{"id":440125,"date":"2020-07-16T10:37:34","date_gmt":"2020-07-16T17:37:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/?p=440125"},"modified":"2020-07-16T10:37:34","modified_gmt":"2020-07-16T17:37:34","slug":"usa-water-polo-announces-appointments-to-racial-equity-reform-task-force","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/usa-water-polo-announces-appointments-to-racial-equity-reform-task-force\/","title":{"rendered":"USA Water Polo Announces Appointments To Racial Equity & Reform Task Force"},"content":{"rendered":"

Brenda Villa<\/strong>\u00a0and\u00a0John Abdou<\/dfn><\/strong>, co-chairs of the USA Water Polo Racial Equity & Reform Task Force have announced nine appointments to join them in their efforts to expand access to water polo for all while ensuring zero tolerance of racism. Hailing from states across the country, with a variety of backgrounds and experiences, the nine appointees include: Olympic athletes, collegiate athletes, club athletes, coaches, referees, team administrators and parents.<\/p>\n

Joining Villa and Abdou on the task force are:\u00a0Ted Minnis<\/strong>\u00a0(Collegiate Coach \u2013 Massachusetts),\u00a0Felix Mercado<\/strong>\u00a0(Collegiate Coach \u2013 Rhode Island),\u00a0Chelsea Johnson<\/strong>\u00a0(Club Coach \u2013 Florida),\u00a0Clarke Weatherspoon<\/strong>\u00a0(Club Coach \u2013 California),\u00a0Angela Uno<\/strong>\u00a0(Referee \u2013 Texas),\u00a0Ivan Munoz<\/strong>\u00a0(Club Administrator \u2013 Illinois),\u00a0Mariko Rooks<\/strong>\u00a0(Collegiate Athlete \u2013 Connecticut),\u00a0Scott Newberger<\/strong>\u00a0(Parent\/Club Volunteer \u2013 Arizona) and\u00a0Tumua Tavana (Anae)<\/strong>\u00a0(Olympic Champion \u2013 Utah).<\/p>\n

George Abele<\/strong>, attorney at Paul Hastings LLP and\u00a0Mai Lam<\/dfn><\/strong>, USA Water Polo Executive Assistant will provide administrative support for the task force.<\/p>\n

“As a coach, I love putting teams together and I am grateful for all the individuals that form this task force,” said task force co-chair and four-time Olympic medalist Brenda Villa. “Co-chair\u00a0John Abdou<\/dfn>\u00a0and I felt it was important to have this task force not only represent people of color but feature water polo communities and roles from around the country. We are ready to get a game plan together and execute it to make our sport more inclusive.”<\/p>\n

As announced last month<\/a>, topics expected to be addressed by the task force recommendations are:<\/p>\n