Mookas recently interviewed David Askinas. One of the topics covered was the outrage behind the Olympic Trial match between Diana Lopez and Nia Abdallah
As I posted in the forum, Askinas downplayed the opinions of those who watched the video and called the judging fair.
To see the match, go to the bottom of the second page on the thread "Ok, who won this?"
http://tkdspace.com/public/forum/posts/id_155/title_ok-who-won-this/page_2/
The Mookas Inteview with CEO of USAT, David Askinas
http://mookas.us/media_view.asp?news_no=1347
Some of what Askinas said:
"I think the problem with the complaints is that they're sitting up in the stands or they're watching a fight that was illegally posted on youtube...Unless you're sitting in the corner chair, you can't properly score that fight....Three of the four judges have to see the point and push their button within one second of each other in order for a valid point to be registered....Because of the angles of the corner judges...[describes the difficulty of judging from the corners]...They're trying their very best and...if three of the four--or four of the four don't see it, then it's not a point. Simple. End of story. It's very easy to criticize from the stands. It's very easy to criticize when watching a video. All the experts I talked to, who were there, sitting ringside said: 'Fair Result'. That's all that counts to me....We're not invested like the media is, in the story of the three siblings going to the olympics. Yeah, it's a great story..but that's not how we pick our team. We don't pick them through newspaper stories. People earn them on the mat....There was no bias. There was no fixing fights. That's all you can ask for in Taekwondo. Are the results going to be where everyone agrees on a close fight? No in this sport. It is a very difficult sport to score and opinions are out there. I am confident that our referees are honest and they did the best they could."
On Abdallahs past failures to appeal decision making and the possibility of this being contested
"Hopefully they've learned that you cannot appeal field of play decision making...I'll give you an analogy: If you get a charging call in the NBA finals where you thought it should have been a blocking foul that decides the NBA championship. No judge is going to hear that case. It's the same in our sport. They are judgement calls. If you were to appeal every judgement call in a sporting event, you would never have finality. You would never get anyone to referee your sport and it would create virtual chaos. I don't expect them to [appeal]. If they do, they won't win...The match is over. Get behind the USA team and support it...[describes Diana losing a call in overtime back in 2004]. Instead of making a lot of noise about it, she accepted personal responsibility for not winning, went to Athens and supported Nia, in her attempt to win for the U.S....The match is over, let's move on".
A few notes:
He does have a point when it comes to judgement calls. These refs are there to make judgements, and appealing all their decisions would create a degree of chaos...and anyone that has ever been to a youth sporting event: listen to the parents and count how many times these spectators in the stands will bash the refs/umpires as if they know everything....
However, this wasn't a little league game. It was a match to decide the olympic team. The degree of "mistakes/erros in judgement" was too high for such an important match.
He says that unless you are sitting in the corner chair, you can't properly score that fight, and that it's so easy to criticize. He's right about that. However, the interview seems to smack the fans in the face, downplaying fans opinion with hints of infalibility.
As far as the NBA analogy. It would hold more true had he said a game full of charging fouls, rather than one decisive one. At the start of the segment, he claims he saw no evidence of any controversial moments or calls. I simply find that hard to believe. It IS possible to notice controversy, but still stand by decisions made. I can't help but be somewhat suspicious that he's in denial.
Another point that he is right on: It's not going to be overturned. Nia couldn't win her appeal from before, and if she tried again, it wouldn't fly. With all the heat coming towards the games being held in China, I think any US organization wants to do their best in staying out of disputes.
In the end, it seems this will be a black eye for the US team. Black eyes fade, and people can agree not to talk about them. But we know they're still there.
Tags: Diana Lopez Nia Abdallah Olympics 2008 Sparring
