Managing the Membership of Sports Organization: The Legalities of Banning a Member

[Deleted member D3987]

good news:

http://www.ocregister.com/news/gymnastics-326108-boger-coaches.html

 

[JBS]

Excellent work USAG!

From USAG:

USA Gymnastics is committed to promoting a safe environment for its members, participants, coaches, officials, volunteers and staff in all of the gymnastics disciplines.

Consistent with this commitment, USA Gymnastics is instituting a new sanction policy to ensure that all meet directors, as well as the club(s), independent organization(s), and/or committee(s) they represent, adhere to the USA Gymnastics Standard of Care policy and procedures.

Effective January 2012, the following criteria will be required to be a meet director and/or host a USA Gymnastics-sanctioned event or activity:

· Club(s), Independent organization(s), and/or committee(s) must be a registered business* or member club to sanction events.
· A meet director must be a current professional member in good standing and must be affiliated with a registered business* or member club to sanction events.
· USA Gymnastics-related activities – TOPS testing, Future Stars, Jump Start, camps, clinics, educational courses, etc. – can only be hosted by a USA Gymnastics registered business* or member club.
· USA Gymnastics National/Regional/State Committees may only award meets to clubs, independent meet director(s) and/or organization(s) that are registered businesses* or member clubs.

In addition, any organization that was awarded a 2012 event sanction prior to this policy change is required to comply with the new policy. Failure to comply with the new sanction policy will result in the sanction becoming
null and void.

Please Link Removed to view the USA Gymnastics Standard of Care.

USA Gymnastics Tiers of Affiliation
Registered Business* – Clubs and organizations may begin to apply online to be a Registered Business on Monday, November 14, 2011.
· MUST sign and adhere to the USA Gymnastics Standard of Care agreement
· Has the ability to host sanctioned events
· Pays no additional fees
Member Club-Current Member Clubs are in compliance with the new sanctioning policy. No further action required.
· MUST sign and adhere to the USA Gymnastics Standard of Care agreement
· Has ability to host sanctioned events
· Pays Member Club fee
· Receives additional marketing/educational benefits
Non-Member Club (non-registered business)
· Has not signed USA Gymnastics Standard of Care agreement
· Does NOT have the ability to host sanctioned events
· May register athletes and have them compete in sanctioned event

 

[JBS]

From the link above^

USA Gymnastics Standard of Care
USA Gymnastics Member Clubs and Registered Businesses have agreed to raise the standard of care for their athletes and staff. USA Gymnastics appreciates these efforts to commit to excellence in the sport.
Every USA Gymnastics Member Club and Registered Business agrees to comply with the following policies and procedures:

• USA Gymnastics is committed to promoting a safe environment for its members, participants, coaches, officials, volunteers and staff in all gymnastics disciplines. USA Gymnastics has adopted a Participant Welfare Policy detailing this commitment. Member Clubs and Registered Businesses agree to uphold the standards in the Participant Welfare Policy, which may be viewed atLink Removed.
• Consistent with this commitment, each Member Club and/or Registered Business certifies that no persons permanently ineligible for membership in USA Gymnastics are or will be associated with the Member Club and/or Registered Business or its activities in any way during the Member Club and/or Registered Business membership period. It further certifies that it will subsequently review that list during the Member Club and/or Registered Business membership period when new persons become associated with the Member Club or Registered Business or its activities in any way. A list of permanently ineligible members is available at the following link:www.usagym.org/ineligible.
• Each Member Club or Registered Business must be covered by associate liability and associate comprehensive insurance plans during the club's membership. Each Member Club or Registered Business agrees that it does have current insurance as stated above.
• Each Member Club or Registered Business agrees to employ at least one staff member that holds a current, certified Professional Membership, or, as a Recreational only club, agrees to currently employ at least one staff member that holds a safety certified Instructor membership during the entire period of the club's membership with USA Gymnastics.
• Each USA Gymnastics Member Club or Registered Business will submit a mission statement in line with the USA Gymnastics mission statement.

NOTE: Every Member Club and Registered Business will sign an agreement with the above policies and requirements.

 

[bogwoppit]

good news:

http://www.ocregister.com/news/gymnastics-326108-boger-coaches.html

THis is good news indeed.

 

[AmandaLynn]

Non-Member Club (non-registered business)
· Has not signed USA Gymnastics Standard of Care agreement
· Does NOT have the ability to host sanctioned events
· May register athletes and have them compete in sanctioned event

Is this a typo?

 

[Deleted member D3987]

no...............................

 

[JBS]

Is this a typo?

Wow...totally missed that. What's the story on that one...doesn't seem to make sense. Anyone?

 

[bogwoppit]

I did too, that is one thing that makes no sense.

 

[Deleted member D3987]

Is this a typo?

a non-member club or "non-registered business" (meaning not registered with USAG) will not be allowed to 'sign' the standard of care agreement that member clubs sign (if you don't register as a member club with USAG), will not have the ability to host USAG events because they will not be able to show that they are a member club and have signed that agreement. this ultimately means that you will not get a 'sanction' from USAG. this includes parent booster clubs if they are not 'attached' to a gym.

now, you can be a non-member club (non-registered business) and have not signed an agreement as a member club but can still enter your athletes in competitions. and the coach that attends will still have to have USAG credentials.

i'll say it again...this is all lipstick on a pig. until our government changes the laws on this kind of crime, and change employment laws, nothing will change. you could have been a convicted & registered sex offender at one time. you do your time and pay your debt to society. you fulfill your parole agreement with the state which may have been agreed to prior to incarceration. wait a couple of years. go to another state and open a gymnastics school. a karate school. any kind of private business school. you can then hire coaches on the banned list or other coaches that have been thru the system just like yourself. then hire 1 coach that can pass muster and go on a sanctioned floor with the athletes.

i believe that this issue will eventually fall on the desks of the liability carriers. this is a very complicated and complex problem for them also. they too must meet certain criteria in order to sell insurance in your state. those standards of regulation are considered by your state insurance boards which allow a company to come in to your state and sell insurance. it may be a violation of law (depending on the state your in) at the present time for a liability carrier to deny coverage to a business owner because they may have been a convicted sex offender. think colorado.

 

[JBS]

a non-member club or "non-registered business" (meaning not registered with USAG) will not be allowed to 'sign' the standard of care agreement that member clubs sign (if you don't register as a member club with USAG), will not have the ability to host USAG events because they will not be able to show that they are a member club and have signed that agreement. this ultimately means that you will not get a 'sanction' from USAG. this includes parent booster clubs if they are not 'attached' to a gym.

now, you can be a non-member club (non-registered business) and have not signed an agreement as a member club but can still enter your athletes in competitions. and the coach that attends will still have to have USAG credentials.

i'll say it again...this is all lipstick on a pig. until our government changes the laws on this kind of crime, and change employment laws, nothing will change. you could have been a convicted & registered sex offender at one time. you do your time and pay your debt to society. you fulfill your parole agreement with the state which may have been agreed to prior to incarceration. wait a couple of years. go to another state and open a gymnastics school. a karate school. any kind of private business school. you can then hire coaches on the banned list or other coaches that have been thru the system just like yourself. then hire 1 coach that can pass muster and go on a sanctioned floor with the athletes.

i believe that this issue will eventually fall on the desks of the liability carriers. this is a very complicated and complex problem for them also. they too must meet certain criteria in order to sell insurance in your state. those standards of regulation are considered by your state insurance boards which allow a company to come in to your state and sell insurance. it may be a violation of law (depending on the state your in) at the present time for a liability carrier to deny coverage to a business owner because they may have been a convicted sex offender. think colorado.

So what is the reason why USAG cannot just eliminate the third category? Why shouldn't all competing athletes come from USAG member clubs? What would laws would USAG be breaking if there was no third category?...what would they get sued for?

 

[wandrewsjr]

What about athletes from other countries? If this category were eliminated, no athlete from another country would be able to compete in a USAG sanctioned event.

 

[Deleted member D3987]

JBS & wandrewsjr, these are both great questions. i'll see if i can get an answer but i don't think that the "powers that be" are there yet with all of this. it is much like the dog chasing their tail. and now read this legal challenge below:

http://www.ocregister.com/news/peters-326709-gymnastics-usag.html

as i said, and after you have read this article, the laws on this issue and how it relates to employment law will have to be addressed by the government, either state or federal, and then hope that whatever they come up with will be adopted on all fronts. this "ultra vires" legal standard is a real theory in the law. i have no expertise in this area of law to understand how this will apply to USAG and their ability to place someone on the banned list whether that coach has resigned their membership or not. as i told you, this is complicated and complex from a legal point of view. now that i see that an attorney has thrown the doctrine of "ultra vires" in to the ring makes this subject matter even more complicated from a legal point of view. and i'm not certain if this doctrine as it relates to USAG/Peters falls under constitutional law, administrative law or both.

maybe the poster who used to be known as pittsburghscribe works in this area of law?

 

[Deleted member D3987]

don peters has been banned and was removed from the hall of fame. details should follow soon.

 

[JBS]

What about athletes from other countries? If this category were eliminated, no athlete from another country would be able to compete in a USAG sanctioned event.

I thought of this also...but why couldn't USAG just have a fee free international category in which they would also have to sign the standard of care?

 

[Deleted member D3987]

http://www.ocregister.com/news/peters-327233-gymnastics-scats.html

 

[AmandaLynn]

While we're on this subject, does anyone know how long it typically takes for people to be added to the banned list? There is a coach here in NC that was arrested in Spring of 2008, convicted in spring of 2009, and is still not on the list.

 

[JBS]

From our homepage: Link Removed

 

[Deleted member D3987]

and now this: Convicted coach regains control of Colorado gym | gymnastics, usag, artsports - News - The Orange County Register

parents are the 1st line of defense in all this. and the ONLY way what you have read will change is when the government gets involved and implements laws. USAG will do what they can. if they only allow athletes to register and compete with gyms and coaches that are 'clean' will be a good start. so if an athlete belongs to gym like the above, or has a coach on the banned list or both, the athlete will not be able to compete, go to training camps, etc; it's a start.

 

[profmom]

Appalling. USAG, like the NCAA, needs to understand that if they can't figure out a way to use associational rules to get this under control, the state is going to do it with a much blunter instrument. At least I hope so, for the sake of all the children and adolescents who've been damaged by these individuals.

I was also struck by the mention in the article that there are four USAG judges at that gym.

 

[bogwoppit]

and now this: Convicted coach regains control of Colorado gym | gymnastics, usag, artsports - News - The Orange County Register

parents are the 1st line of defense in all this. and the ONLY way what you have read will change is when the government gets involved and implements laws. USAG will do what they can. if they only allow athletes to register and compete with gyms and coaches that are 'clean' will be a good start. so if an athlete belongs to gym like the above, or has a coach on the banned list or both, the athlete will not be able to compete, go to training camps, etc; it's a start.

It is so shocking that he is back in control and that parents are still sending their kids there after all that we know.