Mike Finelli died this past November from brain cancer. I’m hesitant to say he battled his illness since brain cancer is generally terminal. More appropriately, Mike lived as well as he could under the circumstances. He only revealed his diagnosis to family and a few friends as he lived life the best he could.

The Curator

Throughout his illness, Mike continued to maintain his museum grade collection of running memorabilia which he passionately housed in the Track and Field Garage next to his home in Napa Valley, California. In addition, he continued to update his Facebook page for his more than 4000 followers who checked in to read his historical posts and view relics from his collection. In one of his last post in November, Mike showed his typical self-effacing irony and humor when he wrote, “damn rodents ate ALL of my award ribbons (in approx. 1998)….like 60 of them…chewed them up to make rat bedding…gross…even peed on my high school varsity letter too… BUT, they spared the patch…only ONE way to get such a patch and that was to win outright an association championship. In Feb 1979, I surprisingly won the 50K (31.1 miles) road championships in 3:05:13 (5:53 per mile for 31 miles) at age 23.”

The Runner

Running was Mike’s passion. By his count and documented in volumes of journals, he ran two laps around the world. In the last half decade or so these miles were compiled in spite of enormous pain from the erosion of cartilage in his feet. 

Mike vaguely mentioned his running career in his numerous Facebook posts. He preferred to share the stories of the sport’s headliners and highlight their memorabilia. Yet, in my eyes, Mike was a badass runner. I know, first hand.

Fittingly, Mike and I first met at a road race almost forty years ago. I had just finished college and entered a local 8K in Washington, D.C. The race remains indelibly etched in my mind. At the gun, Mike and his brother Gary bolted into the lead and never looked back. I was astonished that two guys dressed as the Blues Brothers whooped me so soundly. It’s all relative and to this 800M runner, Mike was World Class.

The Ambassador

A few years later when I reminded Mike how we met, he was sheepish. He seemed to want to distance himself from his past silliness. Instead, Mike had begun to forge his identity as one of the most able and passionate champions of Athletics. He represented the sport with the same dignity and commitment that the athletes waged to achieve their feats. He embodied what running means to all of us who derived as much joy from the sport as he did.

The Meet Director

As many have noted, Mike wore many hats. One label he proudly wore was “Meet Director.” In his 1992 Pacific TAC meet, he gave San Francisco its first sub 4:00 mile. Moreover, Mike defied the IAAF on that day. 

Only a week prior to Mike’s meet, the 400M World Record holder, Butch Reynolds, was ordered by the IAAF’s General Secretary Istvan Gyulai not to run the Bruce Jenner Classic in San Jose, California. At the time, Butch was suspended by the IAAF for a failed drug test. However, enough questions surrounded the protocol of Butch’s positive test that a U.S. district judge issued a restraining order not to interfere in Butch’s participation in any U.S.A track meets.

The Agitator

In defiance of U.S rule of law, Gyulai reiterated Butch was banned by the IAAF. He also threatened to suspend any runners that competed against Butch and strip the Jenner Classic of its Grand Prix status if he ran. The spineless Jenner meet director, Bert Bonnano, enforced the ban. Butch’s chance to run an Olympic trials qualifying mark looked bleak. 

Mike’s Pacific TAC meet was probably Butch’s final chance to hit the trials standard. I can not speak directly to Mike’s motivation to have Butch run in his race. I’m sure “athlete’s rights” was one explanation. Patriotism could have been another. Nevertheless, it would take courage, intelligence, guile and a host of other traits embodied by Mike Fanelli to get Butch to the starting line without jeopardizing other athletes eligibility.

The plan Mike devised was that only a few people could know Butch was slated to run. The secrecy was necessary because only athletes knowingly competing in a meet with a banned athlete could be suspended. In turn, Butch’s race was the last competition of the day. This gave everyone who ran before the 400M plausible deniability that they knew Butch was running that day. The athletes who raced against him assumed the risk. 

Butch did a clandestine warm-up. He miraculously appeared in his lane, slipped into the blocks and got his Olympic Trials qualifying mark. 

How do I know all this? I’m sure Mike never spilled this story at the Wild Duck winding down with a few beers after the pre Classic. He was too modest.

I only know this story because I trained with Butch in Palo Alto at the time. When I first shared my memory of that day with Mike he chuckled and said, “I can’t tell you how many times the IAAF faxed me to get the list of runners who ran against Butch in that 400M. They were NEVER getting those results.”

The Friend

Mike was teaching us until the very end. As Renay conveyed, “Mike preferred to live his life as if he was living, not dying.” Sadly, this stance didn’t give most of us a chance to say good-bye. Yet, my vanity and ego tell me otherwise. Mike posted a picture of a victory of mine only a month ago. I’m honored to have been on your mind. Your friendship will be with me forever.

A few weeks ago a post of Alahna Sabbakha, a University of Virginia track star, crushing the NARP (Non-Athlete Regular Person) friend of her boyfriend in a 400M race popped up in my social media feed. Her thumping of the young man subsequently went viral. I guess for some people it is still a novelty to see a woman trouncing a man in an athletic contest like Billie Jean King did to Bobby Riggs in a tennis match fifty years ago.

Let’s nickname Alahna’s opponent Ken as a counterpart to Karen. He was a gift of humiliation and stupidity to social media. The race was a car crash that no one needed to apologize for watching.

Quite Confidence

Major media outlets such as The USA Today, Runner’s World and The Independent covered the event as a feel good story. Sabbakhan’s conciliatory attitude theorized that some male non-athletes think they can beat female athletes because, “We make it look so easy. People who sit on their couch … it’s so easy for them to just sit there and say, ‘Oh, I could do that, too, if I tried, if I trained for a little bit’ — not realizing how hard it actually is.”

In reality, Alhana’s race is a testament to the numerous challenges women face as they seek to establish viability in their lives and careers. Unfortunately, a satchel of disrespect, arrogance and hubris exists to marginalize the achievements of talented women like Alahna Sabbakha. 

Some people have an inflexible view of the world. Anything that does not conform to their outlook is dismissed. They believe in alternative facts and label the news as fake.  

Ken could have easily used Google to determine Alahna’s competency. I’m sure his friends who knew Alahna told him, “That girl is for real.” Instead, he ignored reason and set out to prove his righteousness. He even invited his parents and friends to watch him confirm their idea of male superiority. 

They’re Legit

This is not hyperbole. The world has witnessed too many inspiring women’s World Cup, Grand Slam and Olympic triumphs not to know women athletes are as skillful, tough and committed as men. A person who denies this fact is biased and misogynistic and their harmful thinking hinders the advancement of all women.  

It’s called unconscious bias. The mindset will discount a woman’s grades and devalue her degrees. It magnifies missteps and disregards accomplishments. It explains, to a large degree, inequity.

Life hasn’t forced Alahna to see this side of the world. Her parents and coaches have aptly prepared her for success in the insular college environment she currently operates. As she noted, “I don’t compare [myself] to others. I focus on my journey and my progress and where I used to be and where I want to be, because it’s just going to waste my time and drain my energy to be focused on everyone else.”

Haters Gonna Hate

Sadly, the Kens and Karens of the world will inevitably intrude all our lives. In addition, their seemingly innocuous actions will perpetuate and reinforce their harmful beliefs. We can’t count on the Alahna’s of the world to win every contest and thwart their existence.

How can I read so much into a silly match race between two college kids? The orchestrator of the 2020 Muslim ban and other divisive, xenophobic and hateful policies of the past presidential administration pulled a similar stunt to Ken’s. Senior Advisor to Trump, Stephen Miller jumped uninvited, into the final stretch of a girls’ track meet when he was in high school.

Some people viewed Miller’s move as an attempt to prove his athletic supremacy over the opposite sex. Others saw it as merely “a high school prank.” Regardless of his intentions, it is common knowledge that the jerks in high school and college remain jerks.

Most importantly, The antics of Miller undermines the legitimacy of women’s achievements and seeks to diminish their existence. His mockery of women isn’t a funny joke. As Miller has proven, his youthful misbehavior is indicative of more than bad judgment. It is representative of a rigid worldview that has no place for those who do not conform to it. 

Ken could just be a prankster. Maybe the beatdown Alahna gave him was enough to knock some sense into him. Maybe we just need to chill. Then again, “First they came for the communists. 

My high school coach, Mr. Grant, held a picnic at Seneca Creek Park, Maryland for our cross-country team to celebrate the end of our summer training. He told us to bring our running gear because we would have a little run before the festivities. “The country roads would make for a beautiful jaunt.”

Close to four dozen of us gathered at the park. In addition, a number of parents and siblings joined us for the day. The picnic area was flush with all the foods, drinks, games and sporting equipment needed for a fun afternoon. We didn’t see Mr. Grant, so the allure of the setting begged for the picnic to begin. 

The grill wasn’t fired up but liters of colored sodas and bags of snacks were devoured. A few games of wiffle ball and catch were buzzing along when Mr. Grant and his assistant Pat finally arrived. 

Little did we know Mr. Grant was late because he was mapping out a course for our run. Not privy to this fact, we casually listened when Mr. Grant gathered us together and told us how great the summer training had gone. He spoke of goals for the fall. Then he dropped the bomb on us and proceed to describe the course for our six mile run.

What?

Our jaws dropped. We swore Mr. Grant wasn’t going to have us run once he saw all the fun going on. We were ready for hot dogs and hamburgers, not a run. Who interrupts a party for a run?  

We should have known better. Mr. Grant always took care of business. His commitment to our team was equal to his commitment to his family. Our training sessions were mostly filled with him barking instructions from Pat’s van while we ran along Rock Creek Park and our other training routes. His presence could silence a room of boisterous students. He channeled the gentlemanly demeanor and physical stature of Barack Obama before the world even knew who Obama was. 

Despondently, my group of the varsity guys set out down the country road. Our pace was far slower than usual. Fanta is certainly not a pre-practice hydration drink. We grumbled and slogged along for a handful of minutes.

Out of the distance, we heard a distinctive voice, “I don’t see much running going on up there.” It wasn’t the voice of Big Brother it was Mr. Grant about fifty yards behind us. He was fortyish but as lean and fit as the best on the team. We automatically began to hammer it.  Not another word needed to be said. 

We were hauling but continued to fuss about having to run. A few minutes had passed. Certainly, we had dropped Mr. Grant. One of my teammates coaxed me to turn around to see if he was still in our view. Before my head turned 90 degrees, he bellowed, “I’m still here.” Our easy picnic run turned into a nice steady state. 

All in one afternoon Mr. Grant taught us to “Keep your word”, “Walk the talk” and “There are no days off.” 

Time and time again I ask, “When will these football players get into shape?” Joe Buck instantly called it. “ Breece Hall ran out of gas” on his 83 yard run against the Bills the other night. Right next door on ESPN2, Eli Manning preached it as he saw Hall fade fifteen yards before Christian Benford ran him down. eli screamed, “He’s not in shape, he’s not in shape, ” Hall could smell the end zone but tired legs couldn’t get him to the house.

Only Speaking Truth

Noah Lyles would have been better off telling the sports world that few, if any, athletes train harder and are in better shape than him and his fellow track athletes. Forget the world title nonsense. Lyles should have pronounced to the world no one works harder than track athletes. Yep, I’ll throw those field people in there. I’ll bet you Brian Crouser can dunk a sixteen pound shot put. 

A track athlete that gets gassed or isn’t in shape is In the Stands watching the people who did the work get the job done.

Kids are taught from the time they start playing sports to work hard and get into shape. The reality is if an athlete wants to know what being in shape feels like they gotta run track.

Years ago, there were a few track people who ran track and excelled on the gridiron. Two who come to mind are O.J Simpson and Herschel Walker. O.J even ran on a world record 4×100 relay team when he was at USC. Herschel was on the U.S Junior track team before football consumed his time. Bad examples but they prove the point, “One has to be a little crazy to work as hard as it takes to excel at track.” 

The Real Work

Now it’s all about throwing around some weights, taking a few hits and running a few twenty or thirty yard bursts to be on the football team. You want to crush workouts that make you see your life flash before your eyes? Run track. Then you will really know you did something.

Watch Carl Lewis and Mike Marsh make this 6 x 200 look like a stroll in Sam Houston Park. They ran these 200s in 28 seconds with about a minute and half rest between each interval. I promise no football player can do this workout. Maybe a few Premier League or Bundesliga League players can match the effort. The shit is hard. This is how true world titles are won.

People will argue this is an apples to oranges comparison. People will say spending time on running is a misallocation of the time necessary to prepare for the game. Wrong!

Bread a Butter

The workout in this video trains speed endurance. It makes one swift and nimble while everyone else is tired. It’s a recipe for second and third efforts. It keeps you focused on the game because you’re not looking for your next breath. It keeps you on your toes in the fourth quarter when everyone else can’t feel their legs.

So, they go to the weight room to get a little more strength instead of the track to find some speed and endurance. Riddle me this. What does every football player need: Twenty pounds on their max or a tenth of a second off their 40? Speed kills. 

Athletes that ran are etched in history. Everyone knows Jerry Rice. Few know he had a crazy hill he ran all Summer to prepare him for training camp and the grueling season. Many tagged along to see what the magic was. Two, three days later they were gone. It was too hard.

Train Hard. Run Track. It’s worth it.

This entry was actually written at the time Brian Flores’ suit was announced in February 2022. One thing led to another and I only got to posting it now. The update is Flores still waits for his day in court. The case will most likely go to arbitration.

Former Miami Dolphins head coach Brian Flores has filed a discrimination lawsuit against the NFL. His complaint highlights sham interviews and a directive to purposely lose games. Black financial advisors waged a discrimination claim against Merrill Lynch that cited similar indignities. The eight year battle resulted in a  $160M settlement for the plaintiffs in 2013. A look at the parallels between these cases shows how discrimination in the NFL is a reflection of the country’s shortcomings on matters of race. A greater awareness of this environment may help identify solutions to the problem.

Court or Arbitration

The complaints cited in Brian Flores discrimination lawsuit are certainly headline worthy. Sham interviews, payments to lose games and player tampering all compromise the integrity of the game. It is questionable, however, if the suit will even make it to court since the NFL may have the power to force it to be heard in arbitration. 

If Flores does have his day in court, he must not only prove he faced indignities and suffered damages because he is Black but also that the NFL implemented a league-wide policy which supported the mistreatment. This is the tricky part. There may be evidence of a double standard for the evaluation of Black coaches compared to white coaches. The question is whether or not the differentiation is a matter of policy.

Is It A Class Action?

As Michael Zimmer, a law professor at Loyola University Chicago notes, “ A class suit alleging unintentional yet systemic bias, is extremely rare. Roughly 15,000 discrimination lawsuits are filed each year, fewer than 100 make similarly broad claims.”

The Merrill Lynch advisors case rested on proving Merrill Lynch intentionally designed a retention program which discriminated against minorities. Time after time, judges ruled their claims did not have the strength to survive a legal challenge by the defendant. This happened because Merrill Lynch could not be held accountable for the behavior of managers in the company unless their behavior enforced a Merrill Lynch policy.  As a franchised partnership, the NFL may be able to make a claim that the league office is not responsible for a teams hiring practices. The thirty-two franchises operate on their own accord and set their own hiring rules.

Is It Like A Fraternity?

Linda Friedman, who represented the Merrill Lynch advisors, changed the tide for the advisors when she persuaded a judge that the Merrill Lynch policy on the formation of teams hindered the success of minorities in the same way a police department’s teaming policy discriminated against women. 

Friedman cited case law that affirmed “If police departments allowed veteran officers to pick their own partners, the force would never have been integrated.” When Friedman made this point the presiding judge inquired, “It’s like a fraternity? They’re not picked? This opened the door for the class to be certified and the case to be heard in court. 

This may mean the fraternal nature of the NFL coaching echelon may be the real pressure point for Flores case. Is there something inherent in the way coaches are hired that discriminates against minority applicants? 

Gruden Spills the Beans

Comments from John Gruden when he was named head coach of the Oakland Raider offers a glimpse at how people are locked out of coaching positions in the NFL. He stated, “When you become a head coach, you can’t just go get the guys you want because they’re under contract. A lot of these guys are head coaches now, guys that you worked with. Over the years, I’ve always tried to keep a close group of friends and people that I have a high respect for on red alert, just in case an opportunity could arise.”

This attitude reflects the mindset of hiring managers in any industry. The problem is compounded once Gruden’s misogynist, racist and homophobic emails come to light. It begs the question: What does it take to be a close friend of Gruden’s? Surely, he has hired minority coaches in the past. Yet, how many people were repelled by his derogatory behavior? How many people didn’t click with him because they didn’t share his offensive attitudes? This isn’t simply a minority issue. It’s a cultural issue the entire league faces. It also explains why matters of race and other critical issues have been so hard for the NFL to resolve. It seems few thoughtful and open minded people are on red alert for open jobs at the NFL.

Got to Be in Lockstep

The New York Giants new general manager, Joe Schoen, offers another example of the clubiness of coaching in the NFL. He openly stated the criteria for the head coach he hires is that he “​​must be somebody who’s in lockstep with me. Someone that I can work with and have constant communication.” If you’re not on the inside, you’re on the outside.

Schoen’s statement ignores the contention that the best qualified candidate will be hired. In reality, all the candidates for C-Suite jobs are qualified. It’s a matter of having the attributes the hiring team seeks. Once again, Schoen makes it clear only a person from his sphere is qualified to be hired as the coach of the Giants. The system is like a fraternity. This is why they’re not picked. Can Flores’ make this case in legal terms and expose the bias in the hiring of NFL coaches?

People Like Us

Gruden’s and Schoen’s mindset also ignores accepted research that diversity is a gift for an organization. Divergent ideas can energize an organization once a homogeneous team exhausts its imagination. Research also proves companies with the most ethnically diverse executive teams—not only with respect to absolute representation but also of variety or mix of ethnicities —are 33 percent more likely to outperform their peers on profitability.

The Brian Flores lawsuit certainly exposes the underbelly of the NFL. As many pundits have predicted, the embarrassment of the league may be enough to force them to address their hiring issues. Remember the Merrill Lynch case never went to court. It was settled because it was a public relations nightmare. Yet, the NFL have previously survived public relations fiascos like the Colin Kaepernick protest, CTE, the misogyny and racism of the Washington Commander’s owner Daniel Snyder. The billionaire owners know their league is teflon. We will see if the Brian Flores revelations will be any different.

A small segment of the sports world endlessly debates the reasons why track and field is not more popular. Many consider the sport the backbone of the Olympics. In off years, however, it barely holds the attention of even its most ardent fans. 

At the recent Brussels Diamond League press conference, Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, a 13x World and Olympic Champion in the sprints, showed the world why track and field doesn’t captivate its fans’ attention. Fraser-Pryce shamelessly displayed a lack of appreciation and comprehension for the intricacies and complexities of an event other than their own. How can a sport thrive if its own athletes don’t value the scope of their fellow competitors’ talents?

No She Didn’t

In a frank exchange, Fraser-Pryce challenged Mondo Duplantis, the pole vault Olympic Champion and World Record Holder, to a 100M match race. Mondo gleefully accepted the challenge and exclaimed he’d bet a lot of money on himself to win. Startled by Deplantis’s hubris, Fraser-Pryce inquisitively asked Duplantis, “Explain to us how sprinting and the Pole Vault work?”

Duplantis went on to educate Fraser-Pryce that sprinting was integral to his event. He calmly corrected her that his runway approach was forty-five meter not ten or fifteen and that he posted some pretty swift 100M times in high school. In fact, his 100M PB of 10.57 in high school is faster than her 10.60 PB.

Nothing really changes. Years ago when I competed on the circuit, two friends who competed in the field events gathered their gear to leave the stadium in the middle of the all-time great Said Auiota’s 3000M race. I was shocked and shouted to coaxed them to watch the race, “Auiota is on world record pace. He’s running close to four minute miles and you’re leaving? One of my buddies replied, “Ray, I don’t understand anything over the 800M.”

The drift of our fans is because the sport is too damn complicated. Yes, all the winner has to do is jump or throw the farthest or run the fastest. On the other hand, the sport makes no sense if one doesn’t understand or appreciate the beauty within each event. 

How Hard Can It Be?

Casual fans don’t understand how speed is just as important as “hops” for the high jump or that shot putters traditionally score the best on the vertical leap test compared to all other track and field athletes . Subsequently, fans only care for about thirty percent of a two hour event. How can a track meet be relevant if fans aren’t captivated by more than fifty percent of the show?

This fact makes the Duplantis vs Fraser-Pryce match race a brilliant idea. It bridges the sexs and events. The race tells a fascinating story. Most importantly, it is a legitimate competition. The challenge may have been orchestrated but it’s okay with me. Anything tasteful to call attention to our sport is a victory.

Remember Bobby Riggs was fifty-five when he played the twenty-nine year old Billie Jean King in the Battle of the Sexes. Duplantis vs Fraser-Pryce are at the top of their games. Their race would teach the world what sprinting has to do with the pole vault and how phenomenal all track and field athletes are.

It’s a Throwback

The proposed Duplantis vs Fraser-Pryce contest also reminds me of a stunt from the days of the Profesional Track Circuit of the 1970’s. At the end of competitions, the 6’5 and 275lbs shot put world record holder, Brian Oldfield, would race the winner of the women’s 100M race in a 55 yard dash. Oldfied won every time. What does sprinting have to do with the shot put?

Every track event is about a transfer of energy which is driven by speed. Oldfield threw the shot put with his legs not his arms. His leg speed allowed him to generate the power to thrust the shot put to world records. Duplantis’ flight down the runway creates the energy needed to propel him over the crossbar. His vault is like an airplane taking off. No speed, no lift, no flight and no height. 

Bring it on. I haven’t been to Brussels in years. I can’t wait.