Worst Team Tennis Scandal Ever - Welcome to Tennessee

[gtrfletch]

This event occurred at the Tennessee 55+ 9.0 team state championship on the weekend of May 21-23, 2021. I will give you the sketch here of how the local Knoxville team conspired with the state USTA organization to pull off one of the boldest and most dishonest scam of all time. Afterwards, I will post the communications between myself, Captain of the Memphis team, and the STA officials. The state executive director has refused to talk to me, only responding by text and referring to an administrativeecret” decision.
Here are the undisputed facts.
1. Our state did not have enough participation to have any local leagues in our division.
2. Our local coordinator (Jackie Mills) and every local coordinator set up a local league and players were informed that in order to be on the team, they must join the local league. The local league would then be played at the state.
3. 4 teams across the state joined their local league. We followed this on tennislink as they would be our competition.
4. Our players all had to be members of the USTA and pay a $7 fee to join our team in the local Memphis league.
5. Deadline to enter was April 18.
6. Those 4 teams then had to have all of their players individually sign up for the state tournament on the state tournament website. In order to qualify, you had to be on the local team and pay $37.
7. The morning of the state, Knoxville had 11 players. WE played them first and surprise! They had a player on their scorecard who was not on their local team roster NOR their state roster.
8. We now know that this player only joined the USTA and self verified as a 4.0 on May 7. Weeks after the deadline to join the local league. He NEVER joined the local league!
9. We had one of our players tell us on May 10 that he could not go to state. I emailed our local coordinator, Jackie Mills, to ask if we could add a player after the deadline. She denied this, as she said, because that is what the rules specified.
10. Chris Walling, of the Southern Tennis Association, has explained to me that the state would have been within their rights to allow this player to be added after the deadline, if there had been a hardship. Of course, they had plenty of players so there was no hardship. But he said that the state committee would have had to meet to approve it. I have talked to two of the committee members, neither who knew anything about it. One of the members specifically said that if a player was not in the local league then that player should not be allowed to play in the state championship.
11. All the facts clearly show that there was no meeting. No minutes of the meeting have been shared. We specifically had asked for an extra player, remember, we were down to 7 but were denied. The player that was added to Knoxville was not even a USTA member when the original deadline passed. One of Knoxville’s most popular teaching pros is on that team and is good friends with the Tn. Exec Director. Since there was no meeting, it was apparently an executive decision (which is what one of the committee members told us) but why? Why was one team and one player rewarded? Why all the secrecy? Why all the backpedaling and lying? Where was the transparency? Why could they not have just told us before we played the state that Knoxville had a hidden player on their roster? It does matter who is on their roster as we make out our lineup. It really matters. Knoxville won the state by beating us 2-1. We finished 2nd. We don’t want to go to regionals. We just want justice, transparency and fair play.

Please continue to follow our communication and how the state has been constantly changing the tournament website for days now.5 days AFTER the tournament ended, they added this player to the official roster for the first time. 5 days. Chris Walling at the Southern Tennis Association has REFUSED to get involved, telling me that he doesn’t know much but confident that the state will do what is right. And of course, now 2 weeks after the event, we have no answers. No minutes to the supposed meeting, that we already know did not happen. No hardship as to why a player was allowed to be added weeks after the deadline. Nothing.

 

[esgee48]

Know any lawyers that play tennis? My extended player groups include several. You could also file a "Freedom of Information" request legally and see how they respond. Their response will shine a lot of light and if some one is culpable of lying, could be fined, etc. 2nd option is to know someone who works for the press as in news reporter.

If your "facts" are true, something stinks in Denmark and it isn't cheese.

 

[JLyon]

worst scandal?? Not even close, check out NORCAL back in the early 2000's and their shenanigans at Nationals. As for your team, pathetic that Southern and TTA are stonewalling. Keep emailing and have others email and call until answer and transparency is given

 

[tennis tom]

"it's only tennis"

 

[Connor35]

Know any lawyers that play tennis? My extended player groups include several. You could also file a "Freedom of Information" request legally and see how they respond. Their response will shine a lot of light and if some one is culpable of lying, could be fined, etc. 2nd option is to know someone who works for the press as in news reporter.

If your "facts" are true, something stinks in Denmark and it isn't cheese.

These are not government organizations. How would a FOI request matter?

 

[sureshs]

Was this player who registered late a true 4.0 or a sandbagger?

 

[sureshs]

These are not government organizations. How would a FOI request matter?

USTA is a quasi-government organization, like the Smithsonian or the USPS, so it seems they don't have to comply, but such agencies usually do.

 

[ChaelAZ]

This will sound a bit D'ish, but...had you won would this have been your stance or would you have just moved on, went to regional, and there would be no post? I get that it should not be allowed, but even I am guilty of, and often see focusing on the injustices after losing - sandbaggers, guy was foot faulting and should have been called, they got extra court time we couldn't get, that ONE point that was called out ruined everything...etc. It is a worthy line of accountability to peruse to make sure it doesn't happen again, but also checking to make sure it is more about the process than a bit of sour grapes. Best of luck.

 

[J_R_B]

If you want anything to happen, you actually have to go through the trouble of filing a grievance. Once there is paperwork, they can't sweep it under the rug anymore.

 

[Purestriker]

This event occurred at the Tennessee 55+ 9.0 team state championship on the weekend of May 21-23, 2021. I will give you the sketch here of how the local Knoxville team conspired with the state USTA organization to pull off one of the boldest and most dishonest scam of all time. Afterwards, I will post the communications between myself, Captain of the Memphis team, and the STA officials. The state executive director has refused to talk to me, only responding by text and referring to an administrativeecret” decision.
Here are the undisputed facts.
1. Our state did not have enough participation to have any local leagues in our division.
2. Our local coordinator (Jackie Mills) and every local coordinator set up a local league and players were informed that in order to be on the team, they must join the local league. The local league would then be played at the state.
3. 4 teams across the state joined their local league. We followed this on tennislink as they would be our competition.
4. Our players all had to be members of the USTA and pay a $7 fee to join our team in the local Memphis league.
5. Deadline to enter was April 18.
6. Those 4 teams then had to have all of their players individually sign up for the state tournament on the state tournament website. In order to qualify, you had to be on the local team and pay $37.
7. The morning of the state, Knoxville had 11 players. WE played them first and surprise! They had a player on their scorecard who was not on their local team roster NOR their state roster.
8. We now know that this player only joined the USTA and self verified as a 4.0 on May 7. Weeks after the deadline to join the local league. He NEVER joined the local league!
9. We had one of our players tell us on May 10 that he could not go to state. I emailed our local coordinator, Jackie Mills, to ask if we could add a player after the deadline. She denied this, as she said, because that is what the rules specified.
10. Chris Walling, of the Southern Tennis Association, has explained to me that the state would have been within their rights to allow this player to be added after the deadline, if there had been a hardship. Of course, they had plenty of players so there was no hardship. But he said that the state committee would have had to meet to approve it. I have talked to two of the committee members, neither who knew anything about it. One of the members specifically said that if a player was not in the local league then that player should not be allowed to play in the state championship.
11. All the facts clearly show that there was no meeting. No minutes of the meeting have been shared. We specifically had asked for an extra player, remember, we were down to 7 but were denied. The player that was added to Knoxville was not even a USTA member when the original deadline passed. One of Knoxville’s most popular teaching pros is on that team and is good friends with the Tn. Exec Director. Since there was no meeting, it was apparently an executive decision (which is what one of the committee members told us) but why? Why was one team and one player rewarded? Why all the secrecy? Why all the backpedaling and lying? Where was the transparency? Why could they not have just told us before we played the state that Knoxville had a hidden player on their roster? It does matter who is on their roster as we make out our lineup. It really matters. Knoxville won the state by beating us 2-1. We finished 2nd. We don’t want to go to regionals. We just want justice, transparency and fair play.

Please continue to follow our communication and how the state has been constantly changing the tournament website for days now.5 days AFTER the tournament ended, they added this player to the official roster for the first time. 5 days. Chris Walling at the Southern Tennis Association has REFUSED to get involved, telling me that he doesn’t know much but confident that the state will do what is right. And of course, now 2 weeks after the event, we have no answers. No minutes to the supposed meeting, that we already know did not happen. No hardship as to why a player was allowed to be added weeks after the deadline. Nothing.

Terrible. Good luck, have not had much success on similar issues with the southern district.

 

[gtrfletch]

worst scandal?? Not even close, check out NORCAL back in the early 2000's and their shenanigans at Nationals. As for your team, pathetic that Southern and TTA are stonewalling. Keep emailing and have others email and call until answer and transparency is given

The difference is in that case, it was players colluding to cheat. In this instance, it is the USTA cheating or at the very minimum hiding stuff from its own members.

 

[gtrfletch]

This will sound a bit D'ish, but...had you won would this have been your stance or would you have just moved on, went to regional, and there would be no post? I get that it should not be allowed, but even I am guilty of, and often see focusing on the injustices after losing - sandbaggers, guy was foot faulting and should have been called, they got extra court time we couldn't get, that ONE point that was called out ruined everything...etc. It is a worthy line of accountability to peruse to make sure it doesn't happen again, but also checking to make sure it is more about the process than a bit of sour grapes. Best of luck.

Actually, if the player had been disqualified, we would have tied for the championship but would have lost the racket spin. No, this is about a precedent set by the state that anyone can join any team (secretly) anytime, if you know the right people. We actually asked for the same thing, with a true hardship, and were denied.

 

[gtrfletch]

Was this player who registered late a true 4.0 or a sandbagger?

The player had not played since 2016 and was not a USTA member. Second handedly, we have heard that he quit playing in 2016 because he got bumped to 4.5 and had to sit out a period in order to re-verify as a 4.0. This player won the match that beat us, interestingly enough.

 

[McLovin]

In this instance, it is the USTA Southern Section cheating or at the very minimum hiding stuff from its own members.

Fixed it for you.

 

[Creighton]

This will sound a bit D'ish, but...had you won would this have been your stance or would you have just moved on, went to regional, and there would be no post? I get that it should not be allowed, but even I am guilty of, and often see focusing on the injustices after losing - sandbaggers, guy was foot faulting and should have been called, they got extra court time we couldn't get, that ONE point that was called out ruined everything...etc. It is a worthy line of accountability to peruse to make sure it doesn't happen again, but also checking to make sure it is more about the process than a bit of sour grapes. Best of luck.

Why does this matter? If something is wrong, it's wrong.

 

[schmke]

Some info I've rummaged around and found related to this.

As of 3/8, the Knoxville team had 9 players on the local league roster. As of today, there are 12. I do not know when the extra 3 were added.

There are two 4.0S players on the roster.

One was a 3.5S in 2014 and played two matches not getting a C, and they self-rated as a 4.0S in 2020 playing two matches, then played four at the state tournament in question.

The other held a 4.0C from 2012, played a few Combo matches in 2014, then two 18+ matches in 2015 and a few Combo in 2016, none of these generated a year-end rating, then they self-rated again in 2021 on it appears 5/7 and were in the line-up for three matches at the tournament, playing in two (one was a default win). They were never a 4.5, their self-rating as a 4.0 now seems legit.

I'm assuming the player in question is the second one given the 5/7 self-rate date, and that would seem to clearly be after the 4/18 date you mention. However, that 4/18 date may have been a Memphis local league deadline and Knoxville's deadline was different. That said, you say they were not on the local or state roster the morning of the tournament which you would think was past the deadline.

Another slight oddity, there are two teams listed in the local league in Knoxville, but they played no local league matches and both advanced to the state tournament. Perhaps this was agreed to by all due to other areas advancing straight to the state tournament, but normally if there are two teams, they do play 4-6 head-to-head matches in local league play and the winner advances.

Now, some pertinent rules from the regulations (bolding mine):

1.04C(1) Official League Registration. TennisLink is the official system for registering teams and
players for the USTA League. A player’s name must be listed on the team roster, as shown in
TennisLink, prior to participation in any match. This includes any player who is added to a team
roster after the commencement of local league play. Each Section shall establish deadlines and
procedures for registering teams in TennisLink. Players shall not be added to the team roster
during local league flight play-offs or at any championship.

If the player was not on the roster at the time of the match, the first bolded part of the rule would appear to have been violated. In my section, it is specifically spelled out that any player not rostered at the time of the match results in a default win for the opponent.

Are you certain the player was not rostered at the time of the match vs earlier that morning? Is it possible they were added just before the match commenced?

The second bolded part would seem to have been violated as well, although clearly this is a special case with no local league played, so one could see this rule being waived.

2.03A(5) At all Championships, a minimum number of team members as shown in the following
table, who were on the final roster of their local league team at the conclusion of local league play,
must be available and eligible to compete or to combine and compete, as appropriate. The required
minimum number of team members may be reduced with an approved waiver, but to not less than
the minimum as noted in the following table. At Sectional Championship level and below, the
Championship Committee may grant such a waiver. At the National Championships a committee
comprised of the USTA League Chair, Vice-Chair and the National League Administrator may grant
such a waiver. Waivers are only intended for extreme circumstances.

This rule is about minimum roster sizes, but also mentions players must have been rostered on the team at the conclusion of league play. Again, this is a bit of a special case with no local league play, but one could see this being interpreted as being rostered on the last day of local league play, which interestingly presently shows as 5/22/2021! A bit odd for a local league to have its ending date a day after the start of the state tournament. I do not know if this was the ending date all along or was perhaps changed in order to allow for said player to be added to the roster retroactively when TennisLink wouldn't let the player be added? Seems fishy.

2.03B Official League Championships Entry. An official copy of the final USTA TEAM ROSTER
FOR LEAGUES shall be submitted by the team captain or coordinator to the Championship
Committee at each level of league championships prior to the deadline announced for entry into the
event.

I would think the deadline for the event would be prior to the first match being played, but I suspect there was an even earlier deadline for the event and perhaps you mentioned it but I missed it. In any case, this rule seems to have been violated.

One could perhaps rationalize it as a fairly self-rated player that just forgot to register, so what is the harm? But if that is the case, denying your request seems inconsistent, but regardless, what is the point of the regulations and dates if they are just going to be ignored?

It is certainly worth a formal grievance and running it up the levels of organization, but in my experience, you won't likely get the result you are after with just a grievance. Your state likely doesn't want to hear it, and if the section wants to say it is a state/district issue, not our call, your only option is to go to National and who knows what happens then. Media coverage (real or social) or legal representation may be the only way to cause anything to happen.

 

[gtrfletch]

I have submitted an official grievance. It went to TN state and Southern USTA. There are apparently NO listed emails for national.

 

[Connor35]

USTA is a quasi-government organization, like the Smithsonian or the USPS, so it seems they don't have to comply, but such agencies usually do.

In what way? Just because it has US in the name?

USTA is a national non-profit organization. But it is not quasi-government in any way.

 

[sureshs]

In what way? Just because it has US in the name?

USTA is a national non-profit organization. But it is not quasi-government in any way.

It is a body authorized by an act of Congress to be the sole governing body of tennis in the US.

 

[soft_manatee]

u cant title ur thread WORST SCANDAL EVER and then give me this low quality drama

 

[RyanRF]

Skill capped championships are just begging to be manipulated/exploited by this kind of stuff. You gotta learn to just not take it too seriously.

 

[gtrfletch]

Again, remember, the reason that this is so BAD is that it is not the players cheating, it is the actual parent organization partnering with certain teams (and perhaps certain teaching pro friends) to allow such chaos. The USTA should be transparent and fair and do everything possible for Fair Play.

 

[kingcheetah]

u cant title ur thread WORST SCANDAL EVER and then give me this low quality drama

True. Sandbagging is fairly normal, unfortunately.

 

[Moon Shooter]

u cant title ur thread WORST SCANDAL EVER and then give me this low quality drama

I'm not even sure what the issue is. Someone didn't file papers by a deadline but still got to play? I agree it is worse since the op posted that his team made some sort of similar request and got denied so it does seem like special treatment. I also agree that these organizations are not nearly as transparent as they should be. But the entire system is set up to be gamed in ways that are worse than being arbitrary about who can file paperwork late. The entire USTA system (when run as intended within the rules) seems more of a scandal. The scandal is the USTA seems purposely set up to be an experiment in systemic injustice.

 

[gtrfletch]

I'm not even sure what the issue is. Someone didn't file papers by a deadline but still got to play? I agree it is worse since the op posted that his team made some sort of similar request and got denied so it does seem like special treatment. I also agree that these organizations are not nearly as transparent as they should be. But the entire system is set up to be gamed in ways that are worse than being arbitrary about who can file paperwork late. The entire USTA system (when run as intended within the rules) seems more of a scandal. The scandal is the USTA seems purposely set up to be an experiment in systemic injustice.

When the leaders of an organization allow their friends to add team members well after the deadline and then DO NOT EVEN list them on the roster until AFTER the event, you have chaos. If you are not on the tennislink roster, then you should not be on the team. How can someone play at a state championship and not even be listed? How can a player who was not even a USTA member suddenly play in the state and it be OK? Complicity at all levels of the Tennessee USTA structure is what it smells like.

 

[BeyondTheTape]

thats a shame. ive had LLCs at State ID us after they called us to the scorer's tent to send us to the appropriate court to begin the match.

 

[WhiteOut]

thats a shame. ive had LLCs at State ID us after they called us to the scorer's tent to send us to the appropriate court to begin the match.

Same here. I have to say, where I live/play, the LLC runs it right, and doesn't mess with BS. A very small number of captains will still do their shady stuff (just cant help themselves), but over time everyone knows who they are, and the other caps do a nice job of policing things in a friendly way. The OP's experience is really unfortunate, even if only half of it is true.

 

[FiddlerDog]

OMG ! Someone played a match and denied you the shot at the plastic trophy? OH THE HUMANITY !!

 

[am1899]

The USTA should be transparent and fair and do everything possible for Fair Play.

They should be. But IME USTA is not universally as such. So, the door is then left ajar for those involved to use power, influence, money, etc., to skirt the rules in order to achieve a desired outcome. Stuff like this happens all the time, unfortunately.

 

[FuzzyYellowBalls]

OMG ! Someone played a match and denied you the shot at the plastic trophy? OH THE HUMANITY !!

My new favorite poster on the boards.

 

[gtrfletch]

OMG ! Someone played a match and denied you the shot at the plastic trophy? OH THE HUMANITY !!

Actually, I think it was a t-shirt and a picture in our state newsletter, that literally NOONE reads. Just to clarify.

 

[ttwarrior1]

should i post my story about signing up homeless people to get enough to qualify and then played a fake team with people i made up

 

[gtrfletch]

should i post my story about signing up homeless people to get enough to qualify and then played a fake team with people i made up

Don't post it. Write a book. Probably be a best seller.

 

[recreationalplayer]

This event occurred at the Tennessee 55+ 9.0 team state championship on the weekend of May 21-23, 2021. I will give you the sketch here of how the local Knoxville team conspired with the state USTA organization to pull off one of the boldest and most dishonest scam of all time. Afterwards, I will post the communications between myself, Captain of the Memphis team, and the STA officials. The state executive director has refused to talk to me, only responding by text and referring to an administrativeecret” decision.
Here are the undisputed facts.
1. Our state did not have enough participation to have any local leagues in our division.
2. Our local coordinator (Jackie Mills) and every local coordinator set up a local league and players were informed that in order to be on the team, they must join the local league. The local league would then be played at the state.
3. 4 teams across the state joined their local league. We followed this on tennislink as they would be our competition.
4. Our players all had to be members of the USTA and pay a $7 fee to join our team in the local Memphis league.
5. Deadline to enter was April 18.
6. Those 4 teams then had to have all of their players individually sign up for the state tournament on the state tournament website. In order to qualify, you had to be on the local team and pay $37.
7. The morning of the state, Knoxville had 11 players. WE played them first and surprise! They had a player on their scorecard who was not on their local team roster NOR their state roster.
8. We now know that this player only joined the USTA and self verified as a 4.0 on May 7. Weeks after the deadline to join the local league. He NEVER joined the local league!
9. We had one of our players tell us on May 10 that he could not go to state. I emailed our local coordinator, Jackie Mills, to ask if we could add a player after the deadline. She denied this, as she said, because that is what the rules specified.
10. Chris Walling, of the Southern Tennis Association, has explained to me that the state would have been within their rights to allow this player to be added after the deadline, if there had been a hardship. Of course, they had plenty of players so there was no hardship. But he said that the state committee would have had to meet to approve it. I have talked to two of the committee members, neither who knew anything about it. One of the members specifically said that if a player was not in the local league then that player should not be allowed to play in the state championship.
11. All the facts clearly show that there was no meeting. No minutes of the meeting have been shared. We specifically had asked for an extra player, remember, we were down to 7 but were denied. The player that was added to Knoxville was not even a USTA member when the original deadline passed. One of Knoxville’s most popular teaching pros is on that team and is good friends with the Tn. Exec Director. Since there was no meeting, it was apparently an executive decision (which is what one of the committee members told us) but why? Why was one team and one player rewarded? Why all the secrecy? Why all the backpedaling and lying? Where was the transparency? Why could they not have just told us before we played the state that Knoxville had a hidden player on their roster? It does matter who is on their roster as we make out our lineup. It really matters. Knoxville won the state by beating us 2-1. We finished 2nd. We don’t want to go to regionals. We just want justice, transparency and fair play.

Please continue to follow our communication and how the state has been constantly changing the tournament website for days now.5 days AFTER the tournament ended, they added this player to the official roster for the first time. 5 days. Chris Walling at the Southern Tennis Association has REFUSED to get involved, telling me that he doesn’t know much but confident that the state will do what is right. And of course, now 2 weeks after the event, we have no answers. No minutes to the supposed meeting, that we already know did not happen. No hardship as to why a player was allowed to be added weeks after the deadline. Nothing.

I suppose all readers empathize - your situation makes the point even further that USTA is about what's good for USTA. And favoritism is a big part of USTA, doing something about it? Continue to make yourself miserable or play recreational tennis only, many have gone in that direction.

 

[andfor]

Looks like this just died on the vine like many other USTA league tennis issues. Anyone surprised?

 

[smboogie]

This is honestly the reason I dislike USTA and play less and less. Players taking rec tennis too seriously as if they are going to be discovered or something. Winning sections or nationals doesn't get you anything that I'm aware of so why make the experience bad or use bad sportsmanship?

 

[FuzzyYellowBalls]

This is honestly the reason I dislike USTA and play less and less. Players taking rec tennis too seriously as if they are going to be discovered or something. Winning sections or nationals doesn't get you anything that I'm aware of so why make the experience bad or use bad sportsmanship?

I think some really want a weekend away from the wife and kids, a little adventure on the side if you know what I mean .

 

[smboogie]

I think some really want a weekend away from the wife and kids, a little adventure on the side if you know what I mean .

LOL - guessing you mean me? Just had some bad experiences with USTA players and just frustrated with it when I always approach it as a fun game of tennis to be enjoyed. I'm sure we all have some stories we could share on USTA experiences.

 

[Moon Shooter]

When the leaders of an organization allow their friends to add team members well after the deadline and then DO NOT EVEN list them on the roster until AFTER the event, you have chaos. If you are not on the tennislink roster, then you should not be on the team. How can someone play at a state championship and not even be listed? How can a player who was not even a USTA member suddenly play in the state and it be OK? Complicity at all levels of the Tennessee USTA structure is what it smells like.

The entire system is set up for their friends. It is completely biased to densely populated tennis areas. Those areas can stack the teams full of people just below their arbitrary rating lines and also include a few self rates that can get them to nationals before they are DQed. The whole thing is rigged for their friends.

 

[FuzzyYellowBalls]

LOL - guessing you mean me? Just had some bad experiences with USTA players and just frustrated with it when I always approach it as a fun game of tennis to be enjoyed. I'm sure we all have some stories we could share on USTA experiences.

Not anyone specific, but extreme behavior like tanking is suspicious. Usually extreme behavior , well sex makes the world go round.

 

[smboogie]

There was a sandbagging issue here in NorCal a few years ago and as I recall the captain got banned for USTA due to it. It amazes me that for some, USTA is all they have and they end up making it worse for everyone involved for the sake of 'winning' a rec league. Worst is that USTA knows this all happens but does nothing to correct it, I suspect because it's hard to get enough teams and captains in some areas so they would rather have a program to offer, even if it is not beneficial to the sport long term.

 

[FuzzyYellowBalls]

There was a sandbagging issue here in NorCal a few years ago and as I recall the captain got banned for USTA due to it. It amazes me that for some, USTA is all they have and they end up making it worse for everyone involved for the sake of 'winning' a rec league. Worst is that USTA knows this all happens but does nothing to correct it, I suspect because it's hard to get enough teams and captains in some areas so they would rather have a program to offer, even if it is not beneficial to the sport long term.

That's good to hear that he got a suspension, I've wondered why TX doesn't step up on some captains, there are plenty well known ones here.

 

[NTRP_3.75_Patrick_Rafter]

Fight them in the parking lot.

 

[Creighton]

Can’t wait to see how this TN v SC match shakes out once tennislink updates.

 

[Creighton]

That SC is strong. Maybe national champion caliber.

 

[5sets]

This event occurred at the Tennessee 55+ 9.0 team state championship on the weekend of May 21-23, 2021. I will give you the sketch here of how the local Knoxville team conspired with the state USTA organization to pull off one of the boldest and most dishonest scam of all time. Afterwards, I will post the communications between myself, Captain of the Memphis team, and the STA officials. The state executive director has refused to talk to me, only responding by text and referring to an administrativeecret” decision.
Here are the undisputed facts.
1. Our state did not have enough participation to have any local leagues in our division.
2. Our local coordinator (Jackie Mills) and every local coordinator set up a local league and players were informed that in order to be on the team, they must join the local league. The local league would then be played at the state.
3. 4 teams across the state joined their local league. We followed this on tennislink as they would be our competition.
4. Our players all had to be members of the USTA and pay a $7 fee to join our team in the local Memphis league.
5. Deadline to enter was April 18.
6. Those 4 teams then had to have all of their players individually sign up for the state tournament on the state tournament website. In order to qualify, you had to be on the local team and pay $37.
7. The morning of the state, Knoxville had 11 players. WE played them first and surprise! They had a player on their scorecard who was not on their local team roster NOR their state roster.
8. We now know that this player only joined the USTA and self verified as a 4.0 on May 7. Weeks after the deadline to join the local league. He NEVER joined the local league!
9. We had one of our players tell us on May 10 that he could not go to state. I emailed our local coordinator, Jackie Mills, to ask if we could add a player after the deadline. She denied this, as she said, because that is what the rules specified.
10. Chris Walling, of the Southern Tennis Association, has explained to me that the state would have been within their rights to allow this player to be added after the deadline, if there had been a hardship. Of course, they had plenty of players so there was no hardship. But he said that the state committee would have had to meet to approve it. I have talked to two of the committee members, neither who knew anything about it. One of the members specifically said that if a player was not in the local league then that player should not be allowed to play in the state championship.
11. All the facts clearly show that there was no meeting. No minutes of the meeting have been shared. We specifically had asked for an extra player, remember, we were down to 7 but were denied. The player that was added to Knoxville was not even a USTA member when the original deadline passed. One of Knoxville’s most popular teaching pros is on that team and is good friends with the Tn. Exec Director. Since there was no meeting, it was apparently an executive decision (which is what one of the committee members told us) but why? Why was one team and one player rewarded? Why all the secrecy? Why all the backpedaling and lying? Where was the transparency? Why could they not have just told us before we played the state that Knoxville had a hidden player on their roster? It does matter who is on their roster as we make out our lineup. It really matters. Knoxville won the state by beating us 2-1. We finished 2nd. We don’t want to go to regionals. We just want justice, transparency and fair play.

Please continue to follow our communication and how the state has been constantly changing the tournament website for days now.5 days AFTER the tournament ended, they added this player to the official roster for the first time. 5 days. Chris Walling at the Southern Tennis Association has REFUSED to get involved, telling me that he doesn’t know much but confident that the state will do what is right. And of course, now 2 weeks after the event, we have no answers. No minutes to the supposed meeting, that we already know did not happen. No hardship as to why a player was allowed to be added weeks after the deadline. Nothing.

I was waiting for the sex and murder part

 

[ttbrowne]

This is, of course, so wrong.

 

[MarinaHighTennis]

The difference is in that case, it was players colluding to cheat. In this instance, it is the USTA cheating or at the very minimum hiding stuff from its own members.

what happened with norcal?

 

[JLyon]

what happened with norcal?

10+ yrs ago NorCal went to Nationals at 4.0 and used players not on the roster playing under someone else's name. USTA as usual coward on the penalty