Report: USTA funds benefit current, former board members
United States Tennis Association funds are used to assist the outside interests of current and former board members, a New York Times investigation shows.
The USTA, which classifies as a nonprofit group that is mostly exempt from paying federal taxes, generates an estimated $213 million in revenue annually, according to the Times.
A large portion of that revenue comes from the U.S. Open tennis tournament.
Here are some of the findings of the investigation:
- Raymond Benton, who began serving a two-year term on the USTA Board of Directors in January 2013, is the chief executive of The Junior Tennis Champions Center in College Park, Md. The center has received $840,000 over three years from Player Development and USTA Serves, two charitable organizations operating under the board.
- Katrina Adams is the first vice president of the USTA and the executive director of The Harlem Junior Tennis and Education program. Since Adams joined the USTA board, the program has received at least $217,550 from the tennis governing body.
- John Korff was part of a USTA board that in 2012 approved a $50,000 grant to the health club chain Life Time Fitness. In August 2013, Korff finalized the sale of the New York City Triathlon to Life Time Fitness. Financial term of the transaction were not disclosed.
- Jeff Williams, a managing partner of Tennis Media Company, is a USTA board member. The media company has received $2,782,700 in 2012. The financial relationship between the USTA and Tennis Media is not clear in public filings, according to the report.
The U.S. Open, which is held at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in New York, begins Aug. 25 and runs through Sept. 8.
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- Chris Johnson
