• Mailbag

Friday’s Mailbag: Balance, conflict and that dang train

by VeloNews.com

• April 14, 2006
• Comments Off

The Mailbag is a regular feature on VeloNews.com. If you have a comment, an opinion or observation regarding anything you have seen in cycling, in VeloNews magazine or on VeloNews.com, write to WebLetters@InsideInc.com. Please include your full name and home town. Letters may be edited for length and clarity.

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Does that make us … uhhhh… Fair and Balanced?
Dear VeloNews,
After your articles about former USA Cycling CEO Gerard Bisceglia (seepartone and parttwo) my thoughts were of never joining such an organization.The passion in his words left me feeling that we lost a vital part of USACycling and with it the dreams and potential of American cycling.Then I read “Thenew boss: A conversation with USA Cycling CEO Steve Johnson” andgot back my sense of enthusiasm to return as a member. The reportingby the same interviewer and depth of information conveyed by all participantswas a significant factor in giving me a clearer picture of what is goingon and in my decision to invest my money and time into the organization.It was a balanced view that allowed me to think about the conditions ofUSA Cycling and to either have faith or foster disappointment.Ultimately, even though reading an article and not seeing the interviewfirst hand, I felt the confidence and knowledge of Mr. Johnson outweighedthe personal passion of Mr. Bisceglia. Still, I do appreciate that he wasthere to build cycling to where it is today. Being given both sidesof the fight allowed me to consider how it would affect me. CharlesPelkey did for VeloNews what is rare in journalism today.He allowed readers the opportunity to see all sides without infusing hisor the magazine’s views, so that we as information gatherers can make aninformed choice. It is times like this when we realize how importantthe journalist is in today’s society and to sports. Show us the truth,inform us with fact, then let us ride our own course. Keep up thegreat work you do in covering our sport.
John ‘Major’ Anthony Nelson
Alexandria, VirginiaConflicts of interest?
To the Editors,
As one who makes his living as an independent grant writing consultant,I was quite surprised to read Mr. Hellman’s statement (see Wednesday’sMailbag) that his Foundation has three seats on the USAC Boardof Trustees for accountability purposes. Colleagues I have spokenwith this afternoon find this practice both unnecessary as well as ethicallyquestionable. Foundations regularly ascertain how grant money isspent by accounting and auditing means. Cross membership on boardsof trustees presents a serious potential, if not actual, conflict of interestsituation that foundation ethicists recommend avoiding. The Councilon Foundations recommends the following as part of its policyon Conflicts of Interest.

Establish procedures for insulating trustees from decision-makingon grants to organizations in which they serve as officer or director orwith which they have a conflict of interest; and establish procedures fordocumentation of these measures and making the procedures readily availableto the public, such as by posting them on the foundation’s website.

I would suggest that all interested parties peruse the following.It seems the Colorado Legislature has recognized that situations such asthis present potential problems that must be dealt with by law. (The addedemphasis is mine.)

ARTICLE 121-137 – Nonprofit Corporations
PART 5
DIRECTORS’ CONFLICTING
INTEREST TRANSACTIONS7-128-501. Conflicting interest transaction. (1) As used in this section, “conflicting interest transaction” means: A contract, transaction, or other financial relationship between a nonprofit corporation and a director of the nonprofit corporation, or between the nonprofit corporation and a party related to a director, or between the nonprofit corporation and an entity in which a director of the nonprofit corporation is a director or officer or has a financial interest. (2) No loans shall be made by a corporation to its directors or officers. Any director or officer who assents to or participates in the making of any such loan shall be liable to the corporation for the amount of such loan until the repayment thereof. (3) No conflicting interest transaction shall be void or voidable or be enjoined, set aside, or give rise to an award of damages or other sanctions in a proceeding by a member or by or in the right of the nonprofit corporation, solely because the conflicting interest transaction involves a director of the nonprofit corporation or a party related to a director or an entity in which a director of the nonprofit corporation is a director or officer or has a financial interest or solely because the director is present at or participates in the meeting of the nonprofit corporation’s board of directors or of the committee of the board of directors that authorizes, approves, or ratifies the conflicting interest transaction or solely because the director’s vote is counted for such purpose if: (a) The material facts as to the director’s relationship or interest and as to the conflicting interest transaction are disclosed or are known to the board of directors or the committee, and the board of directors or committee in good faith authorizes, approves, or ratifies the conflicting interest transaction by the affirmative vote of a majority of the disinterested directors, even though the disinterested directors are less than a quorum; or (b) The material facts as to the director’s relationship or interest and as to the conflicting interest transaction are disclosed or are known to the members entitled to vote thereon, and the conflicting interest transaction is specifically authorized, approved, or ratified in good faith by a vote of the members entitled to vote thereon; or (c) The conflicting interest transaction is fair as to the nonprofit corporation.(4) Common or interested directors may be counted in determining the presence of a quorum at a meeting of the board of directors or of a committee which authorizes, approves, or ratifies the conflicting interest transaction.(5) For purposes of this section, a “party related to a director” shall mean a spouse, a descendent, an ancestor, a sibling, the spouse or descendent of a sibling, an estate or trust in which the director or a party related to a director has a beneficial interest, or an entity in which a party related to a director is a director, officer, or has a financial interest.

I respectfully suggest that on the surface, this situation calls for investigation by the attorneys general of the Foundation and USAC’s incorporation states.
Brian P. Lafferty, Esq.
Longmeadow, MassachussetsThe disqualifications
Dear Editor,
I have to admit that I have not read the exact wording of the rule,but there is a significant difference in the safety of a rider crossingthe tracks after the train passes and one (or three) crossing before thetrain passes. This is true even though the red light is still blinkingwhen the second group passes.Watching the coverage, I didn’t think that anyone was going to catchCancellara, although I did think that Boonen could catch the Hoste groupand make a run at second.
Ed Farmer
Mount Laurel, New JerseyThe train
Editor,
All rules and regulations aside, it utterly amazes me that a trainwould be allowed to interrupt an event as prestigious as Paris-Roubaix,especially where it was interrupting the leaders! I don’t knowhow many of these possibilities exist on the route, but it seems to methat in this day and age of instant communication such a thing can be controlled.It’s hard to have respect for the fairness of an event whose outcome couldbe affected by such an arbitrary occurrence. The fact that a trainwas allowed to come between a not so distant leader and the first chasegroup seems ludicrous with so much at stake. Why haven’t I seen moreabout this? In an age where everything is controlled so tightly,this all seems very archaic.
Mike McCabe
Bridgewater, MassachusettsWe have something of a mixed reaction, Mike. It is road racingafter all and maybe adding too much control to a 100-year-old event mayremove some of the drama. One thing is for certain: This is one editionof Paris-Roubaix we’ll be talking about for years to come. – Editor

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The Mailbag is a regular feature on VeloNews.com. If you have a comment, an opinion or observation regarding anything you have seen in cycling, in VeloNews magazine or on VeloNews.com, write to WebLetters@InsideInc.com. Please include your full name and home town. Letters may be edited for length and clarity.