We had our opening day yesterday and it was a tremendous success. We introduced our 1997 DYB Champions and their success was soundly applauded. A DYB District Director was on hand to show his support as were two Dizzy Dean National Directors. It was good to have them there and it helped get our season off to a solid start. We played more than 30 games from 11:00 AM and into the evening. It was a great sight and indicative of things to come this season.
You know that you don't have to personally interview every league president or district director to determine who is violating your new rule -- come on, Wes -- you're trying not to upset the applecart, and that's not what leaders do. They get in there and find out what's going on -- you know, "the buck stops here" type of stuff. Now that you need to stand up, don't hide behind some self-styled protocol that keeps you under the porch...
I think you'll find that very few programs have their actual practices and procedures in writing, as we do. I think you'll find that some articulate a Wes Skelton-style procedure formally, but turn a deaf ear to "gentleman's agreements" between managers. Others don't think they're doing anything wrong by allowing options or recruits and won't deny it. If you don't think this is the way it is, then you are terribly naive, and if so, it would appear that NEP's folly lay in being honest, but it's a folly we'll continue.
Again, we didn't leave DYB because of your new interpretation; we left because of the way DYB handled it. As I said before, I don't mind a pure draft system. I don't even mind redrafting teams every year. However, we had a player selection system that wasn't broken for the last dozen or so years, so we didn't fix it. DYB has known for years how we've done it here and NEVER objected to it until your recent brainstorm came along. I suspect that DYB officials in the past never objected to it because, unlike you, they weren't willing to feign oblivion to what was going on in the other leagues. Possibly, they also believed that what we were doing was perfectly okay.
Now, Wes, did this issue arise out of "a complaint presented to (your) five member executive committee which met in Montgomery, Alabama on February 28th" or did it arise "because league officials in North Carolina had seen (our) player selection rules published on the internet and had asked the North Carolina Dixie Youth officials if they could use such rules to select their players," as you wrote on March 12th? You originally wrote that officials in North Carolina were told that they could not use these rules and that you were contacted to make a ruling. You also said that all of this was explained to Charles Kirkland who was supposed to explain it to me. Which was it? Was it a complaint in Alabama or a query in North Carolina? Which scenario was Charlie supposed to explain to me?
I have on my desk a letter addressed to you on March 2, 1998 from three Florida National Directors, the Florida State Director, and two Florida District Directors. When you say that you have only heard from Mr. Kirkland and Mr. Williams, does this mean that you have not received this correspondence?
Our Park is moving on without regrets over leaving DYB, Mr. Skelton. I hope DYB does well although I suspect it will have problems with your morality of expedience in the interpretation and enforcement of your "rulings." I fear that if you "vigorously enforce" this latest ruling as any ethical leader would, you will single-handedly disassemble DYB. Maybe you have no idea how wide and deep these "dreadful" practices run -- and I think maybe you don't really want to know. There are leaders and there are pretenders -- good luck in negotiating this junction that will help define which of these you are. If you choose poorly, I will no longer believe you are simply naive.
Sincerely,
Rob Doss
President, Youth Association of Northeast Pensacola