Olympic Serie
Posted in Uncategorized on 12/04/2008 07:47 am by admin
Olympic Serie
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Special Olympics...A Cover Up?
When you think of Special Olympics, you think of mentally and physically challenged athletes being given the opportunity to be a part of competition in a variety of sports and the chance to socialize and have fun in the process. We think of courage and we think of volunteers who give their time to help make it all possible.
The fact is these kids depend on good people to coach, organize and run it all. So when there is a rumor of abuse of a helpless mentally challenged or disabled child or young adult, we want the facts and we want something done about it without delay.
In October, 2010 a coach with over twenty years experience and dedicated service was abruptly fired from his position in Seminole County Florida, and was denied a membership to Gold's Gym in Altamonte Springs, Florida. There were rumors that were not pleasant.
This coach was no first year cherry picker. He has been a guest speaker at Special Olympics conventions, was distinguished by Special Olympics as the "Most Inspirational Coach of the year" twice in the last decade, and was published in the popular book series, ‘Chicken Soup for the Soul', in that featured an inspirational story on a Special Olympics athlete. He has received newspaper, TV and radio coverage over the years on his coaching special Olympics athletes to gold medal performances. He was chosen as an official coach to the National games in 2006, where he received national media attention. He has a stellar athletic career, being elite in seven sports, and was World Champion in powerlifting, winning the gold in the 1980's. This coach, Dominick Castellano, obviously had an excellent resume and donated a lot of time and energy to Special Olympics.
There were no police reports, no charges filed, no complaint of inappropriate behavior and yet, he was fired abruptly as a coach and forbidden from entering the Gold's Gym in Altamonte Springs, FL, where the Special Olympics athletes train.
Then, Gold's Gym reversed their decision 3 weeks later. When we contacted representatives for Special Olympics, they mysteriously would not give us an answer as to why Castellano was fired.
So we ask, was there an illegal act or not and if there was, is it being covered up? Even when Gold's Gym reversed their decision, Special Olympics did not.
Marie El-Khoury is a Seminole County Special Olympics coordinator and the person who removed Castellano from his post as a coach. She refused to answer any questions and quickly deferred to Amie Dugan who stated that she is the representative who can speak for the non-profit organization.
What confuses the situation is that when asked why Castellano was removed as a coach, Ms. Dugan also refused to give an answer, citing a pending lawsuit prevented her from speaking. We checked the public record, and no lawsuit has been filed. So why the mystery and why can't they simply spell out just why Mr. Castellano was removed?
We interviewed Gold's Gym management and they confirmed that they refused Mr. Castellano membership and access to the facility because of what was communicated by Marie El-Khoury. So what really is going on? Was there abuse or is something going on behind the scenes that the Special Olympics administration will not reveal?
Castellano claims that Marie El-Khoury fired him because of a dispute regarding the safety of the athletes. He explained in an email to El-Khoury that athletes who had not been training for weeks should not be allowed to participate in the lifting event being hosted by Gold's Gym because it was dangerous. We read the email and it is clear that there was a dispute over this. Is this grounds to fire a coach of twenty years?
Castellano states that El-Khoury was vindictive and used every means possible to remove him from the ‘picture'. Castellano says she violated his legal rights by stating to Gold's gym management that he was a danger to athletes and even Gold's Gym members. Further, Castellano says that El-Khoury never told the many parents or the athletes he worked with what really happened leading them to believe the worst when he was abruptly removed as coach. He claims Special Olympics Florida representatives are attempting to cover up her actions. The fact that Special Olympics, NA (North America) refuses to answer our calls and Special Olympics Florida refuses to answer our questions makes us wonder what is really the truth.
In a dedicated effort to get at the facts, repeated calls have been made and emails sent to Special Olympics executives on both the state and national level. We contacted the top people in Special Olympics, Florida. We requested the courtesy of a reply and explanation. CEO of Special Olympics, Florida, Monte Castevens. NO REPLY Phil MacHarg. Special Olympics Florida NO REPLY Nancy Sawyer SVP. Special Olympics Florida NO REPLY Marie El-Khoury Seminole County Coordinator NO REPLY Then we went to the National level. Special Olympics North America Robyn Markey, Director of Development. NO REPLY Kestor Edwards, Administrative Coordinator NO REPLY Ron Vederman, Director Organizational Development NO REPLY Dave Lenox, VP Leadership NO REPLY I received an email from representative Amie Dugan refusing any further communication from me because she mistakenly thought I had stated that I worked for a local newspaper and found out I did not.
But, most important of all, what about the Special Olympics athletes? What benefit is there to firing a coach who has proven his value for years? If Castellano did anything wrong, then there should be evidence and if so, he should be prosecuted. If he did nothing wrong, then why are the athletes being stripped of a good coach? Are the Special Olympics representatives removing Castellano in the best interest of the athletes? Are they playing games with someone's reputation and hard earned status? Exactly what is going on? Why no answer?
As we probe deeper, perhaps the truth will surface and Special Olympics organizers will explain what they are really doing and why. Amie Dugan claimed Special Olympics has the right to remove anyone for any reason. While that may be true, it is another thing entirely when someone's reputation is damaged and there is a malicious element involved. If Castellano did something wrong, it should be brought to the surface, and if he did not, then what did Marie-El-Khoury really try to do? Why did she remove a coach with such vast experience and years of service? Why is Special Olympics not coming clean about all this? Is this the tip of the iceberg of a real problem in Special Olympics?
Stay tuned as we continue to report on this situation and get our questions answered.
About the Author
Melahn Cable
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