Texas boxer is allowed back on U.S. team
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Luis Yanez, the 19-year-old light flyweight who was banned from the U.S. boxing team after skipping several workouts, is back on the team today.
An agreement was reached late Tuesday, something first reported by the Dallas Morning News in its online edition.
In return for being allowed to return, Yanez publicly apologized to USA Boxing chief executive Jim Millman, to national director of coaching Dan Campbell and to teammates.
‘I want to thank USA Boxing for its understanding and sense of forgiveness. I sincerely apologize to head coach Campbell, to my teammates, and to USA Boxing for not only breaking the rules of the Athlete Code of Conduct, but also for my lack of candor regarding the circumstances of my absence from the Resident Program,’ Yanez said in a statement issued through USA Boxing. ‘Coach Campbell and USA Boxing gave me every opportunity to return to the program so that I could compete in Beijing, and I was irresponsible in ignoring their flexibility, and not being forthcoming with them throughout my absence.’
Yanez, a two-time U.S. champion who won a gold medal at the Pan-Am Games last year, was kicked off the team July 1 for skipping more than three weeks of workouts at the team’s residency program at the Olympic training center in Colorado Springs, Colo.
Campbell and Millman said they didn’t hear from Yanez, who left June 4 for his native Duncanville, Texas, until shortly before they sent a formal letter setting a final deadline for his return.
Yanez missed a training trip to Argentina in late June because he needed to attend a sendoff dinner in Dallas where a Texas state representative gave him a commemorative plaque
As part of the agreement, Yanez also will submit to ongoing evaluation with U.S. Olympic Committee sports psychologists and pay an undisclosed financial penalty, USA Boxing spokeswoman Julie Goldsticker said today.
He also has agreed to make no further public remarks regarding the case.
‘Luis is a young man who has recognized and admitted poor judgment about his actions over the past month, and has apologized to his teammates and coaches,’ Millman said in a statement. ‘This agreement will let him return in time to participate in the final team camp in Colorado Springs, and in the pre-Olympic training sessions in Beijing. We’re pleased that Luis will have a chance to pursue his Olympic dreams in Beijing.’
-- Debbie Goffa