WOULD YOU EVER STEAL FROM A KID?

By Javier Palenque

April 18, 2023

Imagine a country where the nonprofit laws are so poor that for decades organizations take advantage of the tax designation and do little for the actual reason the nonprofit status was granted.

Now imagine that the organization promotes the mission on paper only and when one looks at the actual numbers in their financials, the declared mission is not the mission, but just a way to get the tax advantage and live off the “closed nonprofit”. There are hundreds of organizations that abuse the law, and the enforcement is simply not there by the government. This is the setup under which the USTA leadership operates, and rather than change the paradigm, they all remain quiet and continue to live off the welfare it provides them.

Everything described above is awful. Now let me ask you something else; which one of you would dare to steal from kids who are unaware that they are being stolen from? Think about it, from the organization’s view, who is doing the stealing, they pretend and make themselves believe that they are not-for-profit, they fund conflating campaigns that portray the false idea that they grow the game, the PR department falsely claims that all profits are invested in the game when they are invested in the show. Soon in this organization, where there is no leadership, everyone believes that they are doing a great job, helping kids, and growing the game when a simple check on the funding and asset allocation would tell you that none of it is true. This is your USTA America, it is simply a mirage of what you think.

Now take the point of view of the kids, who do not know an organization exists to promote the sport, when they go to school or their local park, they do not know that millions of dollars that could be used for learning and programs for kids are being used to only fund a fourteen-day show and executives who pretend to care for a game until questioned seriously. These poor kids and their parents are completely unaware that they are being stolen from. Is that not a moral crime to start with? I mean this is the philosophy third-world leaders use to steal from their countries and enrich themselves. It is preposterous, why does the Board perpetuate this way of working?

Since no one complains, and since there is no one to complain to, then the deception to the American public goes on for years and years. Who on the board can read the financials and conclude…