USA Olympic Taekwondo Shocker!
Who really won the right to be an Olympian?
Questions around 2008 Taekwondo Olympic Trials Judging Continue to Rise
Watch & Judge for yourself:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=xfJJ2zlmLvw
Houston Texas….In the sport of Olympic Taekwondo, the judging of one final qualifying match leaves many feeling kicked below the belt.
Nia Abdallah is the 2004 Silver Medalist in Taekwondo, and the first US woman to medal in the sport since it became an official sport in 2000. Competing in the female Olympic featherweight division, history-making Abdallah earned many first during the 2004 Olympics. She is the first American female to medal in Taekwondo since it became an official Olympic event in 2000 and the first African American to do so.
History
This much publicized fight-off between Nia Abdallah and Diana Lopez in the Des Moines Olympic Qualifying Finals, was not without previous controversy. The two were once again matched Saturday, April 5, 2008 at the Olympic trials held in Des Moines, Iowa at Veterans Memorial Auditorium. At stake was a place on the 2008 USA Olympic Taekwondo team. Many believe the fight was grossly misjudged.
Nia Abdallah seemed to score almost at will, slowly building what many experts believe should have been a 7-0 victory for Ms Nia Abdallah. (Diana would have been assessed deductions for low blows). Video of the match shows a clear Nia victory. However, the judges ruled this 0-0 and the match went into "sudden death" overtime. After the fight went into a sudden death round, Nia again scored a number of other times, even kicking Lopez down. Still no points were given to Nia Abdallah. Lopez was awarded the victory 1-0, with the judges counting a kick that the video clearly shows was not a valid point. In viewing video footage of the fight one expert says Abdallah should have won by at least 7 points. A growing number of experts and individuals are expressing concern about the outcome of this fight.
Watch & Judge for Yourself
http://youtube.com/watch?v=xfJJ2zlmLvw http://myspace.com/wesupportnia
Expert Opinion
In the spirit of good athleticism, people understand that judges are human and may miss a few things, but a number of experts say that this match wasn’t even close, articulating concerns over the grossly inaccurate judging. Master Allan Schein is one of them.
"I have watched and watched the video, and Nia could have scored as many as four points in sudden [death] alone… Nia won hands down.” Says Schein who is the co-author the book Tae Kwon Do Basics, Techniques and Forms. The Indomitable Martial Arts of Korea and contributing editor, feature writer and international press correspondent for and Masters Magazine. “I know some of the referees, and they are honorable people. So how do we end up with a lopsided decision like this? To me it looks like Nia won by a seven point spread
over Diana’s one point. Electronic protectors hold great promise in assisting judges in achieving greater accuracy and fairness in their decision."
“I thought it was an outrage that the scoring was totally wrong. Clearly Nia won the match. She was the primary aggressor in the engagements, much more than her counterpart’s minimal attempts." says Floyd Burke, who writes exclusively for Black Belt Magazine, has penned column State Of Taekwondo for more than seven years and has authored more than 100 articles for the publication, many of which were the subject of taekwondo. Burk is also an martial arts instructor and avid researcher with more than 35 years of experience. "I have heard from Taekwondo stylists all over the country who are outraged by the poor judging. Nia is even better now than when she won the Silver Medal at the 2004 Olympics."
A groundswell of individuals have also launched a campaign online to support Nia, and to get the US Olympic Committee to reverse this decision. The video was posted on YouTube.com and later on MySpace and has received thousands of views, despite the US Olympic Committee pressuring YouTube to take down several copies of the video. John Ruger, the Olympic Committee Ombudsman, refused to speak with some concerned US citizens about this match.
Legal Consideration
Warren Fitzgerald attorney for Ms. Abdallah says he is exploring continued legal options. “When athletes have no rights, it is a breeding ground for corruption,” he says. “The sport of Olympic Taekwondo allows for no instant replay, nor is there any mechanism for a review of the match. But the practice is widely used in judging other sports.” Last August he represented Abdallah in a lawsuit against the USOC and the USAT (the athletic organization that "feeds" the Olympics) asserting blatantly unfair judging and a grievance and arbitration process that provided no meaningful relief. The case was dismissed without prejudice, so that the parties could pursue arbitration. Fitzgerald says Abdallah maintains her right to file suit and in light of the evidence from this video, may very well do so.
Immediate Action
Because the Olympics begin in August, time is of the essence. Supporters are calling on the US Olympic Committee to urgently, immediately review and reverse this match decision, or at the very least schedule a re-match in time to ensure the rightful to winner represent the United States at the Olympics. In addition, some have called for an investigation of potential fraud. In either case, the case needs to be handled quickly.
Abdallah’s personal manager Sonyia Graham says,”I’d like to see the results of this match further investigated. It was clear that Nia won. We are not asking for a handout --just that the match be judged fairly.”
Allegations have also circulated for some time that there is “feel-good-story” media appeal for the USAT in having three siblings represent the USA in Beijing. Diana’s controversial win places her with, brothers Mark and Steven on team USA. Their eldest brother, Jean is also the team coach. In fact the story is now a front page story on the USAT' s official site, http://www.usa-taekwondo.us.
Nia Abdallah says that whatever the final outcome of this, she would like to see equity in the way future matches are judged. “Ultimately this is about fairness play in this sport for everyone and if technology exists to improve the sport and ensure fair judgment. That is what I’m interested in.” She says. I don’t want to see this happen to others coming up in the sport.”
Available for Interviews
For additional information or to interview 2004 Silver Medalist, Olympian & Hall of Famer, Nia Abdallah; her attorney, Warren Fitzgerald or the experts in this release, please contact Sonyia Graham, Nia's Personal Manager at 832-428-1123, efax 713-490-9053 or sonyiam@sbcglobal.net or Betty C. Andrews at Betty Andrews Media, bettycandrews@yahoo.com or 515-288-7171.
Additional Links
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xfJJ2zlmLvw
http://www.myspace.com/weSupportNia
http://www.usa-taekwondo.us
http://www.usa-taekwondo.us/624_1361.htm
http://www.blackbeltmag.com/archives/418
Note
Prior to Taekwondo becoming an official sport Americans Dana Hee who won Gold, and Lynnette Love who won Gold in 1988 and 1992 exhibition matches respectively.
More About Nia
http://www.usa-taekwondo.us/624_1361.htm
http://www.taekwondoevents.com/
Nia's Competition Record 2007 Olympic Trials (Bantam/Feather): 2nd 2007 World Championships (Light): BRONZE 2002 Quebec Open (Sparring): GOLD 2007 National Collegiate Championships (Light): GOLD 2002 U.S. Open (Forms): SILVER 2007 Sr. National Team Trials (Light): 1st 2002 U.S. Open (Sparring): GOLD 2007 U.S. Open (Light): BRONZE 2002 Team Trials: BRONZE 2007 Pan Am Games Trials (Light/Welter): 1st
2001 U.S. Senior Nationals (Forms): GOLD 2006 Pan Am Championships (Light): SILVER 2001 U.S. Senior Nationals (Sparring): GOLD 2006 Dutch Open (Light): SILVER 2001 Junior Olympics (Forms): GOLD 2006 National Collegiate Championships (Welter): GOLD 2006 U.S. Open (Forms): GOLD 2006 Sr. National Team Trials (Light): 1st
2005 U.S. Senior Nationals (Light): SILVER 2005 Senior National Team Member (Light)
2004 Olympic Games: SILVER 2004 U.S. Olympic Team Trials: GOLD 2004 Olympic Fight-Off: GOLD 2004 Pan American Olympic Qualifier: GOLD
2003 Pan American Games: BRONZE 2003 U.S. Open (Forms/Sparring): GOLD 2003 Peru Open (Sparring): GOLD 2003 U.S. Senior Nationals (Forms): SILVER 2003 U.S. Senior Nationals (Sparring): SILVER 2003 Pan American Games Qualifier: GOLD 2001 Junior Olympics (Sparring): SILVER 2001 Team Trials: SILVER
2000 Junior Olympics (Sparring): SILVER
1999 Junior Olympics (Sparring): SILVER
1997 Junior Olympics (Sparring): BRONZE 1997 U.S. Cup (Breaking): GOLD 1997 U.S. Cup (Forms): SILVER
1996 Junior Olympics (Forms): SILVER 1996 Junior Olympics (Sparring): GOLD
1995 Junior Olympics (Forms): SILVER 1995 Junior Olympics (Sparring): GOLD
1994 Junior Olympics (Forms): GOLD 1994 Junior Olympics (Sparring): GOLD
Contact: Sonyia (Baring) Graham Betty Andrews Media sonyiam@sbcglobal.net Media, Events & Strategic Communications 832-428-1123, efax 713-490-9053 515-288-7171 / bettycandrews@yahoo.com
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