Mutiny of The Matoika - The "mutiny"

The "mutiny"

By the time the ship neared Antwerp, the team members had had enough of the "rusty old troop carrier". The team initially threatened to boycott the games if the conditions in the host city were not better than those aboard the Matoika, but quickly rescinded that. The group, with McDonald and Norman Ross serving as ringleaders, drafted a resolution in which they condemned the AOC and outlined their grievances and demands:

• the quarters aboard the ship were unlivable
• the food on board was terrible.
• they requested better accommodation in Antwerp
• they requested cabin passage on the way home
• and they requested train fare to their homes from New York after returning.

They were careful to give credit to the crew of Princess Matoika who, in the athletes' assessment, did "everything possible to improve conditions". The document was signed by 150 of the athletes; some of the U.S. Army athletes agreed with the resolution but could not sign it. They had 200 copies of the resolution printed and addressed copies to Secretary of War Newton Diehl Baker, the members of the AOC, and members of the press.