Update: Pinchas vs. Jordan, Ammons,Lovett: Meaning of CISS Honorary Life Member

Nov. 3, 2002

THE MEANING OF THE TITLE OF CISS HONORARY LIFE MEMBER

Recently one diligent follower of the www. deafsportlawsuit.com website asked me a question: what does the position of the Honorary Life Member of the CISS mean?

Although such a question should directly be addressed to certain officials of the current CISS administration, I am now taking the liberty in expressing my own opinion on this subject.

Before going any further, let me define the CISS Constitution rules, which are related to the issue of Honorary Membership and which state the following:

Rule 5.3 Honorary Members

Rule 5.3.1 Subject to ratification at the next following Congress, Honorary Life Membership may be conferred by the Executive Committee on any member whom the Executive Committee wishes to acknowledge as having rendered meritorious services to the CISS.

As of today, there are just three persons who hold the distinguished title of the Honorary Life Member of the CISS.

They are Mr. Oswald Dahlgren of Sweden, who was a former long-time CISS official and 1967-1973 CISS Secretary General, Mr. Knud Sondergaard of Denmark, the 1973-1997 CISS Secretary General and Mr. Jerald Jordan, the CISS functionary since 1967 and 1971-1995 CISS President.

How do these three persons utilize their roles as the Honorary Life Members of the CISS?

Mr. Dahlgren, upon receiving such a honorary title, has completely stayed out of the so-called "CISS politics and business", that is, he choose to enjoy his "CISS retirement" completely and by not getting involved in any position in the CISS establishment.

Mr. Sondergaard, who was unceremoniously and in disgrace removed from the position of the CISS Secretary General at the 35th CISS Congress held in 1997, still somehow managed to get the honorary title given out to him by a formal vote of the 36th CISS Congress delegates in 1999. In spite of his honorary position status, Mr. Sondergaard is still, as I understand, involved in the CISS as the person in charge of the annual CISS-Widex World SportsMan and SportsWoman of the Year Selections Commission.

Unlike Mr. Dahlgren and Mr. Sondergaard, Mr. Jordan has, since his receiving of the honorary title in 1995, been heavily involved inside the CISS in various influential positions. Let me record the positions Mr. Jordan held in the CISS in the last few years:

1) a Congress scrutineer in 1999 and 2001,
2) a Master of Ceremonies of the 75th CISS Anniversary Banquet in 1999,
3 ) a representative at the Seminar held in Argentina in 2000, and
4) a consultant involved with the preparation of the 196-paged and 202-mistakes-filled book titled CISS REVIEW 2001 ( for details, read

www.deafsportlawsuit.com/update4.html ) .

In addition, by lacking his legal education and training, Mr. Jordan still managed to become a key member of the Legal Commission, On that Commission, he played and still plays a very vital role in formulating and implementing of the many rules in the books of the CISS Constitution, Deaflympic Games Regulations and Deaf World Championships Regulations.Many of you may already know as to what kind of job such a Legal Commission produced with these rules, many of which were done to the detriment of the international deaf sports movement ( for details, log on to www.deafsportlawsuit.com/update2.html
www.deafsportlawsuit.com/update20.html
www.deafsportlawsuit.com/update23.html ).

I have just received the information that Mr. Jordan was hand-picked by Mr. Lovett, the still-suspended CISS President in office, to represent the CISS at the General Assembly of International Sports Federations ( GAISF ) gathering in Colorado Spring, Colorado, USA., last month.

In addition, how many of you know that Mr. Jordan, according to one reliable source, in order to be eligible to receive the lavish treatment of free meals and room accomodation at the five-star hotel in Rome, Italy, during the 2001 Deaflympic Summer Games for the full two-weeks, readily, believe it or not, agreed to perform the menially-clerical duties on behalf of the CISS: typing, xeroxing/copying and handing out various CISS Technical Director's meeting papers to different persons?

Thus, you may now realize and understand that the three above-named Honorary Life Members of the CISS use their special position in different ways.

In my own view, only one of the three - Mr. Dahlgren - perfectly fits the awarding of the position on a honorary basis because he completely and in an unilateral way "enjoys" the so-called "CISS retirement" by not occupying any position inside the organization.

On the contrary, as I explained above, one individual - Mr. Jordan, who is a defendant in my still-ongoing lawsuit case, found his nerve, energy, time and will to work for the CISS. This is, of course, his prerogative. If he has his own desire to help the CISS, that is fine. However, by maintaining the dual or multi-faceted status in the CISS, that is, holding the title of the Honorary Life Member of the CISS, on the one side, and getting involved with various positions inside the CISS, on the other side, in my own opinion, is a troublesome thing.

As a result of the above acts, Mr. Jordan, the former CISS President, "degraded" or bellitled himself as well as the highest office of the CISS President and its image by doing the factual things, which are already demonstrated above. He also "devalued" and "defaced" the office of the Honorary Life Member of the CISS!

Argumentatively, let me elaborate further, including presenting some valid questions below.

Imagine, how the civilized world would react if Dr. Jacques Rogge, the current IOC President, telling his predecessor, Senor Juan Antonio Samaranch, the current Honorary IOC President, to perform the minor job as a scrutineer at an IOC session meeting or Mr. Gilbert Felli, the IOC Sports Director, instructing Senor Samarach, his former powerful boss, to type or xerox/copy letters for him.

It is still unclear as to why did Mr. Lovett twice choose Mr. Jordan to be as one of the three scrutineers at the CISS Congress sessions in 1999 and 2001? Did not we have any bright and young deaf foreign delegate who could ably and competently perform his/her duties as a scrutineer?

Why was not it possible for the CISS, let's say, to send its representative Miss Donalda Ammons , who knows excellent Spanish and Gestuno signs to the primarily Spanish-speaking attendees of the CISS Seminar held in Buenos Aires, Argentina, in 2000 in place of the phlegmatic, unenergetic and non-Spanish-speaking Mr. Jordan?
Or, if Miss Ammons was unable to travel to Argentina for some reason, then why not invite, for example, Dr. Lawrence Fleischer, the one who coined the now-popular word "Deaflympics" and who has a great command of communication, to be in charge of the Seminar in Buenos Aires on behalf of the CISS? Dr. Fleischer, a PANAMDES President for the last several years, also better understands the culture and mentality of the deaf people in Latin America.

Furthermore, why did Mr. Lovett, again, let's say, deny a young member of the CISS EC from the Czech Republic, Vojtech Volejnik, to represent the CISS at the GAISF meeting in Colorado Springs in place of Mr. Jordan? Did not and does not Mr. Lovett have confidence and trust in Mr. Volejnik as a leader and person? Why did not Mr. Jordan, a CISS veteran, unselfishly and rationally give up his desire to go to the GAISF meeting to a much younger Mr. Volejnik in order to provide him a chance to develop as an international deaf sports leader of the future?

And, most importantly, did Mr. Jordan ( his trip to Argentina , like the GAISF meeting, was funded, as I understand, by the CISS Treasury ) produce his detailed report as to what did he do and accomplish there? If so, did he distribute such a report to the CISS Congress delegates? While attending the last CISS Congress in 2001, many delegates, including myself, had not seen a report related to Mr. Jordan's trip to Argentina in 2000 at all!

( In an unrelated development, since his so-called "retiring" from the CISS in 1995, Mr. Jordan has also been having his active involvement and participation in an advisory capacity in the National Sports Association of the USA, which is briefly called as the USADSF. Many individuals in this organization, including its House of Delegates, view Mr. Jordan as their genial and valuable advisor and look up at him for his assistance and guidance. However, very sadly, Mr. Jordan's perpetual presence and influence in this organization has not to this moment made the USADSF as the world's Number One mass sports organization among the deaf! In other words, in spite of the fact that the nation of the USA has a large land size, immeasureable wealth and the most advanced educational system for the deaf people in the world, the USADSF is still viewed as a mini-scule sports organization from the membership-size point of view. Thus, Mr. Jordan's presence in the USADSF ( also, in the AAAD ), including his long-time sports administration experience, advice and expertise, clearly makes no major impact on this organization's progress itself! ).

Although the definitions related to the title of the Honorary Life Member in the CISS Constitution may look vague and inadeqately-explained, such a title position should be viewed as a special and unique title position accorded to a retiring person who contributed significantly for many years to the well-being and progress of the organization. It should also be viewed as a honorable title position given out to a deserving person who should completely cease to serve the organization in any capacity and who should thus enjoy his/her status as "a full-time retiree" in a honorable and ceremonial manner.

In the sum, it is my position that Mr. Jordan was prematurely awarded the title of the Honorary Life Member of the CISS in 1995.

Thus, Mr. Jordan has since 1995 been clearly and soundly "abusing" and disgracing such a lofty and special title position in the CISS because he has, as I described above, been heavily involved inside the so-called CISS "politics and business", including in his unusually highly-sophisticated scheme in creating and executing business and friendship break-up between the three most ardent supporters of the CISS and international deaf sports movement - Mr. Lovett and Miss Ammons, on the one side, and this author, on the other side!

If Mr. Jordan, let me repeat, wants to continue to serve the CISS in any capacity, he is, no question, welcome to do so.

However, symbolically speaking, it is my position that to get involved in the CISS politics and business, on the side, and holding the special title of the Honorary Life Member of the CISS, on the other side, at the same time is wrong, inappropriate and illogical!

Sportingly Yours,

Rafael Pinkhasov Pinchas

www.deafsportlawsuit.com