To the Editor:
After much thought, I have decided to address the issue of the “so-called suspension” of Mr. John Aaron from his position as Executive Secretary of USACA by the president, Mr. Gladstone Dainty. This article has nothing to do with whether Mr. Aaron is guilty or innocent of the charge; it has everything to do with fairness and due process. In Mr. Dainty’s letter to Mr. Aaron, he said the following “I am suspending you immediately and indefinitely as secretary of USACA.”
Orville Hall, author of this letter.
Let me inform our readers, the president has no such constitutional authority to suspend Mr. Aaron in this manner. Article 8, section 2 of the bylaws is very clear, and it reads’” The board, by 2/3 majority vote, may suspend or expel a member due to prejudicial, detrimental and/or contrary to the aims and objectives of the association. The member shall be provided an opportunity to present his/her case to the board PRIOR to the decision to suspend or expel. This is called “due process”.
Once this process is done, here is step #2. Article 8, section 4 of the bylaws says “Any member who is suspended or expelled from the association shall receive written notice from the Executive Secretary (in this case it would be someone else on the board) regarding the suspension and/or expulsion and the reasons thereof and shall have the right to appeal the decision”.
Here is how the appeals process works, according to Article 19, section 1 of the bylaws, The board shall establish an Appeals Committee consisting of five (5) members who shall consider and determine appeals from the final decisions rendered by the board relating to activities sponsored by the association or a member of the association. The Appeals Committee has the power to call for the production of any relevant documents and evidence the Appeals Committee may require to arrive at a fair and impartial decision. The decision of the Appeals committee is FINAL. (Now you know who has the final say in such matters)
Let me ask the rhetorical question. Based on the articles highlighted above, has the constitutional process been followed? Maybe that’s a question for the president. But, then again, why should the constitution matter now, when it has been ignored so many times before.
The powers-that-be must be interpreting this entire process in the same manner they interpreted Article 21, section 1 “Elections shall be held no later than November 30 of each electoral year, consistent with the electoral cycle.” Whenever this issue is addressed, they conveniently forget to point out the “consistent with……………” part of this statement. However, that’s another story for another day.
I implore all the league presidents to get on board, and help to fix this travesty that has engulfed us. The “shelf Life” of this current board, if it can be so defined, is about to expire, and they know it. So the battle is on to prolong the inevitable for as long as possible. For those who are prepared to “sit on the fence” and do nothing, let me remind you of a famous quote, which I’ll intersperse with a few of my own words for relevance: “Cricket in the USA will not be destroyed by those who do evil, but by those who watch them without doing anything.” Wake up folks. The madness must stop, and now.
Orville Hall
