FROM POYS: THE UNIVERSITY OF DELAWARE'S STATEMENT GIVEN TO THE DELAWARE NEWS JOURNAL ABOUT POYS FOUNDER AL THOMPSON IS FALSE
- Al Thompson
- Posted on Tuesday, April 2, 2024
This is the statement the University of Delaware submitted to the Delaware News Journal (delawareonline) that was contained in the article run on March 18, 2024, written by Kevin Tresolini about attempts by POYS to get a meeting to discuss the school's promotion of a condemned steroid event, IMG's "World's Strongest Man."
The school refused to allow any coach, school official or member of the UD Police Department to speak to the Delaware News Journal's reporter. Why?
"Upon review of their records, UD Police confirmed that Mr. Thompson was interviewed in Summer 2023 as part of an investigation into complaints of harassment of University of Delaware employees. The investigation revealed that Mr. Thompson had contacted many UD employees on multiple occasions over several months. Mr. Thompson was advised by UD Police not to contact the victims by email, phone calls, in person, or by a third party. The Victim’s Bill of Rights prohibits UD Police from providing specific information about victims."
This statement is fiction. Here is what actually happened:
On March 18, 2024, On March 18, 2024 Delaware News Journal published a fair article on POYS pushing back on the University of Delaware's open support for IMG/Endeavor's rebuked-for-steroids competition "World's Strongest Man.
The article focuses on the struggles I had, as founder of POYS and an endorser of the Rodchenkov Anti-Doping Act, in getting an official for the athletic department or the iconic university to grant me a meeting so I could give my presentation on the dangers of steroid use and about the harm those who promote and glorify steroid use to do to our youth.
My first email was in late April 2023 and was addressed to the athletic director, the UD head strength coach and President Assanis.
I never directly contacted the UD assistant strength coach who was competing in the condemned, steroid-themed event, obviously the reason UD promoted the steroid competition that has seen many fatalities over the years from causes associated with steroid use...several of these deaths have been confirmed by a coroner to have happened because long term steroid use.
My only reason for contacting the school was because it had promoted these events which POYS believes is an act of normalizing steroid use.
These very one-sided communications went on for several months between myself and senior university officials. I did receive replies from the assistant to UD President Dennis Assanis.
In late August I received a call from a rookie UD policeman Samuel Culver who claimed at first I was under investigation by the University of Delaware Police Department over harassment claims that included President Assanis.
Officer Culver gave me his email address and wanted me to send him all the emails I had received from school officials including Assanis.
I told Officer Culver his request made no sense. He was asking me for materials he would already have if I was under investigation.
At this point Culver gave in and admitted he was just calling on behalf of the assistant strength coach, apparently because they were friends. "He didn't like your posters," Culver said.
This hoax call I believe and the interest from the local FBI office about Culver's call, is the reason - in my opinion - is how the article in the Delaware News Journal was started.
The school refused to allow its coaches, administrators or campus policemen answer any questions about POYS pushing back on the iconic school's public support that is known for allowing steroid use among its competitors.
The statement the University of Delaware sent to the Delaware News Journal is completely false - it is fiction and the school refuses to comment on that.
Here are segments of the email I sent to President Assanis' office and other top officials in early October 2023 reporting the phone incident, my interview with the FBI agent who dispatched an agent to the UD Police Department.
This is what happened. You can easily see why I demanded a retraction from the University of Delaware.
UNIVERSITY OF DELAWARE POLICE DEPARTMENT ADMITS CALL FROM OFFICER CULVER WAS A FALSE CLAIM
I simply asked for a meeting...four months later, on August 24, 2023, I get a hoax call from University police officer Samuel Culver who started the call stating his name and that he was a police officer "investigating" complaints from the University about me harassing University staff...I am paraphrasing some of the conversation...
I asked him if President Assanis made the complaint...Officer Culver said "no."
I asked him if AD Chrissi Rawak made the complaint...Officer Culver said "no."
I asked him if head strength and conditioning coach Chris Stewart made the complaint...officer Culver said "no."
I asked Officer Culver who exactly is complaining about me. He said it was Tom Evans and after a few minutes said he was calling because Mr. Evans "didn't like the posters." Mr. Evans name does not appear on the posters I mailed.
I asked Officer Culver if there was anything on the posters that was inaccurate. He seemed to stumble a bit here and remembered the photo I was holding in my hands on the poster. I told Officer Culver the man in the photo I was holding was a 9-11 First Responder and a New York
City police officer who was a friend of mine, and who made really bad decisions after he got involved with a pro strongman and started taking steroids - a fact he admitted to me personally. I told him my friend had committed suicide in 2017...and that I had recorded 12 deaths from the strongman show I ran myself.
Officer Culver was polite, gave me his email address and asked me to send him the emails I had received from the University for his investigation (he is an employee of the University which seemed kind of suspicious). I am sure he had no idea there were only three emails from the school and were all pretty short.
CALLED THE POLICE CHIEF
I did not send anything to Officer Culver. I talked to a few people I trust, and all agreed that this may have a case where Culver and Evans were friends. The first-year officer may have worked out at the University of Delaware training facility and grew to know Evans personally. Culver may have thought he could hook up his buddy and intimidate me in some way...I do not know for sure. It is just an educated guess.
I did not send anything to Officer Culver. I talked to a few people I trust, and all agreed that this may have a case where Culver and Evans were friends. The first-year officer may have worked out at the University of Delaware training facility and grew to know Evans personally. Culver may have thought he could hook up his buddy and intimidate me in some way...I do not know for sure. It is just an educated guess.
August 26, I called the number listed for UD Police Chief Patrick Ogden and left a 4.5-minute message on his voicemail about what happened and left the message that I did not feel comfortable sending anything to Officer Culver.
A few days went by and I never heard back from Chief Ogden or his office. On August 28, I made a decision to go to the Wilmington office of the FBI to see if I could drop off the same posters I dropped off at the University of Delaware's booth at the state fair and mailed to the University's training center.
I made contact at the FBI office but could not drop off the posters. I ended up getting interviewed by FBI agent Stephen Powell, who talked to me for over 21 minutes. I told him the accounts of the call I received from Officer Culver and that I had left a message with the police Chief Ogden and had not heard back.
Agent Powell said he was going to check it out but did not know if he would be calling me back.
I felt better because I had told a third party about the incident who had no horse in the race, so to speak.
I RECEIVED ANOTHER CALL FROM THE UNIVERSITY OF DELAWARE POLICE AUGUST 30, 2023
On August 30, 2023, I received a call from a person who identified himself as Maj. Jason Pires. He said he was the deputy Chief of Police of the University of Delaware Police Department.
He said he was calling to square things up about the call I received from Officer Culver a few days ago. He said Officer Culver had "misspoken" and that there was never any complaint made by anyone at the University. He said Officer Culver was young and was just acting on personal complaints made by Evans.
I told Maj. Pires, I did nothing wrong, illegal or unethical. I told him Evans is a paid professional athlete and pro athletes get criticized. It comes with the territory. I told him Officer Culver was way out of line.
Maj. Jason Pires went on to say a few other things...he said he was on my side with pushing back on drug use...that he had been involved with some kind of anti-drug unit earlier in his career.
Maj. Jason Pires also said it was a good thing that I am a journalist! That it was good that I could ask Officer Culver the right questions about his claims about complaints from the University and was able to get Officer Culver to walk the accusations back.
I told Maj. Pires, I thought this whole episode was pathetic. What happens to someone when a police officer makes a bogus claim to someone who is not a reporter?
Maj. Pires said he was making up a report on all this but denied my request for a copy of what he said was report number 39-23-01. Major Pires said I was not allowed to have a copy because it was against the law in Delaware...of course it is!
Maj. Pires said he was making up a report on all this but denied my request for a copy of what he said was report number 39-23-01. Major Pires said I was not allowed to have a copy because it was against the law in Delaware...of course it is!
I CALLED FBI AGENT POWELL AGAIN
After I hung up with Maj. Pires, I called Agent Powell to report the call back. Agent Powell said he had sent an agent to the University of Delaware Police Department to see what had happened.
After I hung up with Maj. Pires, I called Agent Powell to report the call back. Agent Powell said he had sent an agent to the University of Delaware Police Department to see what had happened.
At the time, Agent Powell said he had not made any determination of wrongdoing that would be under the jurisdiction of the FBI.
I told him and I still believe that the reason Maj. Pires called me because the FBI paid the station a visit, not because the station was being professional.
I have a question...if everyone and everything is so clean and on the up-and-up at the University of Delaware Strength and Conditioning Department...why the stunning level of paranoia? What is going on there???
I have written to the President Assanis' representative and Police Chief Patrick Ogden demanding a retraction be sent to the News Journal. If that does not happen, it is my intention to file a report with the Office of Delaware Attorney General Kathy Jennings.
