Lee came under scrutiny during 2008 after The New York Times reported some athletes felt uncomfortable with his strong advocacy of a religious lifestyle for the athletes at the Olympic Training Center. According to the article, Lee frequently held Bible study classes, encouraged his archers to sing hymns and attend church, and sponsored the baptisms of at least four archers, including Brady Ellison.[8]
A follow-up article from the Times in November of that year confirmed that Lee had ceased to mix spirituality and archery: "In a recent telephone interview, Lee said he no longer held Bible-study classes, and executives for USA Archery said they had explained to Lee that such behavior was unacceptable."[9]
The same follow-up article in the Times named Lee "a controversial figure" who attracts two kinds of people: "fans who say his style brings uniformity to the sport, but also critics who are reluctant to give up their own methods."[10]
Opponents of the NTS see Lee's efforts to change archery technique as negative, saying that the NTS stunts innovation and experimentation on the part of the athlete.[10] Yet USA Archery has no policy forcing archers to adopt the method, and several top US archers have not made the switch, including Olympian Butch Johnson and Sydney Silver Medalist Vic Wunderle. Proponents of the NTS point to the repeatable nature of the system, and the logic of having a scientifically-based method that can be shared easily and implemented consistently on a nationwide basis.
Proponents of NTS often cite anecdotal evidence in claims that training with the NTS alleviated back or shoulder pain previously associated with shooting other techniques, as well as sports psychology issues such as target panic.[11]
Teresa Iaconi, coach of 17-year-old 2012 Olympic hopeful Ariel Gibilaro, told ESPN that she was "once of NTS' biggest skeptics." Said Iaconi, "I refused to teach it for three years because I didn't understand it. But I read up on it, and I now understand that it is based on biomechanics. It doesn't stunt innovation because no one is forced to use the system. We have several top archers who don't use it. But what I like is that now we finally have an easy and repeatable way to teach archery."[5]
