show, as well as those former champs who tried (Johnson, Dragila, etc), but will probably never make another OLY team.
tandfman wrote:That wouldn't be fair. The Jones stuff was less than half of what he wrote about. I'm sure he'll show us other tricks soon enough.
It was less than half, but the ONLY athlete's name he brings up at all is Jones? I'm not an "armchair" blogger, but it would have been great to throw out a few names of those making their first trip to the BIG show, as well as those former champs who tried (Johnson, Dragila, etc), but will probably never make another OLY team.
It was his first blog entry - why would he want to promote current athletes with his initial post when he had the perfect opportunity to bash disgraced ones??
Doug's breezy style of writing shouldn't obscure a serious problem with the blog: No feedback function. If he REALLY wanted to break with the past, he'd open up the blog to comments (as most blogs do).
Today we get a press release noting that the CEO wants USATF to look into the status of the AR in the m4x4. Should USATF look at it? Absolutely. Should it lose record status? Probably.
Does any good come out of making this a public spectacle, rather than just handling it in-house 4 months from now, which is the first point when any action can actually be taken? I'll let you vote on that.
gh wrote:Does any good come out of making this a public spectacle, rather than just handling it in-house 4 months from now, which is the first point when any action can actually be taken? I'll let you vote on that.
I gotta vote no. There's a time and a place for everything, and now is not the time.
Are we still endorsing the new sheriff tactics? His bark is definitely loud. It seems as though his timing and savvy are sorely lacking and that is going to cost him his job.
A CEO in track or anyone in power in this sport has to know you will struggling being a bull, because this is definitely a china shop.
I agree with his pov, his timing stinks and he has based his first days in office on the negative. So he is offering more of the same and even in a better package.
I think he's doing the right thing. As far as the timing is concerned, his only crime is that he assumed the CEO position just before the start of the Olympics. But he's trying to send a message, and that message is that USATF is changing its course from the former leadership's resistance to cooperate with USADA and WADA to one that takes an active role in cooperation and collaboration.
Many people - including some on this message board - felt like the former leadership was ineffective at best and counterproductive at worst. The former leadership's background in law probably worked against T&F in its efforts to curb PEDs because of the perceived concern for "personal rights" of the accused. Good for individuals perhaps, but bad for the sport and athletics in general.
Mr. Logan is new to his position and I suspect his fervor will mellow over time. But I feel he MUST dissociate himself from the course USATF was taking formerly.
DTG wrote:Many people - including some on this message board - felt like the former leadership was ineffective at best and counterproductive at worst. The former leadership's background in law probably worked against T&F in its efforts to curb PEDs because of the perceived concern for "personal rights" of the accused. Good for individuals perhaps, but bad for the sport and athletics in general. Mr. Logan is new to his position and I suspect his fervor will mellow over time. But I feel he MUST dissociate himself from the course USATF was taking formerly.
I never got any sense that his predecessor was soft ono doping issues, nor do I think what the new CEO has done is at all inconsistent with the course USATF had been taking.
Of course, USATF has not completely eradicated doping, but I think their public statements in recent years have been unambiguous in stating that we must rid the sport of doping cheats.
Of course, USATF has not completely eradicated doping, but I think their public statements in recent years have been unambiguous in stating that we must rid the sport of doping cheats.[/quote]
I guess that's part of the problem I was referring to - there was a discrepancy between what was SAID (in public) and what was DONE.
But USATF is certainly not alone. Nobody--WADA, the IOC, the IAAF, the Cycling guys--nobody has been able to completely eradicate doping. But USATF has been among the leaders in speaking out on the issue and urging stronger penalties for violators. I don't know what more a national governinig body can do, given limited resources and given the magnitude of the problem.
