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« | Home | »

Racial & political tensions at CSAC have many grumbling behind the scenes

By Zach Arnold | February 27, 2013

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To read all CSAC-related articles, dating back to May 2012, CLICK HERE.

“With great power comes great responsibility.”

There isn’t a more appropriate phrase to use for four prominent African-Americans who are in positions of power at the California State Athletic Commission. John Frierson is the Chairman of CSAC. Dr. Paul Wallace heads the medical advisory committee. Doreathea Johnson is the boss in legal at the Department of Consumer Affairs. Awet “Fredo” Kidane is in the #2 seat at DCA management. While the four may not always like each other or coordinate together, they all share similar political connections and are part of a system that is having a significant impact on the decisions being made regarding the regulation of fight shows & behind-the-scenes activity in California.

Rather than judge their motives, judge the backgrounds they bring to the table and their past actions.

Awet Kidane was Chief of Staff to California Assembly leader Karen Bass, a long-time politician who is now in the US House of Representatives representing her Los Angeles district. Kidane is well-juiced politically in Sacramento and is building more power. He’s already applied a hands-on approach to managing affairs, which includes California State Athletic Commission business. Kidane was at the June 2012 meeting in El Monte to try to get George Dodd terminated as CSAC Executive Officer.

Doreathea Johnson is a Sacramento lifer. She was formerly a President for the Wiley W. Manuel Bar Association, which is/was associated with the California Association of Black Lawyers. At age 61, she just got a promotion (of sorts) by Governor Jerry Brown at DCA despite inflaming tensions with many at CSAC including athletic inspectors by trying to confiscate 2010 overtime pay for full-time state employees three years later when the CSAC implosion made headlines in California media outlets. She was also instrumental in attempting to oust George Dodd at CSAC. Suffice to say, Doreathea views herself as a political mover-and-shaker. Jerry Brown viewed her as important enough to make the declaration he just recently made.

Dr. Paul Wallace, a practicing dermatologist, has been around the California fight scene for many years. He had a prominent role in the pre-Armando Garcia era. With Andy Foster now in charge at CSAC, Wallace is the man. He was the lead doctor at the UFC show in Anaheim last week. A dermatologist by profession, Wallace oversaw the testing of fighters — including testosterone-using Dan Henderson, despite the fact that there aren’t any rules or regulations on the books as to approving/regulating testosterone usage. Wallace has been around the fight game and is very confident in his skills. He’s also politically juiced in California Democratic Party circles. His ex-wife was the campaign manger of… Karen Bass, who Awet Kidane was the Chief of Staff for when she was California Assembly Leader.

John Frierson, who remains the Chairman of the California State Athletic Commission, is still close with… Karen Bass. Frierson remains an active figure in Los Angeles politics, more or less active in the local political circuit. It was Frierson who first motivated us to investigate CSAC last May. We wrote two books worth on the man and that was what launched the wild reporting ride we’ve been on since.

Here were the original articles we wrote last May: The future of combat sports in California (May 6th, 2012) and How did (then) 80 year old scandal-plagued politician John Frierson get an important job promotion? (May 9th, 2012)

Frierson has been in politics for over 40 years and is an old ally of Governor Jerry Brown. The more things change, the more they stay in the same. In his 40-plus years of political activism, Frierson has fought for racial equality and has made it a cornerstone cause. However, in past years at public CSAC meetings, he has also made some controversial remarks regarding race that have offended insiders who work in and around the commission.

Kidane, Doreathea, Wallace, and Frierson all share political connections and are wielding their political power in their decision making for events at CSAC. It’s a political nexus that is putting Executive Officer Andy Foster in the cross-hairs of many disgruntled, unhappy people who have contributed their services to CSAC and now feel slighted, abandoned, or disrespected.

Of course, every time there are changes to affairs at a political body like CSAC, someone is going to be disgruntled. The problem for Andy Foster right now is that the number of people disgruntled and angry is swelling up. If this is a numbers game, the number of people who are against what is taking place at the Department of Consumer Affairs and with the main players involved is rapidly increasing. Several players who have always preferred to keep a low profile are now starting to come out of the woodwork because they are fed up and ready to fight. We’ve now reached a point where these individuals are going to either quit working for CSAC or they’re going to fight tooth-and-nail. No more being on the sidelines. The combustible mix of politics has put the new Executive Officer in a difficult position.

New political fallout

At last Saturday’s UFC event in Anaheim, there was a surprise — Doreathea Johnson was sitting by Andy Foster at the event and was on camera. Johnson is not a fight fan and has never attended a show in her life. There was a CSAC public meeting on Monday in Los Angeles and she was scheduled to be in attendance. However, her appearance at the UFC event — especially after getting a high-profile tip of the cap from Governor Jerry Brown — rubbed a lot of people the wrong way. First, why was she at the show and traveling days before a CSAC meeting on taxpayer expense? Maybe she was riding in style in a Cadillac Escalade like she reportedly was last June for the El Monte, CA hearing to try to get George Dodd terminated. Second, why was she showing her face around athletic inspectors that she & DCA are trying to confiscate years-old overtime money from? There were inspectors at the show who took notice of this and interpreted it as a slap in the face to them.

At the UFC Anaheim show, Dr. Paul Wallace was the main doctor. After the show, a rumor surfaced that Wallace would now be booked as the lead doctor for all big shows in the state of California — regardless of location. San Francisco, San Jose, Oakland, Sacramento, Los Angeles, San Diego, you name it. On Tuesday, rumor became reality. Wallace will now be entrusted with leading all the big shows.

The reaction from all sides — both Northern California and Southern California — was swift. And it was not positive.

“I feel like I’ve been kicked in the nuts,” one Northern California official exclaimed. The official expressed a universal sentiment from everyone in Northern California. The officials and inspectors no longer feel as if Sacramento thinks they exist. With fewer and fewer shows happening up North (maybe twice a month), it’s harder to get bookings. With Paul Wallace coming in as the lead doctor for Northern California shows, it means that doctors like Gary Furness (well-respected and sometimes quoted in Bay Area media for sports medical stories), Cesar Banda (the Sacramento-based MMA-friendly doctor), and Smith Ketchum (the boxing-friendly San Francisco doctor) will probably be iced out in favor of Wallace’s crew.

This development has rubbed many officials (non-doctors) the wrong way.

“It’s as if all of the work we’ve done over the years wasn’t appreciated.”

Under the tenure of George Dodd, Northern California doctors worked Northern California shows big and small. Even though there was a segmentation & isolation problem between Northern California and Southern California, there was a cold peace that officials in the geographical regions worked the shows they did. The mood now in Northern California is that outside of a handful of guys, Southern California politics dominate the commission and is threatening to push out Northern California individuals who want respect and work.

The reaction on Tuesday night towards Wallace taking over top duties for big shows in Northern California drew a strongly negative reaction. One veteran Northern California leader summed up their thoughts (on background due to fear of retribution).

“Wouldn’t that just be him assigning his buddies? A licensee assigning other licensees is like fighters approving their own medicals and fight match-ups.”

Normally, this could be chalked up to being sour grapes. The problem is that there may be some validity to this concerns — and the evidence was provided this past weekend.

While Paul Wallace was working the UFC event at the Anaheim Pond, a doctor with a controversial background named Chyle Beaird resurfaced at another Southern California show. Beaird worked alongside Dr. Richard Castanon for an All-Star Boxing event at Quiet Cannon. Beaird surfaced on our radar in Christmas 2012 when we did some research on “the marijuana doctor.” Beaird was a doctor at the infamous Oxnard, California show last September. We had fighters approaching us about a ‘marijuana doctor’ running the show, so we started researching into the matter after getting a name. If you input Chyle Beaird’s name into any search engine, the top results that come back are rather illuminating. His claim to fame is/was partnering up with Dr. Michael Gitter for “Cannabis Evaluation.” Beaird’s name appears on marijuana dispensary internet sites.

Our issue here is not about medical marijuana usage. The pertinent issue is whether or not Chyle Beaird’s claim to fame is appropriate for a doctor entrusted with ensuring the safety of fighters at events. Is he qualified to be a lead doctor?

Multiple sources on background claim that Wallace has stood up for Beaird and that the recommendation has Beaird back on the Southern California circuit working again. This is the kind of decision that has individuals connected to CSAC, both in Northern California and Southern California, concerned. The concern is about cronyism and keeping qualified individuals on the sideline due to political favors.

Where things are heading

With every action comes a reaction. The decisions being made by Doreathea Johnson at DCA legal, Awet Kidane as DCA’s number two, Dr. Paul Wallace as the boss of doctors for CSAC, and John Frierson as CSAC chairman are producing swift reactions.

At Monday’s CSAC meeting in Los Angeles, DCA called for a closed session (not open to public) with the commission regarding Dwayne Woodard’s lawsuit against Sacramento. A lot of eye-brows were raised by this move. Who at DCA called the meeting and why? WHat’s the legal strategy? The case has not gone to trial, yet, and depositions have not taken place. So, what is going on here? Somebody felt threatened enough by the lawsuit that they wanted to address the matter before the case goes to trial.

Second, there is reportedly a lawsuit regarding sexual discrimination that the commission was hit with.

Third, it appears that momentum is building for the athletic inspectors to take a unified stand against DCA’s confiscatory ways of trying to collect money paid out years ago. Where this is heading, no one is entirely sure at the moment. But it’s not good news for Doreathea Johnson. Then again, she’s feeling her oats and now wants an increase in her public profile.

Be careful what you wish for. With great power comes great responsibility… and great headaches, too.

Topics: Boxing, CSAC, Media, MMA, Zach Arnold | 2 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |

2 Responses to “Racial & political tensions at CSAC have many grumbling behind the scenes”

  1. RST says:

    “In his 40-plus years of political activism, Frierson has fought for racial equality – he has also made some controversial remarks regarding race that have offended insiders”

    Most of the “equality” political activists that I’ve met in california are just as clannish, intolerant and racist as any traditional bigot

    Which ironically has softened my attitude towards bigots who are at least honest about it and not pimping rhetoric they dont really believe in for personal profit

    I’ve got a black buddy who used to be a boxer when he was younger and I thought he might be interested if I showed him a some MMA fights,
    he absolutely hated it because its not “black”

    (He likes anderson silva)

    He also hates Paquiao and never thought he deserved a shot at may-(or may not)-weather because boxing is a “black sport”

    His exact words

    Nice guy,
    but thats what he’s been taught in california

    And at least he’s being honest about it

  2. The Gaijin says:

    Damn….RIP Diamond Dekkers

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