No Fireworks on the CSUSOP
The Commission on the State of U.S. Olympics and Paralympics (CSUSOP) was established by Congress in 2020 to “study the current United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee (USOPC) and recent reform efforts and issue a report on its findings, including potential reform recommendations.” (P.L. 116-189, §11)
On March 1, the CSUSOP released the 277-page Final Report, including 12 recommendations for Congress.
I have a different version for this editorial cartoon, so I changed the captions for you:
Bartender: “Caitlin Clark is so great, but the media has not much covered the CSUSOP yet. Senator, have you heard about the CSUSOP?”
Senator: “Yup, but my staff and I have not started reading the 277-page CSUSOP Report.”
On June 30, the Gymnastics Trials marked the most-watched Olympic Trials telecast since 2016.
CSUSOP Recommendation #2: Congress should make SafeSport fully independent so that it can regain athletes’ trust and be held more accountable to the movement and the public.
The U.S. Center for SafeSport has described itself as “the only organization with the authority to resolve reports of abuse and misconduct within the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Movement.”
At Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, the U.S. Senate Commerce Committee’s Subcommittee on Consumer Protection, Product Safety, and Data Security and the U.S. House Energy and Commerce Committee’s Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations had hearings on March 20 and March 21, respectively.
As of this writing, neither Committee has proposed a legislative bill.
In front of record crowds at Lucas Oil Stadium, the swimming trials averaged 3.2 million primetime viewers across NBC and Peacock—up 20% from the 2021 Trials average.
CSUSOP Recommendation #3: Congress should reform certain SafeSport practices and reimagine the way SafeSport operates at the youth and grassroots level.
My eyes popped out after looking at the headlight - “US SafeSport center asks for $10M more due to rising number of sex-abuse reports.”
According to its 2023 annual report, which was released last month, SafeSport received 15,631 abuse allegations between 2021-23, of which 5,879 dealt with emotional/physical conduct compared to 3,660, which addressed sexual misconduct.
Again - “SafeSport Revised Code for Olympic and Paralympic Movement.”
Then, I questioned whether most of the public could understand the revised code.
So, I tested the new code using Grammarly’s readability score on the Flesch reading ease test. The result was likely to be understood by a reader with at least some college education, but it may not be easy to read.
Therefore, the SafeSport Center should follow the federal Plain Writing Act of 2010, which requires federal agencies to write “clear government communication that the public can understand and use.” (The Center is not a federal agency, but using the Act could enable the public to understand the Center’s Code better.)
The coverage of the U.S. Olympic Team Trials for swimming, diving, track & field, and gymnastics on NBC, Peacock, and USA Network delivered a 58% viewership increase over 2021.
CSUSOP Recommendation #1: Congress should limit USOPC’s purpose to focusing on high-performance athletes and create a new federal office to coordinate and develop youth and grassroots movement sports.
As the CSUSOP’s fiscal agent, the Aspen Institute Sports & Society Program has waited for the reintroduction of the 2023 bill, H.R.4599 - PLAYS in Youth Sports Act), which would authorize $75 million in grant funding to go directly to youth sports non-profits.
Their chance could be zero after U.S. Senator Ted Cruz of Texas wrote, “The government running your kid’s little league.. what could go wrong?” Read his official statement, “SafeSport Faces Serious Challenges In Carrying Out Its Mission.”
Two Deaf Athletes in U.S. Olympic Trials
On behalf of the Frustrated Deaflympians, I want to thank the ASSOCIATED PRESS for writing the article about Eric Gregory and for selecting the picture of Deaf Swimmer Carli Cronk for distribution to small newspapers all over the USA.
The CSUSOP has recommended the following for athletes who are deaf and hard of hearing.
Congress should further study the issue of integrating deaf and hard of hearing athletes and deaf sports into the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic movement, while USOPC should work with the U.S.A. Deaf Sports Federation to resolve impediments to the latter making full use of Deaflympic trademarks and obtaining sponsorships.
As of this writing, there are no congressional actions regarding this recommendation.
Rumor has it that U.S. athletes selected to participate in the 2025 Summer Deaflympics in Toyko, Japan, should be required to raise $6,250 unless Congress would pass the inclusion of the Deaflympics into the Ted Stevens Olympics and Amateur Sports Act by January 2, 2025.
On March 11, 2024, the Sports Business Journal cautioned the readers with the following:
“With the USOPC and national governing bodies looking ahead to the Paris Games this summer, politicians could use that as a platform to propose legislation. Changes that don’t rely on Congress to act might not get full consideration until the [United States] Olympic and Paralympic [Committee] assembly, which has been pushed back to November because of the Games
Remember this 2021 photo-!!!
On July 2, the Gallup News released its poll that American pride remains near a record low.
“The 67% combined share of Americans who are extremely or very proud is consistent with readings since 2018 and among the lowest in Gallup’s trend, just four percentage points above the record low of 63% in 2020. From 2001 through 2017, no fewer than 75%U.S.U.S. adults said they were extremely or very proud, including majorities who were extremely proud.”
Eighty Years Ago from Today-!!!
Howard “Howie” Gorrell attended 13 of the last 14 Deaflympics since 1969 and is a 2004 recipient of the USADSF Jerald M. Jordan Award, given to those who exhibit leadership and continuous participation toward the goals of the Deaflympics and the 2011 Art Kruger Award for demonstrating leadership and constant participation, support and contribution in the USADSF over an extended period.