Today, another chapter was written regarding the AMA / Derek “Nobby” Clark inauguration debacle and controversy, as the American Motorcyclist Association announced that it would have all voting members for the Hall of Fame cast votes on a supplemental ballot concerning the induction of Nobby Clark into the organization.
Allowing the entire voting-membership to decided on Mr. Clark’s appointment to the Hall of Fame, the move will not impact other candidates for the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame (AMHF), and comes in response to the organization’s finding that Clark had been inappropriately added to the original Hall of Fame voting ballot.
For those who don’t keep track of the AMA’s general failings as an organization, this latest endeavor involves famed mechanic Nobby Clark (references from Mike Hailwood, Giacomo Agostini, and Kenny Roberts Sr.), who was inducted in the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame earlier this year, only to find his appointment had been rescinded once it had become clear that the AMHF’s nomination process had deviated from protocol.
Upon hearing of Nobby’s removal from the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame, stalwarts of American motorcycling’s old guard, including Kenny Roberts Sr., announced that they wished to be removed from the organization, in a move of solidarity with Clark.
Hoping to end this PR disaster, the AMA and AMHF have announced that Clark will get his chance to be inducted into the Hall of Fame, putting together a supplemental ballot for the race-tuner that all voting-members will get to vote on for this Hall of Fame class.
The move by the AMA and the AMHF restores at least some of the faith in the democratic system at the organizations, though it does little to belay the idea that the good old boys network in the AMA is not still alive and well today. True to bureaucracy, the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame will setup a task force to assess the nomination process at the Hall of Fame, with the hope of creating stricter criteria for the group’s methodology in selecting Hall of Fame nominees, as well as checks and balances for its inner workings.
Source: AMA
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