Regarding the ongoing controversy surrounding recently fired North Whidbey Aquatic Club coach Neil Romney and administrative assistant Vikki Robinson, I can’t help but wonder what is really going on here.
Mr. Romney apparently is a good coach, as his supporters have voiced, and North Whidbey Park and Recreation District Director Bill Walker, does not dispute that. So the issue must be elsewhere. Doesn’t that always mean — follow the money?
Didn’t Mr. Romney admit that he was fired for insubordination because he wouldn’t provide Mr. Walker access to the swim team’s financial information?
Didn’t Ms. Robinson also admit that she was fired for the same reason?
It doesn’t take much imagination to see that Romney’s explanation that he was fired for retaliation is simply a smokescreen to attempt to divert public attention away from whatever he is trying to hide.
Likewise, Robinson’s explanation that she “wanted time to find out if it was legal to give him her password to the database” is equally absurd.
As a professional database manager, I know it is not illegal for a director to have bookkeeping access to one of his own programs.
The only thing more ridiculous than using this as an excuse is to think people will actually believe it.
Second, anyone who has ever used a team or club database knows that you never have to give out your own password to permit access — all you have to do is give administrative rights to the person who needs access; in fact, for security reasons, you would never give out your own password!
If Mr. Walker didn’t understand this aspect of online platforms, surely someone who had used it for four years (as Robinson apparently did) would have.
Open the books! Let’s see what Robinson was concerned about sharing and what Romney claims is the cause of the firing.
As Julie Wilson so eloquently stated, the taxpayers do deserve transparency. And since they are subsidizing the club to some degree, and since these are, therefore, public records, lets view them!
My guess is that there is a reason why Romney and Robinson wanted to hide the books from their boss.
Susan Grayce
Seattle
