A month after the $6M Misty May-Treanor Sports Center Volleyball Club was registered with the Southern California Volleyball Association, the former U.S. Olympian's trainer, Mike Rangel, has "re-registered the club as Momentous Volleyball Club," according to Bill Oram of the ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER. Some say the conflict "is as simple as a sponsorship issue," while others "suggest it runs deeper." May-Treanor said that she "has not been in the facility since October." She said that lawyers "are working on her behalf," but "declined to characterize the nature of any potential litigation." May-Treanor’s "vanishing act is considered out of character for one of Orange County’s most decorated and admired Olympians." Rangel said that he "has a 10-year contract to use May-Treanor’s name on the building, and that May-Treanor, despite her absence, has been paid monthly as an adviser to the volleyball club." She has "credited her relationship with Rangel, with whom she began training in 2002, as 'one of the most important partnerships' of her volleyball career." However, in business "things almost immediately turned sour." Among the reasons "appears to be Rangel’s decision to sign a sponsorship agreement with apparel giant Asics." May-Treanor is "sponsored by Nike." Rangel: “I can respect the fact that she doesn’t want to be photographed with 500 girls that are wearing Asics gear." He added that Nike "did not present an offer." Sources said that the sponsorship "conflict was likely only one of several issues." Oram wrote, "Without question, Rangel’s style of doing business rubs some people the wrong way." The future of May-Treanor’s involvement "is not so clear-cut." Rangel said that the issues "are being worked out between their attorneys" (ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER, 3/22).
