Olympians Angry With USA Volleyball, Talking About Split
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May-Treanor Upset With USA Volleyball Over
Beijing Games Preparations |
Olympic gold medalist Misty May-Treanor "was fuming Saturday over USA Volleyball's choice of team leader for the Beijing Games and a resulting credential flap involving" '04 Athens Games team leader Al Lau, according to Chris Hine of the L.A. TIMES. May-Treanor said she was "disgusted and ashamed" with the way USA Volleyball and USOC officials "have prepared and organized the U.S. beach volleyball team's trip to Beijing." Three-time Olympian Elaine Youngs said that the relationship between the players and officials "has deteriorated so much that ... the only way to remedy the situation would be for beach volleyball to break away from USA Volleyball and form its own federation." Youngs: "Nothing has ever changed with USA Volleyball. Every single Olympics is so unorganized, the people they hire are incompetent, they have no experience." At the "root of their concerns is the handling" by the USOC and USA Volleyball of the credentials of Lau, who did not receive his credentials for Beijing until Saturday. The other designated team leader, USA Volleyball Dir of Int'l & High Performance Beach Programs Ali Wood, received a credential weeks ago. Players have been "critical of Wood's ability and experience to handle all the demands required to help them prepare in an Olympic tournament." Players said that "they prefer Lau, whom they have worked with on the AVP Tour as well as the last Olympics." However, USA Volleyball CEO Doug Beal said that the "wishes of the players are not the deciding factor in choosing a team leader." Beal: "Certainly we take into consideration someone who is compatible with the team and can help with team performance. But neither for the indoor teams nor for the beach teams do we necessarily poll the athletes and make it a popularity contest" (L.A. TIMES, 7/27).
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