Letter from USPSA President Phil Strader on the Paul Hendrix cheating scandal

Posted this morning on Facebook:

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I think that this is a solid, reasonable, and balanced response. Lacking any way to prove that Hendrix colluded with others conclusively, the punishment should fall squarely on his shoulders, and a lifetime ban is the only appropriate punishment.

My only question is why this was posted on Facebook, and not emailed to the entire membership at large?

17 Comments

  1. Why did they post it on Facebook? It’s cheaper and quicker. It was released yesterday and now you are sharing it with us today…. if they mailed it I wouldn’t see it until sometime late next week (at the earliest).

    On top of that there is that whole “saving trees” thing that people talk about…..

    1. It could have been emailed or included in the weekly USPSA email newsletter at practically no cost.

    2. Mailing would have costs upwards of $20,000, which is a large unplanned expense for an organization like USPSA. I’m glad ti did go on facebook. It showed members and no-members that USPSA will not tolerate cheating. Now, I hope IDPA would refuse any membership attempt by the cheater.

      1. While I agree that a physical mailing would be entirely cost-prohibitive in this case, your estimate seems high.

        Realistically, to mail just that letter, you’d do it as bulk mail on a postal permit. In terms of postage, ~$5,400 is a good rough ballpark, but in reality it would probably be lower (bulk mail for non-profits is generally under ~18 cents per piece). This could be a high estimate depending on how closely USPSA members are grouped geographically.

        As far as the piece of mail goes, you’d probably be looking at ~$6,000 for a self-mailer (28#), and ~$8,000 for a single B&W 20# 8.5×11″ sheet in a #10 envelope.

        TLDR: It’d probably be closer to ~$12,000-15,000.

        1. Someone has to print 30,000 letters and stuff 30,000 envelops. Assuming you want the letter to go out in less than a year, USPSA would have to contract out the mailing at a one time only price. So $.66 per letter, printed, stuffed, and mailed is a pretty accurate number. USPSA would know the exact amount. Do they not send annual renewal notices. The members are all over the place. I can tell you that I’m the only USPSA or IDPA shooter in my zip code, and that covers over 10,000 addresses.

          1. The two big costs are postage, and time. The fact that they are a non-profit entity greatly reduces the cost of postage, and opting for a self-mailer makes the process far less time consuming (because a self-mailer doesn’t require an envelope).

    1. Without any proof it would likely make a bad situation worse to try to expand the scope of this beyond the individual in question. This is probably the best way to handle it.

      1. Sounds like we don’t want to know the truth, sounds like the Government . . .

        1. It isn’t really an issue of what we do or don’t want to know; It’s an issue of what can actually be proven.

          The issue is really that, while there is ample proof that Mr. Hendrix doctored scores, there is no smoking gun linking Mr. Hendrix’s behavior to other shooters.

          Without evidence that the shooter(s) benefiting from Mr. Hendrix’s antics was/were in on the scam, any action taken would really be nothing more than a witch hunt.

  2. I wonder what the other shooting sports (IDPA, NRA AP, etc…) will do with this info? Would it be unheard of for them to also issue bans/suspenesions as well?

    1. You know, in boxing, if you’re suspended in one state all the other states will refuse you a fight license. I hope NRA, AP, 3gun, and IDPA will do the same. There is no place for this guy.

  3. I will give Strader credit for prompt, clear and decisive action on this. Anything less would have discredited USPSA itself very quickly.

    I’m of two minds on the question of the competitor who benefited most clearly from the score manipulation. But its clear that that competitor will have his reputation diminished as a result.

  4. I don’t think I get emails from USPSA itself, and I know I’ve never gotten any kind of regular updates from them other than the Front Sight magazine. For me, at least, this got through to me faster. But I’m a pretty casual member.

  5. Mr. Hendrix is a retired LEO, but is still certified and a reserve officer who basically only works as a “Range Officer” for High Point Police. Interesting

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