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Coach Lananna orders Duck cops to bust tifoso for Hayward free speech lap

Last updated on 06/16/2018

Which they did. The Eugene Weekly has the report here:

On Friday, June 8, local videographer Tim Lewis ran onto Hayward’s track during the meet, wearing a T-shirt that said “Save Hayward” and holding up another that said “Pre Lives For Now.”

…  Lewis was arrested on the misdemeanor charges of interfering with police, disorderly conduct and criminal trespassing at a sporting event.

“He didn’t seem confrontational,” [NCAA volunteer Jim Watson] says. “He seemed like he was having a great time. He was enjoying the attention and sending the message. He went by and went out the gate. Nobody bothered him.”

“When I turned back around I saw Vin Lananna and his face was beet red. He got out his phone and started screaming in it,” he says. “It sounded like he said something like, ‘Get that guy.’”

Here’s Coach Lananna in happier times, before the FBI started investigating his handshake deal with former IAAF Pres Lamine Diack to bring the 2021 IAAF championships to the formerly historic Hayward Field:

5 Comments

  1. Gerald Macguire 06/15/2018

    Tim should have known that as soon as he set foot on that track, he became an athlete at UO and would never be allowed to express himself. Maybe if he tells Lanana he smoked it all they’ll let him back on the team.

  2. HonestNauman 06/15/2018

    I was there, sitting less than 10m from the finish line area where Lananna typically stands during events (as he did during the protestor’s “event”). The protestor was disruptive. The protestor made several maneuvers to avoid security and the police (though ultimately they did arrest him). I did not observe anything that remotely resembled the police being aggressive or pushy (never mind the protestor going for sympathy and playing the “police are abusive” card – poor little innocent protestor abused by those out of control violent cops). I would ask, what should the police response be when someone rushes onto the track and their behavior is provocative and they are seeking to evade apprehension? Is the expectation that anyone/everyone is entitled to disrupt an event without consequence?

    Police responding to this disruption was not inappropriate nor an abuse of power. As this incident was taking place I observed Lananna and did not witness a “beet red face” or any kind of yelling (or even raised voice into his cell phone). I don’t pretend to know specifically what Lannana said.

    The coverage by Eugene Weekly of the incident includes:

    1) NCAA volunteer Watson isn’t sure what Lananna said.
    2) Protestor describes the police officers as “a little pushy”.

    UO Matters, exactly how do you get to your headline stating that “Lannana orders”? I did not witness nor read anything that supports that accusation.

    • Environmental necessity 06/15/2018

      I was at the same meet and near Tim Lewis until he began his protest, something that I knew nothing about. Lewis does not claim abuse. He says UO Police were “a little pushy”. I guess I believe a meet volunteer who gave his name in print over “HonestNauman” regarding Vic’s response.

      Also, whatever Lewis or Lananna did or didn’t do has no bearing on the fact this has been rammed down the public’s throat with total disregard for sound public process.

      • dog 06/15/2018

        “sound public process”

        another oxymoron of the times

      • HonestNauman 06/16/2018

        Per Eugene Weekly, volunteer claims “It sounded like he said something like,”‘Get that guy.’” But the very next sentence states “Watson says he couldn’t hear for sure what Lananna said.” So sure, trust the volunteer who clearly wasn’t very sure of what Lannana said.

        And the protestor doesn’t claim abuse, just makes a gratuitous accusation that the police were “a little pushy.” Not self-serving at all. Again, I ask should security and police NOT respond at all to someone who violates the actual T&Cs of the ticket purchased for attendance at the NCAA meet? It clearly states among other conditions that the ticket “Holder may not go into the competition area or other restricted areas, or interfere in any way with the play of the contest.”

        Lastly Environmental necessity, you and UOMatters can make a claim about whether the new stadium has been “shoved down the public’s throat” without a tabloid headline whose minimal basis in fact is essentially speculation by a volunteer who really isn’t sure what Lananna said (and even if we grant, for the sake of argument that he heard Lannana accurately, doesn’t establish who Lannana was even talking to).

        Btw, been a long-time track fan, sitting in Hayward Field for over 23 years – improving my season tickets to where I’ve been sitting near the finish line for the past 6.

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