In December of 2013, USA, along with six other ICSD member countries from the Panamericana de Sordos (PANAMDES) sent a letter to President Valery Rukhledev regarding concerns with then-CEO Mark Cooper.
In the letter (attached in PDF here), the PANAMDES countries listed several concerns regarding Mr. Cooper's performance spanning his four-year term as the chief executive of the International Committee of Sports for the Deaf. At the time the letter was sent to President Rukhledev, the ICSD Executive Committee was meeting in Moscow, Russia.
On January 9, President Rukhledev sent out an email to all ICSD member countries announcing that the employment of Mr. Cooper and ICSD office administrator Roanna Simmons were terminated.
USA supports ICSD's decision to remove Mr. Cooper from his CEO office, however, the Federation is not in a position to comment on the terms and conditions of Mr. Cooper's contract or employment with ICSD because the Federation has never seen the contract created by former ICSD president Craig Crowley for Mr. Cooper.
In the coming weeks, USA will be waiting for additional information to come from the ICSD office in Europe. As information comes to us, we will provide updates on our Facebook page, Twitter (@USADSF) and on our website. The Federation is aware that the decisions made by ICSD has an impact on Deaf sports in the United States and our ongoing struggle to gain equal parity and treatment of our Deaflympians on the national and international level. We have faith that the correct decisions will be made by ICSD.