Does The Public Know About CSUSOP And Its Purposes?

“I thought it was important and surprised by the lack of interest,” emailed The Sports Examiners Editor Rich Perelman on September 14.”

(Back Row: CSUSOP Co-Chairs Dionne Koller and Han Xiao. Front Row: CSUSOP Commissioners Edwin Moses, Robert Cohen, Joseph E. Schmitz, Karin Korb, Patty Cisneros Prevo, Nancy Hogshead and Benita Fitzgerald Mosley. Absent Commissioners William Hybl, Rob Mullens, Brittney Reese, Melissa Stockwell, and Jordyn Wieber. Photo by Howard Gorrell.)

CSUSOP stands for the Commission of the State of U.S. Olympics and Paralympics.

The Empowering Olympic, Paralympic, and Amateur Athletes Act of 2020 requires the CSUSOP to to study the United States' participation in the Olympic and Paralympic Games.

The Commission had the only public hearing in Washington, DC, on September 6, 2023 - See the picture above.

After being greenlighted by Congress on February 8, 2023, the Commission started investigating the inner workings of the U.S. Olympic structure.

I needed to know how much the public knew about the CSUSOP and its purposes, so I checked the ten largest daily US newspapers (in order of circulation) to see if they had written an article about the CSUSOP since February:

1. Wall Street Journal - ZERO

2. New York Times - ZERO

3. Washington Post - ZERO

4. New York Post - ZERO

5. USA Today - ZERO

6. Los Angeles Times - ZERO

7. Star Tribune (Minneapolis-St. Paul) - ZERO

8. Newsday - ZERO

9. Chicago Tribune - ZERO

10. Tampa Bay Times - ZERO

It is the same as the Colorado Springs Gazette (the home of the United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee). Still, like smaller newspapers, it used to print the Associated Press articles by Eddie Pells.

The CSUSOP study includes:

(i) a review of the most recent reforms undertaken by the United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee;

(ii) a description of proposed reforms to the structure of the United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee;

(iii) an assessment as to whether the board of directors of the United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee includes diverse members, including athletes;

(iv) an assessment of United States athlete participation levels in the Olympic and Paralympic Games;

(v) a description of the status of any United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee licensing arrangement;

(vi) an assessment as to whether the United States is achieving the goals for the Olympic and Paralympic Games set by the United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee;

(vii) an analysis of the participation in amateur athletics of—(I) women, (II) disabled individuals, and (III) minorities;

(viii) a description of ongoing efforts by the United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee to recruit the Olympic and Paralympic Games to the United States;

(ix) an evaluation of the functions of the national governing bodies (as defined in section 220501 of title 36, United States Code) and an analysis of the responsiveness of the national governing bodies to athletes concerning the duties of the national governing bodies under section 220524(a)(3) of title 36, United States Code; and

(x) an assessment of the finances and the financial organization of the United States Olympics and Paralympic Committee.

Will the public be excited to read the CSUSOP Final Report to Congress, released this spring?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Commissioner Edwin Moses (1973) and Writer Howard Gorrell (1964) hail from the same high school, Fairview High School in Dayton, Ohio.”