Director of Development named Interim CEO
Following a week of mounting public pressure, embattled USA Curling Chief Executive Officer Jeff Plush has resigned.
The announcement, which came Friday night in a USA Curling statement, also announced that Canadian-born Dean Gemmell, the USCA’s Director of Development, has been appointed Interim CEO.
The news came exactly one week after a polarizing USCA virtual Members’ Assembly meeting which only served to energize rabid opposition to Plush’s reign.
As National Women’s Soccer League commissioner from 2014 to 2017, Plush was named in the Oct. 3 Yates report as an executive who ignored and in some cases helped hide “pervasive” and “systemic” abusive behavior and sexual misconduct within the NWSL.
Coupled with USA Curling’s long-running feud with the regional Grand National Curling Club—which was kicked out of USCA in the recent Members’ Assembly meeting—the Plush affair further exposed gaps in the organization’s communications capacities.
USA Curling seemed to address precisely that in Friday night’s statement.
“Our steadfast commitment to the curling community has not changed,” the statement read. “But in recent months, our relationship with this community has been damaged. We have not communicated effectively, and some believe we have not listened. There has been anger, frustration, and confusion.
“We see you. We hear you. We care about you.
“Our priority is to rebuild trust. To start that process, today we lead with action.”
Unlike Plush, Gemmell has been active in curling for decades. A Canadian men’s (Brier) championship competitor back in 1988 and U.S. world men’s competitor in 2012, Gemmell is acknowledged as the first curling podcaster (The Curling Show from 2005 to 2017), an accomplished writer (his Fit To Curl and Brush Like A Badass books plus numerous contributions to this publication) and a longtime grass roots developer of the sport, particularly at the Plainfield Curling Club in New Jersey.
Gemmell was quoted in the statement.
“I believe the national organization has been and will be critical for the continued growth of the sport in the United States,” said Gemmell. “I’m convinced curling can be a force for good, and when the people in this sport work together we can make great things happen. To fully address issues, I plan to host a Town Hall in the next week.”
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The USA Curling Board of Directors also announced a temporary re-flow of SafeSport claims from the deposed Plush to Gemmell and Sporting Director Katie Baker, as well as a full review of the organization’s bylaws and governance policies.
“Ideas brought forward at the Members’ Assembly will be discussed and debated, and the people behind them will be part of the process,” the statement specified. “It is our hope that curlers from across the country—whether they belong to clubs large or small, curl in an arena or a dedicated ice facility—will come forward and contribute their expertise. Diversity is our strength.”
The Oct. 21 members’ assembly was marred by technical problems. Plush appeared and spoke for only three minutes of the marathon 4.5-hour session.
Prior to the assembly, the USCA board commissioned an investigation of the information contained in the Yates report and issued an Oct. 14 statement.
“The Board has been deeply involved in the process in ensuring Jeff can continue to lead the organization,” board chair Lynn LaRocca was quoted in the statement. “We are confident in our due diligence and the thoroughness that went into reviewing the matter.”
Public pressure for change continued throughout the past week. Amid social media calls for the USCA board to #FlushPlush, GNCC member clubs began to embrace a proposed rebellion logo.
Ironically, Gemmell is not the only longtime GNCC member now in charge of a major curling organization. Last month, South Carolina’s Beau Welling—who co-founded the Palmetto Curling Club in Greenville—was named President of the World Curling Federation, the sport’s global governing body.
Gemmell and other board members have their hands full in the coming days, but some athletes are throwing support behind Friday’s multiple announcements and inviting patience.
