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Olympics

SYDNEY BECOMES SITE FOR VERBAL WARFARE OVER DRUG TESTING

          Despite the drug controversy surrounding her husband,
     U.S. shotputter C.J. Hunter, Marion Jones "seemed relaxed
     and even spirited" yesterday during the first round of her
     200-meter race, according to Amy Shipley of the WASHINGTON
     POST.  When her name was announced, "she raised her arms
     [and] grinned widely" (WASHINGTON POST, 9/27).  After news
     hit Sydney that Hunter had failed drug tests over the
     summer, the USOC changed its policy and took away his
     athlete credential for the Games, giving him tickets so he
     can watch his wife compete.  IOC VP Dick Pound: "He
     certainly should not be an accredited athlete.  What the
     USOC wishes to do with someone who is suspended for doping,
     it's up to them.  But it's an opportunity for them to
     indicate what their real stance is on doping in sport"
     (Toronto GLOBE & MAIL, 9/27).  IOC VP Jacques Rogge: "If
     this man has committed a doping offense, it's moral and
     ethical to take away the accreditation and say, 'sir, you
     have no place here'" (N.Y. POST, 9/27). In Orlando, David
     Whitley, on Jones: "NBC's Designated Diva is being dragged
     into the pharmaceutical muck" (ORLANDO SENTINEL, 9/27).
          A CASE AGAINST THE U.S.: In Montreal, Jack Todd: "Had
     U.S. officials immediately acknowledged Hunter's positive
     tests and suspended him last summer, they could have
     minimized the effect on Jones.  By refusing to come clean
     ... they created a situation in which this story broke at
     the worst possible time" (Montreal GAZETTE, 9/27).  In N.Y.,
     Jere Longman writes the IOC made the Hunter case "a
     political issue and sent a harsh message to the United
     States Olympic and track officials: Don't complain about the
     rest of the world until you address your own problems." 
     USATF CEO Craig Masback: "The notion that we are the
     whipping boy of the Olympic Games and the drug-testing
     movement is absurd" (N.Y. TIMES, 9/27).  Masback was
     interviewed on NBC's "Today" by Matt Lauer.  Lauer: "You
     came in here with the biggest story of the Olympics, Marion
     Jones. ... But this week has not been a good week. ... How
     much has this hurt the sport of track and field?"  Masback:
     "It definitely hurts. ... I'm proud of what we do in drug-
     testing in the sport of track and field.  We tested before
     anyone else did."  Lauer then continued to press Masback
     about when he found out that Hunter had failed his drug
     tests over the summer, but Masback refused to discuss
     specifics of the Hunter tests (NBC, 9/27).  NEWSDAY's
     Johnette Howard writes that it is "incumbent upon the USOC
     and U.S. Track and Field to answer the latest cover-up
     charges truthfully and completely" (NEWSDAY, 9/27).
          INT'L AFFAIRS: On ESPN.com, Mark Kreidler wrote, "The
     international athletic community is sick of American
     arrogance on the drug issue" (ESPN.com, 9/26).  In Phoenix,
     Dan Bickley writes the Hunter "fiasco has fueled a long-held
     IOC belief that the U.S. protects its drug-filled athletes
     in order to protect its portfolio of corporate sponsors"
     (ARIZONA REPUBLIC, 9/27).  In Detroit, Mitch Albom calls the
     situation a "mess. We have foreign officials accusing us of
     covering up our drug cheats. We have people thinking Jones
     should somehow be diminished by her mere marriage to Hunter"
     (DETROIT FREE PRESS, 9/27).  Also in Detroit, Bob Wojnowski
     writes the Games have "officially turned into a piddling
     match, with angry charges about Americans' piety [and]
     pointed questions about drug-testing procedures" (DETROIT
     NEWS, 9/27).  A CHICAGO SUN-TIMES editorial states, "The
     Olympics appear to have a new event -- mudslinging" (9/27).
          THE GLORY OF THE GAMES LOST? In Chicago, Philip Hersh
     writes that the Hunter case "is the latest example of how
     trying to make sport clean has been reduced to the question
     of whose laundry is dirtiest."  Pound: "Everybody is
     outfumbling each other for the check on this one."  Hersh
     adds that doping "has created an atmosphere in which the
     credibility of [event] results is in doubt" (CHICAGO
     TRIBUNE, 9/27).  During the intro to NBC's "Nightly News,"
     Tom Brokaw asked, "Can top athletes really win if they don't
     use drugs?"  Brokaw: "The glory of these Games is being
     diminished by Olympians busted for using performance-
     enhancing drugs and banned substances" (NBC, 9/26). USA
     TODAY's Christine Brennan: "One more positive drug test and
     I wonder how many millions of people around the world will
     switch off their [TV] sets for good" (USA TODAY, 9/27). 

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