Clay Evans wrote me an email today asking, "Why is the blog so grumpy lately?" He also spent a full paragraph defending Amanda Beard and telling me to lighten up, but enough about his problems. ;-)
Here is an article from Lane 9 News regarding the "kangaroo arbitration hearing" that Tara Kirk suffered through so as to get herself rightfully placed on the Olympic team after Jessica Hardy tested positive for a banned substance. This whole mess HAS made me grumpy.
If Tara Kirk does possess an email which she suggested clearly states USA swimming knew about the Jessica Hardy's positive test before the FINA deadline to declare a team, then Tara Kirk should litigate with USA Swimming and get her congressman involved as well.
Here is a link to the Lane 9 News article: [Link]
5 comments:
I second that, they let her down, someone needs to face the consequences.
Plenty of reasons for swimming-lovers to be grumpy right now (though I agree with Clay on one point -- Amanda Beard is not one of them). Three great blogs you might want to check out, all of which contain more grumpy stuff than yours: Christine Brennan's "Best Seat in the House" blog at USA Today, in which she writes about the "Ripple effect of swimming fiasco"; Ron Judd's "Olympics Insider"; and Lisa Dillman's "Ticket to Beijing". Excerpts from her chat with Mark Schubert constitute required grumpy-inducing reading.
"... the arbitrator denied Ms. Kirk's claims, and found that USA Swimming had reasonably followed its Selection Procedures and had reasonably denied Ms. Kirk's demand that she be added to the Olympic Team."
I'm confused here after reading the Lane 9 News article. Didn't Tara finish third behind Hardy with an 'A' time? Just what reason were they relying on to deny her? Was this action an attempt to place her on to the team even now; and if so, why did Tara believe it was possible to still make the team when USA Swimming had missed the team roster submission deadline? Some explanation about the legal background involved here would have nice.
Anyways I hope somebody pays for this massive screw up at USA Swimming and pays big time!
After reading the links provided by danthefiddleman USA Swimming's excuse apparently is no procedure to name replacements exists when qualified individuals are unable to participate in the Games. That's some technicality! They're actually arguing because of their own incompetence (and if an organization who's ultimate purpose is to ensure the best possible swimmers qualify doesn't have a procedure for allowing replacements for illness, accident, or for any other reasons that's incompetence with a capital 'I') they aren't allowed under the rules to name Tara to the team. So Tara's out of luck. What chutzpah!
You should be a co-writer here.
I am assuming that the Hardy appeal ate up the time involved for Kirk to be added due to that presumption of innocent "thingy"; (Yeah, that's the ticket), which really does not exist in a dope test once the A and B samples have been vetted.
They didn't add Kirk and the others because Hardy was not "officially" off the team even though she was removed from the training camp.
All they had t do was make a phone call like they did for Kara Lynn Joyce and it would have been moral, ethical and legal.
Instead, USAS; (in my opinion), had a failure in execution and leadership and now insist they were simply following the rules leadership.
USA Swimming and the US Olympic committee live in Ivory Towers and apparently do what they want.
Tara Kirk really should get her congressman involved in an investigation.
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