John Bardis GARY ABBOTT’S MATSIDE CHAT WITH...
John Bardis is a long-time leader within USA Wrestling, who is the Director of Development and Finance for CPOW in its effort to Keep Olympic Wrestling. He has had a life-long involve- ment in the sport, as an Illinois high school wrestler, a college wrestler for Wisconsin and Arizona, and a medalist at the Olympic Trials in Greco-Roman. Bardis went on to major suc- cess in business, as Founder, Chairman, President and CEO of MedAssets, a leading medical firm based in Alpharetta, Ga. Bardis has served on the USA Wrestling Board of Directors, and was the Team Leader for Greco-Roman for the 2005-2008 Olympic cycle, including the Beijing Olympics.
USA Wrestler: What was your first thought when you heard that the IOC Executive Board recommended that wrestling be removed as a core sport for the 2020 Olympic Games? Bardis: I was absolutely stunned. Then my next reaction was that I was angry. The first ten minutes I was stunned. After that, I started to wrestle with the idea and it made me very upset.
USA Wrestler: How quickly did the American wrestling lead- ership come together, leading to the creation of CPOW? Bardis: The American wrestling community reacted very
quickly. We are very fortunate, because American wrestling on the international sports scene, particularly in the Olympic move- ment, is exceedingly well-represented and also has leaders who are extremely knowledgable. My reaction after being angry was we have to get Jim Scherr involved. He needs to provide insight into the IOC. Jim is the most vastly experienced Senior Olympic sports executive who has been a Senior wrestler in history. I called Jim immediately and said I don’t know where this is headed but you need to lead this effort, you need to be at the front of the class on this. Jim understands the tributaries and the nuances of the Olympic movement at the IOC level. So does his twin brother Bill, particularly with his experience as an Olympian but also being the lead guy on the ground with the 2016 bid in Chicago.
USA Wrestler: Explain the abilities, experience, talent and commitment of CPOW as a whole. Bardis: You have some of the most talented and capable folks in the USA who have been associated with wrestling. They come from disciplines of business, public service, education and wrestling and sports administration among many other back- grounds. Take for example Roger Frizzell, who was recom- mended early to join this effort. After observing Roger Frizzell, I can say he is one of the most capable public relations profes- sionals I have ever been around. I didn’t know much about his background after his college wrestling career, but in my view, he is a superstar. He is as good as anybody I have ever seen in the area of public relations and media management.
USA Wrestler: Are there key activities in the Keep Olympic
Wrestling effort that stand out in your mind? Bardis: The American wrestling community acted very quickly and decisively to demand a change of leadership at FILA. The timing of those decisions and the action of leadership can not
24 USA Wrestler
John Bardis speaks during a CPOW press conference at the U.S. Open in Las Vegas. Larry Slater photo.
go undocumented or unnoticed. At the time of our second con- ference call, the FILA Bureau meeting in Thailand was getting ready to happen. I had felt for a long time that these FILA lead- ers would in the end be highly damaging to our sport. A number of us, including myself, really pushed that question. The com- mittee made a very clear choice that it would not support Raphael Martinetti and a change had to be made. Rich Bender immediately reached out to Martinetti with great dignity and courage and told him the American wrestling community would no longer support him as leader of FILA. True to form for Martinetti, given his lack of sophistication and his stupidity, he hung up on Rich. Rich then sent him an email and a letter out- lining the American position. During the same conference call, the team made direct contact with Stan Dziedzic who was on the ground in Thailand. The team made very clear their view of how Stan should handle the situation with Martinetti and that he should lead the FILA Board to ask for Martinetti’s resignation. Stan did this at great risk to himself, to include putting his own neck on the line, saying he was prepared to offer his own resig- nation to ensure the change occurs. Within 48 hours of the CPOW call, Martinetti had failed a no-confidence vote, 11-10.
USA Wrestler: CPOW has brought in $1.2 million and expressed a need of $2.5 million for the campaign. Is the fundraising effort going well and why? Bardis: We did something in a fundraising sense that is never done. Usually, when you raise funds for a public service effort or business effort, you have to have a business plan that has operating expenses and future investments clearly outlined. That was not possible for us because of the chain reaction that happened. We had to be prepared to fund a variety of behaviors and actions very quickly. We were not afforded the opportunity for a strategic plan and an operating plan. That is wholly unusu- al for any not-for-profit fundraising effort. A number of individuals who had the ability and meaningful dollars had to step up and
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