AIBA Suspends USA Boxing

Amateur boxing in America has suffered a devastating blow.  Last night the AIBA, the international governing body of amateur boxing, issued a three month suspension of USA Boxing, the organization that governs amateur boxing in the United States, for failure to remove former USA Boxing president Hal Adonis from its board.  The suspension of USA Boxing effectively puts an immediate end to amateur boxing in this country until January 2013.  Without the insurance provided to regional local boxing commissions (LBCs) amateur competitions, tournaments, and gym training throughout the country have all been prohibited. 

The AIBA issued their reason for the USA Boxing suspension last night in a release:

“By failing to remove Mr. Adonis from the USA Boxing Board of Directors when it had the chance to do so, USA Boxing, in essence, endorsed Mr. Adonis’ statements and sent out a message that such behavior was acceptable. The action (or lack thereof) and the very serious and harmful nature of Mr. Adonis statements, has jeopardized boxing and the Panel finds it appropriate to impose a suspension upon USA Boxing. This suspension must reflect the severity of the offence.”

The AIBA’s issues with Adonis stem from remarks he made in a May 2012 article in The New Yorker where he claimed that abused children make better boxers and that homosexuality is rampant amongst female boxers. 

An example from The New Yorker article:

He has never had a problem with women boxing, he said. His criteria for inclusion have nothing to do with gender. “When kids call me up, I say, ‘Let me ask you an honest question: have your parents ever hit you?’ If they say no, I say, ‘I don’t think you belong in boxing.’”

At breakfast, Adonis pointed to a boxer at the next table talking on her cell phone. “Let me tell you a story about her: she was raped by a member of her family when she was a little girl!” he said. “Half of our girls have been molested; half of our girls are gay.”

Adonis’s comments smack of ignorance and the flawed old-school manner of thinking that has stunted the growth and development of the sport of boxing.  It was with little wonder that the AIBA called for the immediate removal of Adonis as president of USA Boxing.  While this was done, USA Boxing opted to keep Adonis on as a board member which has led to the suspension AIBA issued this week. 

While the AIBA and USA Boxing duke it out over this suspension let us not lose sight of the victims in all of this, the young boys and girls who turn to boxing as a vehicle to channel their angst and energy.  It’s a shame that the pompous attitudes of Adonis, USA Boxing, and AIBA have led to this loss and letdown for countless kids across the country.