I found out a lot of things today.
On January 21, 2010, Both Speedo and USA Swimming asked the Honorable Judge, James B. Selna, to throw out TYR's anti-trust complaint against both Speedo and USA Swimming. (It's not going to happen.)
In court case progression this is the usual course of events: before going to trial you ask a judge to throw the case out no mater how absurd it is or hard it is to keep a straight face even if the blood on your client's hands is still wet and the gun at his side still has smoke coming out of it.
What made their request so unusual to me is that they requested that their reasons for asking that the case be thrown out of court be kept confidential! - In other words USA Swimming does not want the public to know why they are innocent!
So, why is that?
Remember this is a national governing body set up by the United States as a non-profit organization to guide the sport of swimming and our best competitors towards the Olympic Games but look how USA Swimming responds: they want to keep secrets as to how they do business with a suit manufacturer from the public.
New readers may not remember the lawsuit so here is a link to the actual complaint PDF:[Link]Here is a link to preliminary ruling PDF in the case that totally "spanks" Speedo, USA Swimming and Mark Schubert and simply declares the case is going to court and they all have an uphill battle:[Link]
I am moving forward with a second swim related website to raise money for a pro league. I will say I have an exceptionally talented person in front guiding me through this. I will post more details as I build the site and I will definitely ask for suggestions.
12 comments:
Details to come? Exceptionally talented person? Come on, Tony... you're killing me! Fill us in!
Here is where the site stands: I have a basic design which I am modifying. The person who is guiding me is QSwim.
I will post screenshots as it develops
Can I help?
Of course. I will send screenshots as soon as I can. Once you see the layout, you going to get how it will work.
I just can't wait for this lawsuit to get going!!!
I just hope that TYR has hired some good attorneys, and they spend the money to uncover everything!!!
I want the lawsuit to get going to. TYR does have good lawyers and so does USA Swimming and Speedo.
(That Republican nut job Hugh Hewitt was a partner with that firm at one time.)
I would be satisfied with a settlement if USA Swimming had to make a rule that stated you could not be on the payroll of any suit manufacturer if you are a USA Swimming coach. That any coach had to be suit agnostic as well and would be removed for advocating a suit over another.
That any suit company could advertise on the USAS sites or the magazine, and and they had to stop gaming both USAS with cash and; (this is my opinion), FINA too. In my biased opinion, I suspect we lost tech-suits because of USAS and Speedo when Speedo started losing. (Look how Eamon Sullivan and Libby Trickett flip flopped when Arena and Adidas started winning.)
If USAS allows this to go to court and they get their ass handed to them, Chuck Wielgus and Mark Schubert would, in my opinion, be so removed form that organization for you can't have the CEO of a non-profit spanked for anti-trust violations. To do so would bring in both the US Senate and the Congress oversight ninjas.
Also, look up how much Chuck Wielglus makes. It's boatload of money
And people said it was the tech suits ruining the sport of swimmming...
Instead it was tech suits saving it
This presents a very shaky discussion. USA Swimming is supported by the Speedos and other corporate sponsors. Without this cash, the cost of operations will be shoved down to the clubs and the kids (or their parents). A settlement from USA swimming will have the same affect, not penalizing the past poor judgement of Schubert, but burdening the kids through the increased cost of their memberships and meet entries.
Frankly, having been in the swim industry from a manufacturing side for the past 16 years, we witnessed first hand how Speedo influenced USA Swimming, TYR is just a sore because they did not get a party invitation. Essentially, Speedo was the highest bidder for USAS love and they won.
Who do you think is going to pay for the legal fees? All of us buying Speedo and TYR suits, all of the athletes out there who will have their sponsorship yanked and moved to the legal budget. No one is going to win, except the law firms.
As far as the proposal that was discussed about swim coaches not influencing suit purchases because they are on payroll from the suit companies. Really? ask one coach to give up their suit deal; no polo shirts, no bags, no warm-ups for national team members, no team banners. That is not going to happen, nor should it.
In my opinion, this lawsuit is crap and TYR should spend the money trying to design a better product and beat Speedo with true innovation.
I respect both your opinion an insight. It is certainly sharper than mine but I feel all the suit manufacturers should have access and a right to support USA swimming if they so desire. Currently, as you admit, Speedo owns them lock, stock and barrel. No one else is allowed to advertise hence, USAS is like a celebrity endorser.
Also, I feel, Jaked, b70, Arena, Adidas did make a suit that beat Speedo. Tyr did too.
Paul:
By your logic, we should excuse allegedly anti-competitive actions by one suit maker against another maker because the legal expenses may be passed through to the consumer buying the suit of a maker that is "forced" to spend money to defend against the allegations. This logic may have superficial appeal but the underlying premise of statutes that prohibit anti-competitive behavior is that anti-competitive actions enable the "actor" to have an unfair advantage, which almost invariably translates to the ability to charge a higher price - surprise - borne by the same consumer you are seeking to protect.
When Schubert made his remarks, Speedo was the clear winner in the tech suit battle.
Schubert stated the obvious, when he suggested - at the time - that the choice was medals or sponsorship money. He did it in a stupid, ham-fisted way and, given that he was on Speedo's dime, there was - at the very least - an appearance of conflict of interest.
Given that appearance of conflict interest and given that all of this is happening in the United States, a lawsuit was / is inevitable. Tyr probably has a case against Speedo, Schubert and USA Swimming for some sort of commercial damages. In all probability, this will get settled up out of court.
My profound hope is that the settlement of this lawsuit marks the end of the whole tech suit debacle. Hopefully, once this suit is settled, we stop talking about damm suits and start talking about swimming.
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