Indecision 2012 track style

Last week at the US Olympic trials, Allyson Felix and Jeneba Tarmoh tied for third in the 100meter finals. The top three spots are guaranteed a spot on the Olympic team competing in the 100, with the fourth joining the pool for the relay team.  

Felix and Tarmoh are training partners, and while Felix is the most decorated and easily the best all-around US sprinter of the last decade, having competed successfully at the 100, 200 and 400 meters as well as every successful US relay team. Tarmoh is trying to secure her first Olympic berth having made her first US team last year at the World Championships.

My issue is not with the runners. They did their part. The only farce here is with the USATF who did not have a procedure in place to deal with this. In the wake of what I will call ‘Indecision 2012’ they attempted to cobble together a procedure.

This procedure starts with the suggestion that one of the two runners should decline a spot on the team. I will not even comment further on the absurdity of that. 

It goes on to say that the runners will be given the ‘option’ of a run-off or a coin toss. To which I ask why? They are runners. World class competitors. Trying to make their national team for the Olympics. 

Why would there be any other option than running again, winner proceeds and loser is out?

To make this even more of a joke, the former head of USA Track and Field on NBC’s coverage of the trials stated  ‘that in the hundred years plus of the World Championship and Olympic teams, this has never happened, ‘ as an explanation as to why there was no procedure in place.

Maybe it’s because I have spent so many years dealing with insurance, risk, litigation, policy interpretations and contracts that I look at some things the way I do. After so much time spent working in the “wonderful world of ‘What If’ “ It is ingrained in me to always make what is one of the most basic of conclusions, to wit: Just because it has never happened before does not mean it cannot happen.

To think that in a century of organization, and the most advanced technology available, they never considered this particular ‘what if’ is ridiculous. The indecisive nature of the proposed solution is also a joke.

So now we have an issue that won’t be decided until at least a week later, and is nothing short of a complete embarrassment for the USA Track and Field. 

I hope the Jamaican Olympic trial organizers take note and get their ducks in a row. The world is watching this and while the media fallout has not been as loud as I think it should be, do not for a second think that if mistakes are made in Kingston, it wont be noticed and ridiculed. 

Make notes, make adjustments, be professional and be prepared. 

Look for my Olympic track and field preview coming up next week after the Jamaican Olympic trials. I got some surprises for you, and if you're the gambling type, some long shots you might want to put a quid on. 

Zuma and Lenin And The Art Of Politics

The worlds of art and politics collided again recently when the South African President (and head of the ANC) Jacob Zuma was portrayed in a painting with his Presidential privates on display (R.)

For those unfamiliar with the story, Brett Murray, a South African artist, did a painting of the country’s leader which was displayed in the Goodman Gallery. The painting was a skewered take on the old iconic Lenin poster (below) with a prominent distinction.





The ANC, the party of Nelson Mandela and South Africa’s ruling political party, immediately denounced the artist and his work and called for its removal, saying it was, and I am quoting the ANC spokesman Jackson Mthembu: “…an abuse of freedom of expression.”

The President himself claimed that it “perpetuates a shocking new culture by sections of the artistic world, of using vulgar methods of communicating about leading figures in the country, particularly the President.”

Now bear in mind that the ANC has been the ruling party in South Africa uninterrupted since 1994. Their leadership and membership is predominantly black, and their record is somewhat uneven.

Zuma is the definition of a political lifer; a man who walked the walk in support of freedom during the 70’s and 80’s of white minority rule. He was incarcerated on Robbins Island with Mandela and was instrumental in coalescing the ANC’s power with that of the powerful Zulu tribe, of which he is a member.

He ascended to the Presidency and continued the ANC’s hold on power over the last 15+ years. Zuma has also been involved in an obscene number of political scandals, questionable decisions and comments that could be considered at best ill-advised.

In brief, over the last decade Mr. Zuma has been:
1. Part of a corruption investigation regarding a government arms deal
2. Investigated regarding misappropriation of millions in government funds
3. A defendant in a rape trial involving a HIV positive woman (which led to his comments that he “took a shower after sex to protect him from HIV infection,”)
4. Got married to two women and
5. Fathered a child with the daughter of one of his long time colleagues, his alleged twentieth (20th) child.

Mr. Zuma has also vociferously opposed homosexuality saying that same-sex marriage was "a disgrace to the nation and to God," and said that the solution to high numbers of teen pregnancy is to “confiscate their babies and have the mothers taken to colleges and forced to obtain degrees.”

Against this backdrop, Zuma was depicted by the artist with his privates on display. Naturally, the majority of South Africans were upset at the caricature. The government threatened to censure art in this vein, demanded its removal from the public view, and filed defamation charges in court papers against the gallery. A supporter of Zuma subsequently went to the gallery and defaced the painting by covering certain parts with paint (L.)

This is a completely hypocritical stance by a party that suffered for decades under some of the worst government sanctioned discrimination ever, but the party that won the minds of the local people and the world at large under Mandela is clearly not the party that now governs under Zuma.

Now while I do think that the painting was in poor taste, and the obvious disrespect for the sitting head of state is curious at best and at worst inspired by some latent racist motives by Mr. Murray, who is white. I also believe however the truth lies somewhere in between.

In his defense, Murray has said: “In the apartheid years, I created satirical images which attacked abuses of power. For many years I have used, and continue to use symbols with sexual connotations representative of political power and patriarchy,” 


He furthered stated: “It is an attempt at humorous satire of political power and patriarchy within the context of other artworks in the exhibition and within the broader context of South African discourse. I never intended the artwork to cause any hurt or to harm the dignity of any person.”

I believe Mr. Murray and support his right to free expression, but I do not believe for a second that last part about not intending to harm the dignity of President Zuma. His point is obvious, no pun intended.

Jacob Zuma is the elected head of the country and as such demands a certain amount of respect and gravitas. This respect and gravitas does come with significant responsibilities, and Zuma has not shown a willingness to shoulder the burden of moving the country forward, preferring instead to rely on the old divide and conquer tactics.

As such he has shown his office considerably more disrespect than any work of art could portray. He is a shining example of power corrupting the corruptible and he continues to pursue his personal agenda with impunity towards any opposition.

The ultimate irony of this latest debacle swirling around Zuma is how far he is from Lenin, whose political life and struggles served as a roadmap of sorts for Zuma.

Lenin has been described as one of the most influential people of the 20th century, his rhetoric has been used in relation to every regime change in Russia since his death. Lenin has inspired revolutionaries worldwide, including Castro, Mao Zedong, and Ho Chi Minh.

It is doubtful if there are any positive attributes to be taken from the life and times of Jacob Zuma.

Or as Lenin himself said:



"There are no morals in politics; there is only expedience. A scoundrel may be of use to us just because he is a scoundrel."