-----Original Message-----
From:
Ed Grant <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: track net
<[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Date:
Tuesday, September 05, 2000 7:37 PM
Subject: t-and-f: Olympic
Journalism Ban
Netters:
Does anyone know just when the Oly,pic ban on jouralism by athletes went into
effect?
Also, does this ban mean that athletes can only go on TV during the Olympics
if they are being question and not if they are questioning another athlete or
commenting on an event. (Does anyone seriously believe the IOC would interfere
with the goose that lays the golden egg?)
When there was a strict amatert code in effect at the Olympics, paid
journalism by an athlete would have been a violation. But that is no longer
part of the equation, so what is the reason for the rule now? And could it
really be enforced in the U.S. (e.g., during the Atlanta Olympics), given the
strict U.S. constitutional support for freedom of speech and freedom of the
press
There have, of course, been several Olympic participants (even at least one
gold medalist) who became journalists in later life. One was Earl Eby, a Penn
grad who covered the sport (including, of course, the Relays) for many years
for, I believe, the Bulletin. And Harold Abrahams became the leading track and
field journalist in England after his win at Paris in 1924.
For
the life of me, I cannot see the rationale (and certainly not any
justification) for the rule. After all, any criticism an athlete might have
could easily be [passed on to the more-than-willing hatchet-type journalists
who have always been part of any Olympic press corps.
Ed Grant.
