Arbitrator Reinstates Olympic Boxing Coach : Adams Will Head U.S. Team at Seoul Despite His Involvement in Altercation

An arbitrator appointed by the United States Olympic Committee has reinstated U.S. Army Sgt. Ken Adams as Olympic boxing coach, a move that sent shock waves through the USA Amateur Boxing Federation.

Col. Don Hull, USA/ABF president, criticized the ruling in a statement Wednesday.

“I am shocked that an arbitrator would so disrupt our Olympic boxing effort,” he said. “I would be remiss if I didn’t state that I think the federation reacted (to the Adams’ incident) in the proper manner . . . and I would not hesitate to do so again should a similar situation occur.”

Adams, 47, fired last June after the USA/ABF charged him with assaulting a federation accountant at the federation’s Colorado Springs headquarters in May. Adams was denied reinstatement at two appeals hearings, most recently at the Olympic team boxoff July 14 at Las Vegas.

But under USOC regulations, U.S. Olympic federations must submit personnel disputes to binding arbitration if an individual who has exhausted his federation appeals then appeals to the USOC.

Adams’ attorney, Bob Turman, took his case to the American Arbitration Assn. office in Denver, where the case was heard Sunday.

The arbitrator was Charles E. Grover, senior partner in the Denver law firm of Gorsuch, Kirgis, Campbell, Walker and Grover.

Grover, according to Mark Appel of the American Arbitration Assn., was not available for comment.

Present at the 2 1/2-hour meeting Sunday were Grover, Adams, Turman, USA/ABF executive director Jim Fox, USA/ABF counsel Paul Konnor and Hull.

In his ruling, Grover also recommended that Adams receive a letter of reprimand, and a warning that any other similar action might be grounds for dismissal.

Adams, reached at his Killeen, Tex., home Wednesday, said his wife was the first to learn of the reinstatement.

“Bob Turman called us at 6:45 Tuesday evening, and my wife, Claudia, answered the phone,” he said. “I could tell by the look on her face when she handed me the phone that the news was good.

“Actually, I felt very good after the arbitration hearing in Denver Sunday. I felt things were headed our way.”

USA/ABF staffers seemed not only disappointed but shocked by the reinstatement, but none other than Hull would speak for attribution.

“Apparently, the lesson we’re supposed to learn from this (ruling) is that if you don’t like your boss . . . go ahead and punch him, because if he fires you, an arbitrator will reinstate you anyway,” one said.

Said another: “I guess we should just wear headgear from now on when we’re around Kenny.”

After the USA/ABF fired Adams on June 11 (he was actually given a six-month suspension, effectively firing him from the Olympic job), first assistant coach Tom Coulter of Syracuse was named head coach.

However, Coulter fell under scrutiny during the Olympic team boxoff when it was learned there were complaints about his behavior when he took a U.S. team on a Soviet Union tour in March.

Among other offenses, Coulter has been accused of urinating on a street in Moscow. And a doctor for the team on the Soviet tour wrote a letter, complaining about a lack of team discipline, to Fox.

When four Army boxers made the Olympic team, sentiment arose to replace Coulter with Hank Johnson, the Ft. Bragg, N.C., coach.

But Wednesday, Fox said Johnson was named an Olympic team assistant coach, and will accompany the team to South Korea.

Coulter becomes first assistant coach, and the other two assistant coaches are Johnson and Larry Ramirez of Fontana.

One Olympic team boxer, world champion featherweight Kelcie Banks of Houston, said the coaching switch shouldn’t have a major impact on the team’s preparation for the Olympics.

“I already know how to box,” he said. “The Olympic team coaches are supposed to make sure we’re in good condition, and then they’re supposed to motivate us in the corner when we box. Adams is good on conditioning and he’s a good motivator, so I guess it’s a good thing.”

Adams said he’ll arrive Saturday at Ft. Huachuca, Ariz., where the Olympic team will gather for a three-week training camp before leaving for Seoul.

Adams is a 30-year Army man (he retires Sept. 1), a master sergeant who has coached championship military boxing teams since 1977. He was named head coach of the Olympic team last October. Then, last May 11, he engaged in a shouting match with USA/ABF controller Kersten Dahl.

Dahl, who has never commented on the incident, remained silent on the arbitrator’s decision.