Conflict of interest.
Person Z owns business X.
Person Z is elected President of org B.
Issues impacting business X are voted on by the board of org B.
By definition, Person Z has a conflict of interest in overseeing org B discussions & votes on those issues.
FBI Investigation
org A had some financial corruption issues.
As a result, several of org A’s business deals are being investigated.
One of those deals was with business X owned by person Z.
org B is affiliated with org A.
By definition, it is bad business practice to allow person Z to continue in place while there’s an open FBI investigation of org A’s business deal with person Z’s company, business X.
org B’s temporary removal of person Z represents best practices in any company/organization in America.
Under normal circumstances, an organization President under FBI investigation would voluntarily step aside until the investigation is completed. Business ethics 101. A principle taught at every major University across America, including U of Oregon.
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BBC, Mark Daly & Calum McKay, June 28, 2017]—“Now, the BBC understands, the American authorities – including tax investigators at the IRS…..”
“An email sent by Nike executive Craig Masback to Lananna suggested that Coe lobbied on Eugene’s behalf. The email, titled ‘2021’ and in which Coe is referred to as “Seb”, reads: “I spoke with Seb this morning. We covered several topics but I asked specifically about 2021. He made clear his support for 2021 in Eugene but made equally clear he had reached out to Diack specifically on this topic and got a clear statement from Diack that ‘I am not going to take any action at the April meeting (in Beijing) to choose a 2021 site’. Yet it was at that April meeting of the IAAF’s council that Diack announced the surprise vote on giving the championships directly to Eugene.”
“Other emails seen by the BBC revealed that Lananna made at least one trip to Europe to visit Diack a few weeks after this email was written”
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[The Oregonian, Ken Goe, February 20, 2018]—-“He apparently didn’t help himself by failing to disclose to the board he had been contacted as part of an investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice in its probe into the bidding processes of international sporting events.”
[The Register-Guard, Austin Meek, February 20, 2018]—”…..the USATF board passed a resolution in October barring Lananna from taking part in discussions related to his outside organizations……The vote came after USATF’s outside counsel addressed the board regarding conflicts of interest and principles of good governance. Lananna has not been accused of financial impropriety, but members of the board were uncomfortable with the appearance of the president having say in financial decisions that could benefit his outside interests.“
“The BBC reported in June that the FBI and the IRS were investigating the IAAF’s decision to award the 2021 World Championships to Eugene without a formal bidding process, and a Jan. 31 report in The New York Times stated that federal prosecutors had issued grand jury subpoenas related to the case.”
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[Oregon Track & Field, Ken Goe, February 21, 2018]—“Meek faults Lananna for not telling the board or his employers at the University of Oregon, where he remains an associate athletic director, that he had been questioned by DOJ investigators.”
USA Track & Field Governance Handbook…..Article 10
F. Succession and vacancies:
There shall be no order of succession to any office. If the Board determines that the President is temporarily unable to serve, it may, in its sole discretion, name another individual to fill the vacancy temporarily. The Board shall fill temporary or permanent vacancies for Vice Chair, Secretary, or Treasurer. If the President resigns or is permanently unable to serve, the Board shall name a successor until the following annual meeting, when a special election shall be held for the unexpired portion of the term.
The President may be removed for good cause by a two-thirds vote of those delegates of USATF present and voting at an annual meeting or special meeting called for this purpose, and provided the requisite notice for the meeting (see Article 8) properly states the removal vote on its agenda. The Board may remove the Vice Chair, Secretary, or Treasurer for good cause by a two-thirds vote of those Board members present and voting, who are not conflicted, at a regular meeting or special meeting called for that purpose. The Board may remove the President as Board Chair by a two-thirds vote of its total members who are not personally conflicted if it finds that good cause exists to disqualify the President from serving as Board Chair. The President may appeal an adverse decision to arbitration before the Court of Arbitration for Sport under its rules. USATF shall pay the costs of arbitration. The arbitration panel shall hear the matter de novo, and shall uphold the Board’s decision if it finds that good cause exists to disqualify the President from serving as Board Chair. The arbitral decision shall be final and binding on all parties. All proceedings under this paragraph shall be confidential, with the exception of the final arbitral decision, unless all parties waive confidentiality. If the President is removed as Board Chair, the Board shall elect another of its members to serve as Chair.
