AAU Athlete Records Abandoned Near Disney World

AAU Athlete Records Abandoned Near Disney World Open  Dumpster Held Thousands of Birth Certificates and Social Security Numbers. Records Security Failure Not a ”Big Deal” According to Senior  AAU Manager    

When  a reader sent me  this  story earlier in the fall, I was shocked and appalled. I  put a hold on the story, trying to get some  some perspective. But the more research I did, the more my outrage grew.   Who let unshredded personal documents roll down the highway? Who left the documents unguarded? Were any information stolen before the dumpster was found? Why was the dumpster left in a secluded location? Was the transfer of the dumpster supposed to be secret? Why? Who was supposed to have picked up that dumpster? Where did they plan to take the records? What did they intend to do with them? 

     How did  the nation’s largest youth  athletic charity, whose primary function is to process  registrations,  totally fail to protect the information we entrusted to them? And how could one of the AAU’s   senior managers,  supposedly  dedicated  to  the well-being of our youth,  tell us  parents  that the privacy of our children doesn’t matter? Either his bosses need to tell him  he’s in the wrong line of work, or I need to take my business elsewhwere.   Take a look, then  come back to Trackmom and we’ll start  discussing  the most troubling story I’ve covered here  Now, without  further ado, presented for the first time to an audience beyond central Florida 

Here’s the story–text and video–as reported by WFTV Orlando..      

What you can do…   File a formal complaint:   US Federal Trade Commission  Attorney General, State of Florida.  Orange County, Florida, Sheriff’s department    Spread the word  This story has scarcely  circulated outside the state of Florida. You can give  it  the national attention it deserves.. Forward the link to everyone who might be interested, which might include your favorite  local and national news outlets, your US Representative and your Senators. (Contact their local office, it’s in the phone book)    Make your money talk  Keep those  membership dollars in the coffee can until:   1) AAU investigates and gives a thorough, satisfactory explanation   2) Genuine apologies from everyone responsible   3) Apporopriate disciplinary action   4) New policies to secure our children’s information    Contact :    AAU President and CEO Robert W, “Bobby” Dodd 13231 Meergate Circle Orlando, FL 32837-5129 (407) 240-6805 National Track aand Field Co-chairs     Robin Brown-Beamon  9124 NW 147 Terrace Miami Lakes, FL  33018 (305)439-706    Ed Jinks 2219 Jordan Drive Savannah, GA 31404  912 352-7148

  My first impulse was to post the link right away to alert  you to this identity theft threat.   But a few nagging thoughts led me to hold this story:  

1. Maybe it was an aberration. I didn’t want to spoil  the afterglow of the AAU Junior Olympics with a story that made the National AAU look so bad. I just couldn’t believe that the same folks who sponsored the fun and competition in Detroit could have committed this atrocity.   

 Sorry, but in trying to find a way to be fair to the National  AAU Officers, I’ve  found that this shoddy performance is par for the course.  See Tom Farrey’ s book Game On!,( 2008, ESPN) and read the outstanding investigative pieces by Alan Schmadtke of The Orlando Sentinel (available with a free trial to High Beam Research.)   

 2. Surely the story had received  the national coverage  it deserves   and  had been referred to all the proper authorities  for investigation. When a well-known  national youth charity victimizes thousands of kids and their families, surely there’s a mechanism for turning them into  national news. We used to call them “Wire Services”. (Who’s that snickering in the backseat?   Did I just hear somebody call me “Miss Clairol”? )   …The simple fact is that in today’s media environment, there are far fewer traditional journalists than ever before trying to cope with  an exponential explosion of information. Blogs like Trackmom have inherited some of the responsibility of  helping  a local story find a broader audience. And in turn,, I depend on you, an enlightened community of citizen journalists, to contribute your tips, links, and insights.    

3. What if nobody cares?  I ‘ve been  a little reluctant to take on consumer issues for fear that “no one cares.” That’s where most impromptu dicussions  I’ve had  about reforming youth sports  seem to end up.  Too  many  impassioned, informed discussions  have ended in the hotel laundromat after midnight  with “Too bad nobody cares but you and me.”  .   But over at TM I’ve just finished installing some new gizmos to help you  develop your random thoughts and  sustain those fleeting relationships to form a  strong,enduring  community suppport for our track kids.  Is that an impossible dream? Yeah ,maybe but my  kids would have grown up eating lead  paint if someone hadn’t dared to dream a little.  

 Til next time,

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