Bylaws Would Allow Ueberroth To Stay On USOC Board After Term

USOC To Allow Ueberroth To Stay On Its Board After His Term Expires

LET FREEDOM RING: In Sydney, Jacquelin Magnay reports the stance taken by the Australian Olympic Committee (AOC) ahead of this summer's Beijing Olympics to "allow its athletes freedom of speech to comment on Chinese issues ... may be copied by other committees around the world." It is "understood senior Olympic officials" from Great Britain and the U.S. have "been discussing the move by the AOC to re-write its team agreement with athletes to receive greater freedom." The AOC also "dropped a clause banning athletes from talking to the media about anything other than their own performances." However, the AOC "did adopt the IOC's broad interpretation of the rule banning protests and demonstrations, including actions, reactions and attitudes, appearance, clothing, gestures and any written and oral statements" (SYDNEY MORNING HERALD, 5/12). A WASHINGTON POST editorial stated China's "repressive norms are affecting the rest of the world," and the U.S. "must stick to its position that athletes, no less than other citizens, are free to express themselves peacefully in Beijing or anywhere else." No "worthy public goal can be pursued without a measure of controversy, debate and, yes, conflict. Let the struggles among and within nations be peaceful. But don't pretend they don't exist" (WASHINGTON POST, 5/11).

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