by Melahn Cable
“I have no sword, no ax, no spear, but I have a pen"

My first article on Special Olympics described the removal of a 20 year veteran coach without cause, and the subsequent lack of response from the leaders and administration of Special Olympics to come to the table with some explanation. In fact, they refused to give any reason for the abrupt firing of the coach. That bothers me, and should bother anyone who has a conscience.

A fact in which we can all agree is that with the authority vested in the organizers and leaders at Special Olympics Florida comes a big responsibility. Because of the delicate nature of working with mentally challenged athletes and organizing, training and coaching them, these people are held to a higher standard. They must be.

Eunice Shriver had a vision and created Special Olympics to have a reputation for caring and service to mentally and physically challenged athletes. Those charged with directing the program are tasked with not only being fair, but compassionate, caring, responsible... and truthful.

There is no excuse for the slaying of Mr. Castellano's reputation by Marie El-Khoury of Special Olympics Seminole County, and further, no excuse for Special Olympics Florida administrators choosing to do nothing about it. The silence must end among all those in Special Olympics and these people must be held accountable. If you are a part of Special Olympics in any capacity, then you have an obligation to see that justice be done for Mr. Castellano.

It is my position that Marie-El-khoury, Amie Dugan, Nancy Sawyer, Monte Castevens and anyone else involved in the outrage of removing, without cause, a coach such as Mr. Castellano should either resign or be removed. They clearly are not able to perform their jobs with honesty and dignity. If they care nothing for the reputation of one of their own, coach Dominick Castellano, a person who has given over 20 years of service, then perhaps they really do not care about others and this has happened before. The failure of Special Olympics organizers to give a reason for Castellano's abrupt removal is more than telling. It is a sign of a real problem in the guts of the program.

I must admit that when I first looked into this story, I was sure that while it may not have been illegal, Mr. Castellano must have done something to cause his removal. At first glance, it looked like Gold's Gym and Special Olympics had acted in the best interest of all involved. But as I began to probe, there were real inconsistencies that began to surface. Soon, facts began to show themselves and Mr. Castellano sent me email after email in evidence. Special Olympics representatives, when asked point blank, would not explain why they removed Mr. Castellano. Gold's Gym admitted that they removed Mr. Castellano because of what Special Olympics representative Marie El-khoury had told them. The Gold's Gym President has since stated they have no problem with Mr. Castellano. I have emails to corroborate this fact. I viewed video of Mr. Castellano, sports stories on TV with Special Olympics athletes, and many newspaper articles. I read a copy of Chicken Soup for the Soul in which his article on a Special Olympics athlete is featured. More importantly, Mr. Castellano has backed up everything he has stated. Viewing all this, you can see the love and skill he has when working with these athletes. Then, to top it all off, Mr. Castellano is willing to forgive all that has gone on, waive all liability and financial loss to be able to coach the athletes again in this volunteer position. Why would anyone in their right mind go through all this for a volunteer job, especially after the way he has been treated? I asked Mr. Castellano. He said "because I love working with the athletes, love the look on their faces when they make a lift, love the courage that they show day after day." Why would Special Olympics throw away a coach of such value to the program without real cause?

There is something really wrong going on and anyone who is reading this, associated with Special Olympics or not, has an obligation to demand answer to this in the interest of all fairness. Your help is needed to make Special Olympics come clean.

We demand an investigation into the practices of Special Olympics Florida and Seminole County. We demand to see a list of removal of other coaches and volunteers. We call for an audit of the books to see if there is further misfeasance, or even malfeasance, of office. We demand an explanation and we demand it now.

There is no excuse for taking from the athletes a coach who was both respected and loved. The tragedy in all this is that the athletes cannot control the situation and are dependent on others to make proper decisions for them. The rape of Mr. Castellano's reputation and his vindictive removal is merely the tip of the iceberg to real problems that may exist in Special Olympics Florida and Seminole County, FL.