Olympic Boxing Coach Ken Adams Is Suspended

The USA Amateur Boxing Federation suspended Olympic Coach Ken Adams for six months Saturday, effectively firing him from the U.S. Olympic boxing team.

Adams, 47, was accused of assaulting USA/ABF controller J. Kersten Dahl in a May 12 incident at the federation’s headquarters in Colorado Springs, Colo. Adams, a 30-year Army veteran from Fort Hood, Tex., engaged in a shouting match with Dahl, witnesses said, then grabbed him by the throat.

The boxing federation’s registration committee met with Adams and his attorney for five hours behind closed doors Saturday in Colorado Springs. In making the announcement afterward, committee chairman Paul Konnor of Milwaukee said:

“After listening to statements of those involved and evaluating particulars of the situation, the committee determined that the severity of the incident dictates that Ken Adams should be suspended from the federation, which in essence, removes him from the Olympic coaching position.

“Although the incident is regrettable, this behavior cannot be tolerated in any organization, and especially from the Olympic coach.”

The committee also reprimanded Dahl for using abusive language during the altercation, Konnor added.

Adams has 10 days to file a written appeal to the federation’s board of directors, which his attorney, Bob Turman of Colorado Springs, said Adams would do. If the board upholds the suspension, the USA/ABF’s Olympic committee would then name a new Olympic team head coach.

Federation insiders say the new head coach will most likely be either current assistant coach Tom Coulter of Syracuse or former assistant Roosevelt Sanders.