Olympians say coach
would be distraction
The U.S. Olympic tae kwon do team's only two members testified via telephone from Athens yesterday that ousted local coach Dae Sung Lee would be a distraction if he were to coach them at the Olympics.
"It hurts me right now that I bother those athletes," said Lee, after a hearing in federal court in Honolulu yesterday. But Lee said he believes Nia Abdallah and Steven Lopez were coached to respond that way.
U.S. Judge Susan Oki Mollway is expected to rule today on whether to grant Lee's request for a court order to allow him to serve as a certified coach of the tae kwon do Olympic team in the 2004 Olympic Games, which begin today.
Lee, founder and master teacher at the United States Taekwondo Center in Aina Haina, filed suit July 28 against the U.S. Taekwondo Union and U.S. Olympic Committee alleging breach of contract and race discrimination. Lee alleged he was removed because he is a Korean American and because he had a good relationship with the union's former governing body largely made up of Korean Americans.
Ward Jones, Lee's attorney, told the court that it can do what is best for the team by issuing credentials to Lee as a second coach. However, Mollway said any relief by the court would not come in that form.
"I'm not a credential-issuing authority," she said. "I don't think I'm in a position to name someone as coach to any U.S. Olympic team."
She said that at most she can order that the process of selecting the coach be free of any violation of discrimination laws.
Lee alleged the coach selection criteria were improperly changed to exclude him from being nominated as head coach, despite qualifications of successfully coaching in national and international competitions, and serving as national and international coach for the U.S. team.
Attorney Arthur Roeca, who represents the U.S. Taekwondo Union and U.S. Olympic Committee, offered testimony of an Olympic Committee auditor that the Taekwondo Union was financially mismanaged, which forced the resignation of union leadership and led to a remediation plan that included changes in the criteria for coaches.
The union's new leadership chose Jean Lopez, brother of team member Steven Lopez, as the coach.
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