Although I agree with you that it was not a convincing interview, I believe that maturity is the main factor here. He is, after all, only 19. Few adolescents understand the meaning of deadlines today because few adults hold them to it. In this case, the Olympic committee was serious. However, that doesn't happen in the teenage world very often.

It was also implied that there were personality conflicts between the coach and Yanez. How many people look at their phone, especially if it is a "work" call, and say to themselves, "Nope, not going to answer THAT one right now." In this case, the consequences are much more severe, but it is a frequent occurrence.

He is def. throwing a sign up-either to recognize someone or something. This is the Olympics-no excuses for not answering an important call as that. As long as his sister wasn't dying, he should have been in training a.s.a.p. His 'family' would have understood. Now he will learn the hard way about responsibility and wanting something bad enough to work for it and do whatever it takes to achieve it instead of going all over the local networks and repeating himself 'let's go to war and get gold medals' and dodging serious questions.

I think that there are no excuses for not showing up for training unless his sis was dying. His 'familia' should understand that this is his chance to win a medal. If he wanted this bad enough, he would have gone in the first place and answered his coach's phone calls. Def. throwing up a sign to someone. He's a young punk who just needs to let it rest and suck it up that he messed up his chance instead of going on local media and dodging important questions and repeating himself with 'Let's go to Beijing and win a gold medal.' Beth, I don't like my boss, but if they're calling me and I know that I'm supposed to be at work, then I darn sure would answer-otherwise, I'd be kicked off of my work team.

I agree with your post. He was not very believable. Can't imagine in this day and age it was "just miscommunication". Also, I emailed Dale last night about the apparent sign flashing. No comment yet. Anybody have any idea what he was doing?

Mr. Yanez is gifted young boxer... unfortunately he is failed to follow the expected path of a Olympic representative. We all feel for him and his family that are having a difficult time. Even though from all accounts that the Director of USA boxing is not the most liked individual... it fails to defer Mr. Yanez from his responsibilites. The assumption that there was a "miscommunication" is preposterous, this is a case of Yanez deliberately defying the rules/obligations of his role as Captain of the Team. How can we look at him as "Captain"... much less as a member of the Olypic team after his display of "signs" on the telecast. I wish Mr. Yanez the greatest success in his Professional Boxing career... but I will be disappointed if he remains on the Olypic team.

"He's a young punk who just needs to let it rest and suck it up that he messed up his chance" wow.. sure he messed up.. but this young man is in no way a punk.. If you have ever been to local golden gloves events you would know .. this young man is well liked, works very hard. He takes time out to talk to everyone who wants a minute.. me personally was very impressed with him the first time I met him. He is looked up to by many people. We can all say he doesn't deserve a second chance and all but do we know the situation. Who knows what the real situation is, to make him leave training for his sister. I would never leave work for a family member. Oh but our NBA players can rape women and cheat on their wives as long as they lead the league in scoring it's all good.

I don't want a gang member representing the USA on any sport. To be an olympian is a special honor that is earned and to be proud of. He appeared to be more proud of his "sign" than as a representative of USA. Improve yourself, be proud of what you have accomplished on your own, be a good citizen, then try for the olympics.

Greetings to all...

My name is Sean Reed and I'm a boxing journalist living in the Dallas/Ft. Worth area. I write for an international boxing site called fightbeat.com and a local site called northtexasboxing.com

I've known of Luis Yanez since he was barely 60 pounds(or less)competing in local tournaments, and for the better part of the past year, I've covered his international pursuits. He and his trainer, Dennis Rodarte have been very genuine and forthcoming with any information i've requested of them.

Knowing them as I do, Luis is 100% correct when he refers to this whole ugly ordeal as a "misunderstanding". I know for a FACT that Dan Campbell and the Olympic committee were informed of the situation with Luis' sister beforehand. Luis' camp even offered to fax, scan and/or overnight legitimate documentation(from a physician)verifying his sister's plight. From there, Luis was asked by Mr. Campbell and Mr. Millman "when will you return to Colorado Springs?" Luis gave them a specific date and it was agreed by all parties involved that his monthly stipend would be sacrificed as a form of punishment.

To repeat this In PLAIN English, it was AGREED Upon by Luis AND Campbell/Millman that he would be punished in the form of having his ENTIRE monthly allowance taken (a few thousand dollars). The "issue" was squashed and settled right then and there.

From there, Luis concerned himself with getting his family in order. I can honestly say that I don't know many ethnicities who treat family with the UTMOST importance that Latino's do. As such, I think Luis should be applauded for being there for his sister in a time of need. Instead of thinking about himself, the fame and the potential fortune he can make, Luis was thinking about his sister. That's ADMIRABLE, boys and girls.

As for the Hansen interview itself, Luis has been advised by his legal counsel to avoid getting into a he said-she said scenario with Dan Campbell. So when Mr. Hansen said, "Dan Campbell calls you the biggest liar he knows.", Luis smartly refused to be lured into a verbal battle. And when Mr. Hansen tried the same tactic on Dennis Rodarte, Mr. Rodarte did likewise. It's funny to me how a 19 year kid is more mature about the situation than the middle aged Dan Campbell is.

Speaking of Mr. Campbell, if any of you want to know how he REALLY is, refer to the links below. One of them was written by me and contains DIRECT QUOTES from Luis' teammates on the 2008 Olympic squad. The other piece was written by Ex Alba and contains other information that isn't necessarily being made public.

http://www.fightbeat.com/article_detail.php?AT=658

http://www.northtexasboxing.com/articles/ex/yanez.html

I must admit, I was a bit disturbed by the tone of some of these replies, so I was compelled to let the TRUTH of the matter be known. Feel free to reach me at anytime via email.

Sean Reed

ps. The "sign" Luis was making stands for "V-Power", which is a term used throughout Luis' gym, GTO. ALL of the fighters in the gym use it and the "sign" was Luis' silent way of acknowledging them. Letting them know they were on his mind and in his heart. No more, no less and certainly No different than when Carol Burnett used to tug her earlobe at the end of her variety show, in a silent gesture to one of her relatives.

Thanks for your perspective Sean. My question now is if he was told not to discuss the matter, why did he agree to do the interview surely knowing he would be asked about the situation and Campbell. The problem is when Dale asks about USA boxing making him choose between family and team, he doesn't directly answer, only that he wants to go back with his team. It's the same response he gave when asked about Campbell. Then when Dale asked him about the phone calls, he brushed it off as a miscommunication, without elaborating. It all comes across, to me at least, that he is trying to hide something. Not saying that he is. Just that it's the perception one could take away from watching the interview. I was hoping he would give insight into what happened; instead we got the same thing over and over.
I was not aware of the V sign, but that is another thing that is easy for people to misinterpret. Again, the perception being the big thing.
Thanks again for your comments. I'd enjoy hearing what else you have to say.

Im a female boxer currently 18 years old and i strongly believe that Yanez should be given another opportunity. I completely understand his family situation because i have been through a familiar situation as well. To me as i see for Luis family comes first....
After all Luis Yanez IS number 3 in THE WORLD and no one can take that away. Yanez has earned his way into the U.S. Olympic team with his hard training and outstanding skills. Many of us look up to him.
So to those people that want to end his opportunity, his dream of earning an Olympic medal i say this:

Have you honestly thought about how there will be no one representing the U.S. at 106? Do you honestly jst want for the U.S. to come back home without another possible medal? Well if thats what you desire for the U.S. to not represent at 106 than keep with your ridiculous attitudes and do not try to understand how family always comes first. Which makes you look completely inhumane and with lack of compassion to the ones you love.

Everyone keeps saying that family is first. We all understand that. The problem is that this was not the only reason. He did not just go home because of his sister. He went home for his graduation and to go to a dinner/fundraiser also. I would like to see one person that can honestly say that they understand why he could not pick up a telephone and call the OTC. And by the way, this is not the first time USAB threatened to kick him off the team. This incident probably broke the camels back. I wonder if his family needed help August 8th would he leave and go home and not call?

Luis Yanez is a latin legend. And yes he probably should have answered those phone calls but Dale Campbell acted unprofessional by saying that Luis was the biggest liar he knew. You don't make those kind of statements in public. Latinos are very close to their families and that's what makes families stay together. Latinos will always defend their families and not let them get stepped on by anyone. I have 3 daughters and a son and all of my kids are in boxing. We have seen Luis at a lot of the boxing tournaments and yes he is very loved by all boxers. Especially small boxers who want to be like him. And yes he does take time to speak to anyone who wants to know things about him. Luis Yanez is very well liked. And he has already proved he is special by making it to the Olympic Team. Not everyone gets that far. He will have to live with his mistake by not answering his phone while on leave but he will go far and he is already somebody. And no one can take that away from him. We love you Luis Yanez....and you are the "Latin Legend".