I just sent a note to Jamie Davis, new CEO for USA Water Polo. This might seem odd; I could just contact USAWP and ask to speak with him. But I fear they might not be amenable to this; they were not very responsive to the story I wrote two weeks ago detailing what was known but not confirmed (until this week) that Davis would make the jump from CEO of USA Volleyball to running USAWP.

My mailing—I mean who doesn’t like a hand-written note?—is a “getting to know you” request, because I really know nothing about the person selected to be the new face of water polo in the US. (I’m not alone in this). That, and a bit of apology. My piece in Swimming World was less about who was anointed the new USAWP CEO and more about those passed over for the gig.

Which, in my humble opinion, was the point. Passing over Adam Krikorian, greatest coach in USAWP history, is a pretty big story—and I really want to know what Coach K thinks about his future with the organization (that’s a question for another day, like after the Paris Olympics).

Ignoring John Abdou, a USAWP lifer (until he left) was also a head-scratcher. Abdou spent a decade in high performance leadership for the organization—and held leadership positions with the Olympic Development Program (ODP) and the national team for years before that. Cutting loose one of your top executives is NOT a great look for your organization. Chris Ramsey, who has been CEO the past 18 years, did not groom a successor from within. Obviously.

So, I didn’t really write much about Davis, who—based on the glowing press release circulated by USAWP media relations—sounds pretty good. He has lots of experience in Olympic sports, definitely a plus right now for USAWP which is dealing with a potentially nightmarish situation. It’s possible the Olympics’ oldest team sport could be an afterthought at the 2028 Games in Los Angeles. Plans are for a fantastic swim venue in LA, with swim events staged in a temporary pool installed in SoFi Stadium, home of the Rams and the Chargers of the NFL. But, SoFi will also host the LA Games’ opening ceremony, moving aquatics to the second week of competition—and pushing water polo out of this fantastic venue and into a parking lot… in Long Beach.

One can only hope that Davis will work this out for the benefit of American water polo.

According to the USAWP presser, Davis also has experience in merchandising, media and financial services. Sure, those skills will come in handy, though I wonder if Davis signed off on the five year sponsorship deal by Flavor Flav before he became CEO. Don’t get me wrong; there’s something perversely appealing about an aging rapper promoting a lily-white sport, especially someone so adept at drawing attention to himself. But it’s a bit of a stretch to have Flav—not exactly a gentleman when it came to respecting the mothers of his eight children (and his onscreen dalliance with Brigitte Nielsen was, well, surreal)—pumping up some of America's most prominent female Olympians.

No, we won’t talk about this. I have a long connection with Philly, where Davis hails from and where—allegedly—he will reside while running an organization based in California. Some might see this as a problem; I see this as an opportunity. The Northeast is the most populated of USAWP’s 12 regional zones but has the organization’s worst representation by membership. If CEO Davis is going to produce magical growth for a sport that has struggled to break into the limelight—Flavor Flav’s efforts notwithstanding—perhaps he might be open to hearing about what’s happening in New York City.

Or not; what struck me in doing the research for my piece in Swimming World was that long-time polo fans and advocates felt shut out by Davis’ selection—a continuation of the isolation promoted by the previous regime. Why would they start listening to them (or me) now?