(2008-05-08) Betty Andrews Media
Nia Abdallah, the reigning Olympic Silver Medalist and 1st US woman to medal in taekwondo was 'robbed' by intentional misjudging in Olympic trials. Outraged experts and common Americans believe the USOC gave Diana Lopez the 'win' for marketing only.
USA Olympic Taekwondo Shocker!
Who really won the right to be an Olympian?
Questions Around 2008 Taekwondo Olympic Trials Judging Continue to Rise
Houston Texas….In the sport of Olympic Taekwondo, the judging of one final qualifying match leaves many feeling kicked below the belt.
Nia Abdallah is the 2004 Silver Medalist in Taekwondo, and the first US woman to medal in the sport since it became an official sport in 2000. History-making Abdallah earned many firsts during the 2004 Olympics. She is the first American female to medal in Taekwondo since it became an official Olympic event in 2000 and the first African American to do so.
The Match
This much publicized fight-off between Nia Abdallah and Diana Lopez was held Saturday, April 5, 2008 at the Olympic trials held in Des Moines, Iowa at Veterans Memorial Auditorium. At stake was a place on the 2008 USA Olympic Taekwondo team. Many believe the fight was grossly misjudged.
Nia Abdallah slowly built what many experts believe should have been a 7-0 victory for Ms Nia Abdallah. (Lopez would have been assessed deductions for low blows). However, the judges ruled this 0-0 and the match went into "sudden death" overtime.
In the sudden death round, Nia again scored a number of other times, even kicking Lopez down (for the third time). Still no points were given to Nia Abdallah. Lopez was awarded the victory 1-0, with the judges counting a kick that the video clearly shows was not a valid point. In viewing video footage of the fight one expert says Abdallah should have won by at least 7 points. A growing number of experts and individuals are expressing concern about the outcome of this fight.
See for Yourself
http://youtube.com/watch?v=xfJJ2zlmLvw
http://myspace.com/wesupportnia
http://weSupportNia.com
Expert Opinion
People understand that judges may miss a few things, but a number of experts say that this match wasn’t even close, articulating concerns over the grossly inaccurate judging. Taekwondo Master Allan Schein is one of them.
"I have watched and watched the video, and Nia could have scored as many as four points in sudden [death] alone… Nia won hands down.” Says Schein who is the co-author the book Tae Kwon Do Basics, Techniques and Forms. The Indomitable Martial Arts of Korea and contributing editor, feature writer and international press correspondent for and Masters Magazine. “I know some of the referees, and they are honorable people. So how do we end up with a lopsided decision like this? To me it looks like Nia won by a seven point spread over Diana’s one point. Electronic protectors hold great promise in assisting judges in achieving greater accuracy and fairness in their decision."
“I thought it was an outrage that the scoring was totally wrong. Clearly Nia won the match. She was the primary aggressor in the engagements, much more than her counterpart’s minimal attempts." says Floyd Burke, who writes exclusively for Black Belt Magazine, has penned column State Of Taekwondo for more than seven years and has authored more than 100 articles for the publication, many of which were the subject of taekwondo. Burk is also an martial arts instructor and avid researcher with more than 35 years of experience. "I have heard from Taekwondo stylists all over the country who are outraged by the poor judging. Nia is even better now than when she won the Silver Medal at the 2004 Olympics."
A groundswell of individuals have also launched a campaign online to support Nia, and to get the US Olympic Committee (USOC) to reverse this decision. Videos were posted on YouTube.com and later on MySpace and between them have shown over 10,000 views despite the USOC successfully pressuring Youtube to take down several videos. John Ruger, the USOC Ombudsman, refuses to speak with concerned US citizens about this match.
Legal Consideration
Warren Fitzgerald attorney for Ms. Abdallah says he is exploring continued legal options. “When athletes have no rights, it is a breeding ground for corruption,” he says. Fitzgerald says Abdallah maintains her right to file suit and in light of the evidence from this video, may very well do so.
Immediate Action
Because the Olympics begin in August, citizens are calling on the US Olympic Committee to immediately review and reverse this match decision, or at the very least schedule a re-match in time to ensure the rightful winner to represent the United States at the Olympics. In addition, some have called for an investigation of potential fraud.
Allegations have also circulated for some time that there is “feel-good-story” media appeal for the USOC/USAT in having three siblings represent the USA in Beijing. Diana’s controversial win places her with brothers Mark and Steven on team USA. Their eldest brother, Jean, is also the team coach. The Olympics have heavily promoted this, and it is now a front page story on the USAT' s official site, http://www.usa-taekwondo.us.
Nia Abdallah says that whatever the final outcome of this, she would like to see equity in the way future matches are judged. “Ultimately this is about fairness play in this sport for everyone and if technology exists to improve the sport and ensure fair judgment, that is what I’m interested in,” she says. “I don’t want to see this happen to others coming up in the sport.”
Available for Interviews
For additional information or to interview 2004 Silver Medalist, Olympian & Hall of Famer, Nia Abdallah; her attorney, Warren Fitzgerald or the experts in this release, please contact Sonyia Graham, Nia's Personal Manager at 832-428-1123, or sonyiam@sbcglobal.net or Betty C. Andrews at Betty Andrews Media, bettycandrews@yahoo.com or 515-288-7171.