AIBA Suspension of USA Boxing Effective Immediately
USA Boxing just received notification from AIBA, the international federation for boxing, that all amateur boxing activities in the United States are immediately suspended. The suspension cancels all sanctioned competitions; coach and official clinics; boxing club activities; membership registrations; and insurance coverage.
USA Boxing and our insurance companies will not take any insurance claims until the AIBA suspension is remedied and/or served until January 19, 2013.
The AIBA Disciplinary Commission levied this suspension against the organization for inappropriate and improper statements made by Mr. Hal Adonis earlier this year. The AIBA Disciplinary Commission Decision of October 19, 2012 states:
“By failing to remove Mr. Adonis from the USA Boxing Board of Directors when it had the chance to do so, USA Boxing, in essence, endorsed Mr. Adonis’ statements and sent out a message that such behavior was acceptable. The action (or lack thereof) and the very serious and harmful nature of Mr. Adonis statements, has jeopardized boxing and the Panel finds it appropriate to impose a suspension upon USA Boxing. This suspension must reflect the severity of the offence.”
The AIBA suspension terms are:
1. USA Boxing shall be fully suspended for a period of 3 months from October 19, 2012
2. Mr. Adonis shall pay a fine of CHF 2,000 and be suspended from all boxing activities at national and international levels, for 2 years starting from October 19, 2012.
3. The costs of the proceedings, fixed at CHF 1,500, shall be borne equally between USA Boxing and Mr. Adonis.
4. The decision will be communicated to USA Boxing, Mr. Adonis (via Hollie L Wieland of Karp Neu Hanlon Attorneys) and to the Headquarters of AIBA. This is the initial notification. It is unclear if further conditions or demands will follow. We are waiting on further details from AIBA. Your President; Board of Directors; and Executive Director are working diligently to determine any further demands of this suspension and to see if USA Boxing can offer any remedies to shorten it. In the event that we are successful in shortening or lessening our penalties, USA Boxing will notify you immediately to let you know your sanctioned event can take place. Please assist in communicating this information to your constituents as soon as possible. We will continue to update you on the status of this suspension as necessary. In the meantime, USA Boxing and the Board of Directors are taking every measure available to ensure that amateur boxing is resumed as soon as possible.
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As if there weren’t enough problems with the USA boxing program to begin with. Being suspended for three months means that no events can be held or sanctioned, training programs have to be canceled and more, not to mention the major hit to the program’s reputation. This is real bad news for the already much-maligned USA amateur boxing efforts.
