By M. Duncan Scott<\/p>\n
PHOENIX, Ariz., September 13. DURING the Athens Olympics, SwimInfo received a note from reader Eric Earling complaining about particularly ill-informed and disrespectful comments from a writer in his local paper covering the games.<\/p>\n
Across the country there are sportswriters and TV reporters who have no special affinity toward Olympic sports but are assigned to cover them anyway. Someone has to do it, at least once every four years. <\/p>\n
These poor stiffs have to spend two weeks every couple of years in boring spots like Barcelona, Athens or various winter venues and report back to the home folks as if they care, or know something about, archery, field hockey, gymnastics, ski jumping or \u2026 swimming. <\/p>\n
They generally reek with underlying ignorance about the event they are being forced to cover. They radiate an obvious preference to be anywhere else, possibly covering a pro game of some sort, something they better understand because they do it more than once a quadrennium. And yet they sometimes also have an overpowering need to make a comment so everyone will know they are \u201cinsiders.\u201d<\/p>\n
At the bottom of a cutesy, newsy August 20 column in the Seattle Times<\/i> (\u201cServings from Mr. Beachball\u201d), Staff Columnist Ron Judd self-righteously attempted, by language too cute, to skewer American swimming in general and 27 pretty fair swimmers specifically, without bothering to give any basis for the defamation. And make no mistake, it was defamation of character. Whether to a legal standard or not, Judd\u2019s intent was clearly to say, without citing any proof but his personal presumption, present top American swimmers are drugged. Publishing such a position statement where it reaches the American swimming community is defamatory.<\/p>\n
Mr. Earling hoped others among SwimInfo\u2019s readers might agree with him and respond to the Times and the offending scribe, possibly opening their eyes to their irresponsible behavior more effectively than just his one letter might. If you wish to help Mr. Earling out, Judd can be reached at Ron Judd: 206-464-8280 or at rjudd@seattletimes.com. <\/p>\n
The 13th of 13 entries in Judd\u2019s column went like this:<\/p>\n
————–<\/p>\n
Having it Both Ways <\/b><\/p>\n
"U.S. swimmers and their coaches were quick to exult
\nover Wednesday's smashing, by the U.S. women's team,
\nof the old 800-meter relay record set in 1987 by the
\nEast Germans, now widely discredited because of Iron
\nCurtain doping programs. <\/p>\n
"'It burned people a lot,' said U.S. women's coach Mark
\nSchubert. 'We all know the reason why. We're very proud
\nto have the record back.'<\/p>\n
"Does that mean he's saying that no existing U.S. swim
\nmark was ever drug-assisted? <\/p>\n
"Hate to say it, but that's a pretty thin limb to climb
\nout on. <\/p>\n
—————<\/p>\n
Judd obviously means the American pot is calling the East German kettle black. But as far as that limb he says American swimming is out on, Judd doesn\u2019t even show he can find a tree.<\/p>\n
Ron, let us introduce you to 13 special men: <\/p>\n
Gary Hall, Jr., Jason Lezak, Michael Phelps, Klete Keller, Larsen Jensen, Lenny Krazelburg, Aaron Piersol, Brendan Hansen, Ian Crocker, Anthony Ervin, Neil Walker, Ryan Lochte and Peter Vanderkaay. <\/p>\n
And there are 14 fine female counterparts: <\/p>\n
Dara Torres, Natalie Coughlin, Lindsay Benko, Janet Evans, Megan Quann, Amanda Beard, Misty Hyman, Kaitlin Sandeno, Kara Lynn Joyce, Amanda Weir, Jenny Thompson, Carley Piper, Dana Vollmer and Barb Bedford.<\/p>\n
Mr. Judd, these are the people who held or shared the \u201cexisting U.S. swim mark(s)\u201d in the Olympic events at time your note was published, including new marks set in Athens to that point. <\/p>\n
Which of these athletes have ever been \u201cdrug-assisted\u201d in some illegal fashion along the lines of the East German women of the 70s and 80s? You seem to claim insider knowledge of such a fact, but it sure wasn\u2019t revealed in your published remarks. It\u2019s time to put up\u2026or to retract.<\/p>\n
We are not so na\u00efve as to say there are not still \u201cenhanced\u201d swimmers out there, possibly even some Americans. But such serious charges must be backed by evidence, preferably direct but at least substantial circumstantial indicators. The years of hard work and dedication of clean athletes should not be slimed by clumsy and unsupported broad brush comments by the ignorant, lumping the clean with the dirty.<\/p>\n
SwimInfo<\/b>\u2019s sister publication, Swimming World<\/i> magazine, has long been at the forefront of the fight to keep swimming, and sport in general, free from drug stains. Through both thorough investigation and long-term editorial commentary, Swimming World<\/i> has pushed sporting governing bodies and participants in the sport to catch and condemn those seeking unfair advantage. <\/p>\n
Among the motivations for this persevering cause are the respect and admiration \u2013 attitudes too many journalists either think are unworthy or somehow vaguely inappropriate in the post-Watergate journalism world \u2013 we have for the skill, creativity and character of our clean champions and their coaches. <\/p>\n
But we recognize the importance of continuing vigilance in this area. We recognize that even with improved pursuit of the problems, if we do not continually seek to improve our pursuit, cheaters will again find a way to slip ahead. <\/p>\n
Observations can be the building blocks of proof. Inordinate female bulk. Complexion issues. Unusually quick improvement, often at stages of life not normally associated with major physiological changes (Florence Griffith-Joyner, anyone?). Unexplained absences from competitions that have drug testing. Programs producing excellence excessively balanced toward women. <\/p>\n
These and other signs fueled both suspicion and the push for testing in ways to produce objective exposure of cheaters. Some or all of these signs were observed for years before unassailable \u201cproof\u201d was revealed against an offending national program or individual athlete. <\/p>\n
Doubt and naivet\u00e9 were swept away by East German Stasi records and trial testimony, multiple positive findings from unannounced testing of Chinese athletes in Japan just after the 1994 Rome World Championships, test specimens from Ireland\u2019s Michelle Smith showing alcohol levels that would have been lethal if naturally produced and vials of steroids found in travel bags of Chinese swimmers on their way to the 1998 Perth World Championships.<\/p>\n
In each of these instances there was a thick cloud of proverbial \u201csmoke\u201d before an actual \u201cfire\u201d was eventually found.<\/p>\n
This writer agrees with Mr. Earling that it is incumbent on Judd and the Seattle Times<\/i> to at least cite findings of \u201csmoke\u201d before so casually impugning the character of so many admirable athletes. <\/p>\n
When the East Germans set the 4 x 200 relay record, smoke had been billowing around their program for 15 years. Schubert coached top programs throughout that era, continually having his athletes face juiced women. He coached Shirley Babashoff, who in Montreal in 1976 probably lost more Olympic glory to drugged slugs than any other athlete ever. After the fall of the Iron Curtain, the \u201cfire\u201d of drug scandal revelations in East Germany blazed white-hot. <\/p>\n
Schubert was in a special position to appreciate and celebrate the fall of this record. But Judd may not have understood this. There is not usually much depth to the expertise one can pick up in two weeks of reading information releases from the media staff of event organizers. <\/p>\n
So cut Schubert a break and let him celebrate the fall of the most palpable remaining reminder of that shameful sporting regime. Judd\u2019s note is parallel to comments by those who didn\u2019t even take a breath between describing the fall of the Twin Towers three years ago and turning the blame for it onto policies of America \u2013 the obvious victim — rather than on the perpetrators themselves. Judd\u2019s shame is in suggesting moral equivalence between performances of those proven dirty and Americans, who had been among the competitive victims for so many years but overcame through years of hard(er) work and dedication. <\/p>\n
Maybe there is smoke somewhere here, but Judd sure didn\u2019t set any out 08-20-04 that was relevant to his comment. Apparently he is a member of the ludicrous, though now commonplace, school of journalistic thought which requires, regardless of any rational review of the facts, that in all things we must \u201cBlame America First.\u201d<\/p>\n
So, to Mr. Judd and the Seattle Times<\/i>: Step up to the plate. It is time to make things right. Cite smoke. Cite fire. Or cite an apology.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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