>It is possible to argue that if, say, Maurice Greene beat
>everybody before the trials but was sick and had to miss them that he
>deserved a place. Of course everyone knows the rules in the US's case but
>what's the betting soon that this happens with someone and because track
>and
>is now professional that someone tries to sue because of restraint of
>trade?
I'm betting against such a lawsuit. The US is a lawsuit-happy place to be
sure, but we'd have seen this kind of suit before now if it were going to
happen. Lots of top-ranked US athletes have had a bad day and failed to
make the Olympic team by finishing out of the top three (potential gold
medalists Dan O'Brien in '92 and Jeff Hartwig in 2000 come prominently to
mind) yet none has sued. Why? Because everyone knows and understands the
rules going in, and especially because the athletes themselves believe in
and support the first-three-past-the-post rule.
Kurt Bray
_________________________________________________________________
Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com/intl.asp
