Day 6: Whistleblower recording outs the VA's hidden ball field trick
“Our advocates, who are a little testy out there, are gonna get up in arms when they see that there's another ball field being built,” said a VA official in a recorded call.
The UCLA baseball complex, situated on roughly ten acres of the VA Greater Los Angeles Medical Center campus, took center stage during the sixth day of the Powers v. McDonough trial, as plaintiffs introduced a recording of VA executives discussing how veterans and advocates would react to the construction of a new practice field on government land. The recording can be heard in “The Promised Land,” a documentary film short that’s a part of Home of the Brave, Long Lead’s multi-part, multimedia feature on the West LA VA.
“Our advocates, who are a little testy out there, are gonna get up in arms when they see that there's another ball field being built,” Robert McKenrick, former deputy director of the medical center, can be heard saying in the recording.
The audio discussing the construction and opening of the Branca Family practice field at Jackie Robinson Stadium was played during the continued examination of former medical center director Steven Braverman (who was taking the stand for a second day) by plaintiff’s counsel Mark Rosenbaum.
Rosenbaum took aim at the baseball complex, UCLA’s lease, and naming rights to the fields.
This was not the first time the issue of the field has been raised during the trial. On day four, current Deputy Director John Kuhn told the plaintiffs’ counsel that the field “did not principally benefit veterans.”
“You are aware that the West Los Angeles Leasing Act of 2016 requires land use agreements on the property, whether they're leases or easements or revocable licenses, to principally benefit veterans. Is that correct?” Rosenbaum asked Braverman on Tuesday.
“Yes,” Braverman answered.
Rosenbaum noted that the VA does not have a thorough definition of “principally benefit” and that Braverman had previously characterized the benefits as being “in the eye of the beholder” in a deposition.
Decisions regarding leases and their potential benefits to veterans are made by a committee, Braverman explained. He did not know if veterans were able to give input on those decisions.
In the recording, McKenrick said veterans would not be happy with the announcement of the new practice field and chose to allow UCLA to announce the project.
“I knew that there would be some who would be opposed (to the field),” Braverman said. “I believe it to have been a mistake to have not engaged people more transparently ahead of time, and then just have to justify the rationale for the lease after the fact.”
Playing the field
Jackie Robinson Stadium is just the latest name for the baseball field on the West LA VA grounds. The property has had ballfields practically dating back to its founding in 1888. But UCLA has been playing on the veteran property since 1933, taking over fields where American Legion baseball teams used to play. For more on the history of this property, read Part Two of Home of the Brave: “Rise and Fall of the Soldiers Home.”
Rosenbaum also asked Braverman about naming rights for UCLA’s baseball facility, stating that under a federal law, it is illegal for buildings on government land to be named after individuals without congressional approval.
The Jackie Robinson Complex includes facilities named after multiple people, including former Dodger pitcher Ralph Branca. Rosenbaum also noted that the Branca family had also donated money for the field, around $1 million per a news report referenced by Braverman.
“You never asked for that number, whatever this total is, to be turned over to the VA for the use of veterans, isn’t that right?” Rosenbaum asked.
“I did not ask for that money to come to the VA,” Braverman said. He also testified that he wrote a letter to UCLA stating that the naming of the facility was illegal and improper but did not insist that the name be removed.
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Questioning then turned to the Brentwood School, which leases 22 acres of the VA campus upon which it has built an athletic facility.
Two Office of the Inspector General reports from 2018 and 2020 that examined lease agreements with the VA found that the school’s agreements were illegal under the Leasing Act, Braverman said.
Braverman said the VA disagreed with the finding, but that some changes were made to the services, offerings, and donations the school provided in-kind, per the lease agreement.
Rosenbaum also asked Braverman about the fiduciary duties of the VA. The VA, Braverman said, has a fiduciary duty “to make sure we use resources appropriately, and that we identify where those resources should be used. Some of that includes the provision of resources toward housing.”
“Do you believe the VA has a fiduciary duty to provide permanent supportive housing to all unhoused veterans in Los Angeles?” Rosenbaum asked.
“I would say no,” Braverman said.
“You don't believe that the VA has a fiduciary duty (to house homeless veterans) under the 1888 deed — isn't that right, sir?”
“Judge Carter has found that we do, and I'm not a lawyer associated with that. That wasn't the position of the VA prior to this trial.”
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During questioning by defense counsel, Braverman described some of the issues homeless veterans on Veterans Row had faced getting access to shelter on the campus.
“In that time, when I first arrived at VA, I would say that there were people who were reluctant, there were people who were distrustful, there were people who felt like they had been abandoned or weren't being provided the care that they needed,” Braverman said. “And there were others who were looking to try to get access to that care.”
The VA has a policy that did not allow homeless encampments on campus, Braverman said.
Other veterans encountered issues involving sobriety requirements, smoking restrictions and pet restrictions (some of which have been loosened).
When the COVID pandemic began, Braverman helped implement a program to allow people to bring their tents onto the campus, but declined a donation of 25 large tents due to size concerns. (For more on this, read “The Old Guard and the New Fight,” Part Five of Home of the Brave.) Braverman called the decision a mistake. As a result, the large tents were set up on Veterans Row.
Eventually the large tents were allowed on campus, and the success of that initiative led to the placing of the tiny shelters which were purchased by the VA, Braverman said.
The line of questioning aroused Judge Carter.
“Why were you able to purchase tiny shelters, but you can't construct long term support housing?” Carter asked. “Who's making that decision?”
“The interpretation—,” Braverman said.
“No, not the interpretation. Who’s making that decision?” Carter asked. “I keep asking for a written document. I’m going to assume there is none unless I see it.”
Braverman returns to the stand on Wednesday for a third day of testimony.
Proceedings for Powers v. McDonough will continue on Wednesday, August 14 at 8:00 a.m.
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