Spat Over Airfare Keeps 2 U.S. Honorees at Home

There was a party Friday in Buenos Aires, a gala honoring the top volleyball players and coaches of the 20th century, but some guests of honor didn’t show up because of a tiff over transportation expenses.

A standoff between the sport’s international governing body and USA Volleyball left Karch Kiraly and former national team coach Marv Dunphy caught in the middle ... and stuck at home.

The host of the gala, the Federation Internationale de Volleyball, believed USA Volleyball was responsible for the airfare for three U.S. athletes and two coaches, a total cost of about $7,500.

USA Volleyball, which has struggled financially in recent years, said the FIVB should have picked up the tab for Kiraly, Dunphy, Sinjin Smith and Randy Stoklos.

Smith used frequent-flier miles to get to the gala. Stoklos paid his own way. Doug Beal, the fifth U.S. award recipient, is coaching the U.S. national team in a tournament in Buenos Aires and attended the ceremony.

The FIVB agreed to pay for honorees’ lodging, meals and local transportation. It drew the line at airline tickets.

“It is unfortunate that U.S. Volleyball could not afford to send their stars,” FIVB President Ruben Acosta Hernandez said. “We would have loved to have seen [Kiraly and Dunphy] in Buenos Aires.”

USA Volleyball lost $400,000 last year, mostly because of travel costs incurred playing in international tournaments before the Sydney Olympics, said Kerry Klosterman, executive director of USA Volleyball.

Klosterman said the honors were appreciated, but not the costs. “We frankly didn’t have the money budgeted to do it,” he said.

Kiraly, a member of gold-medal indoor teams in 1984 and 1988 and a gold medalist in beach volleyball at the 1996 Olympics, said he was “a little baffled” by the FIVB’s request.

“If you’re going to name some awards and they’re only every 100 years, you’d think the FIVB would pay for it,” he said. “I totally understand USA Volleyball’s response. They’re pretty tightly strapped for cash.”

Kiraly said he probably would not have attended the gala in any event because he was moving from his San Clemente home this weekend.

In a letter sent to Kiraly after he’d declined the invitation, an FIVB official wrote that USA Volleyball should pay the airfare because the FIVB already invests heavily in volleyball.

“It is important for the associations of each country to understand that they are not only there to sit and wait and receive, but that they also have responsibilities towards the world volleyball family,” wrote Jean-Pierre Seppey, FIVB general manager. “We consider it ... a duty of USA Volleyball to send you all to the 20th century awards.”

Smith, who has longstanding ties with the FIVB and is the president of the beach volleyball world council, said he was surprised by USA Volleyball’s refusal to pay.

“They have money in their coffers, it’s just how they choose to spend it,” said Smith, who retired from the sport after the Manhattan Beach Open in August. “They do not choose to apparently spend it to send athletes from our country to receive awards. It’s a shame.

“The FIVB considers the U.S. a very, very important part of the growth of the sport on a worldwide basis. If the USA is not [fully] represented, it’s a big problem.”

Dunphy coached the U.S. team to a gold medal in 1998 and still has ties to USA Volleyball, having served as an assistant coach in Sydney.

“It’s unfortunate that there’s a tug of war,” said Dunphy, who also coaches at Pepperdine. “You’ve got to look at it on both sides. On their side, if you have a party, you want people to come. [But] I didn’t call USA volleyball and say, ‘You’ve got to pay the fare.’ I just replied and said, ‘I’m not coming.”’