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Fifty years ago today
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Claims that this act prematurely ended Smith's athletics career were a little inflated, weren't they? He'd aleady signed a contract to play NFL football professionally after the games, so had effectively ended his own athletics career. Of course, I don't know what effect it had on his time in the NFL. Did sponsors and coaches snub him?Last edited by Rogin the Armchair fan; 16-10-2018, 09:53.
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The story of the Australian guy, silver medallist Peter Norman, in front of them is remarkable as well. All three wore the badge of the Olympic Project for Human Rights. Norman was a big critic of Australia's racist immigration policy, and totally sympathise with Smith and Carlos. In fact, it was Norman who suggested that Carlos wear Smith's left glove (Carlos had forgotten his gloves. Note which arm he raises).
And Norman suffered a shameful backlash in Australia, also and especially from the functionaries. Smith and Carlos were pallbearers at his funeral.
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I read an interesting footnote to the story of Smith and Carlos’s huge courage and where Norman got his badge from last week :
The forgotten story of the Harvard rowers who supported Tommie Smith and John Carlos
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That piece reminds me: Avery Brundage was a nasty piece of shit, wasn't he?
And, IIRC, he played a role in giving the Soviets the 1972 basketball gold. Or maybe that was some other meddling blazer.
The Olympics have always had a bit of a militarist/fascist/master-race aspect, I suppose. Since the 80s, everyone involved - except perhaps Putin - seems to have compromised and agreed that it's just about selling more Coke products.
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Brundage was an absolutely awful excuse for a human being, even by the depraved standards of the IOC.
Avery Brundage collected brickbats the way a light bulb attracts moths: pompous, sanctimonious, asinine, archaic, unbending, plutocratic, a tyrant, a jerk and an anachronism.
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I had to look that up.
https://www.nytimes.com/1972/09/10/a...st-hurrah.html
In reading about him on wikipedia, I noticed that Dick Pound was, for the most part, an admirer of Brundage. In my mind, that casts a shadow over all the anti-doping stuff, but I'm not sure exactly how.
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Any moderate examination of Dick Pound's statements revealed him to be an incredibly pompous blowhard. I'm almost certain hypocrite can be lobbed at him too, he was extremely forthright about American track and field sprinters being doped but curiously silent when scores of Canadian sprinters got pinched for doping.
Brundage was scum but the point man for the 1972 disgrace in basketball was Renato William Jones.
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Originally posted by Flynnie View PostAny moderate examination of Dick Pound's statements revealed him to be an incredibly pompous blowhard. I'm almost certain hypocrite can be lobbed at him too, he was extremely forthright about American track and field sprinters being doped but curiously silent when scores of Canadian sprinters got pinched for doping.
Brundage was scum but the point man for the 1972 disgrace in basketball was Renato William Jones.
I was unaware that Canada even had "scores" Olympic sprinters. I know about Ben Johnson, but that's it. Perhaps because Pound didn't make a fuss over the others.
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Out of nowhere in the 80s, Canada came up with a world-class team of sprinters in both sexes who were almost entirely West Indian migrants to Canada (France Garneau being a rare native-born Canadian). They won 9 Olympic medals from 84-92, not including Johnson.
Virtually all of them were coached by Charlie Francis, who was later discovered to be running a doping operation on the not-entirely-bogus premise that the Americans were getting away with all sorts of stuff, so why not us?
This is covered extensively in 9.79*, the very good 30-for-30 on Ben Johnson and the whole fallout from the 1988 Olympic 100 metres. It’s probably a bit equivocal for some people, since it’s very tu quoque, but it makes it pretty clear Carl Lewis was dirty as hell.Last edited by Flynnie; 16-10-2018, 20:20.
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Originally posted by ursus arctos View PostYou weren't close to being born yet, were you?
Seeing that in real time was something else.
It often goes unsaid, but 1972 was probably as weak a team as the USA sent in the amateur era. Only a handful of those guys had real NBA careers, and none became a Hall of Famer. Iba was a fossil by then, and it only took an inspired comeback from the US, purposefully disregarding Iba’s instructions to play slow, to even come back against the Soviets, Doug Collins taking the lead on the two ballsiest free throws in basketball history.
Then chaos ensued.
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Originally posted by Amor de Cosmos View PostAbsolutely.There were a lot of people in Canadian track and field turning a blind eye during that period. Since then it's largely become something we don't talk about in front of the children.
I recall some snarking from US commentators when Donovan Bailey took the 100m gold and Canada won the 4x100m in Atlanta. Most of this was probably just nationalism, but I’m sure some people in the know thought Canadian track and field was at it again.
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Happy Birthday in Advance.
Correct on 72 on all accounts. It was rehashed regularly, and that was a weak US team. Doug Collins had the best career, and McMillen was better as a Congressperson.
I think that a lot of other countries had/have a similar attitude towards the US sprinters. I certainly heard it from Italians whenever Mennea's transgressions came up.Last edited by ursus arctos; 16-10-2018, 20:48.
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This is covered extensively in 9.79*, the very good 30-for-30 on Ben Johnson and the whole fallout from the 1988 Olympic 100 metres. It’s probably a bit equivocal for some people, since it’s very tu quoque, but it makes it pretty clear Carl Lewis was dirty as hell.
I found this.
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-a...98M0PT20130923
Which reminds me of this.
https://sports.theonion.com/turns-ou...pla-1819570562Last edited by Hot Pepsi; 16-10-2018, 20:54.
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Originally posted by Hot Pepsi View PostThat piece reminds me: Avery Brundage was a nasty piece of shit, wasn't he?
And, IIRC, he played a role in giving the Soviets the 1972 basketball gold. Or maybe that was some other meddling blazer.
The Olympics have always had a bit of a militarist/fascist/master-race aspect, I suppose. Since the 80s, everyone involved - except perhaps Putin - seems to have compromised and agreed that it's just about selling more Coke products.
It is not far from that to thinking different coloured people besmirch everything.
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