Sun, Jul 10, 2005 page23

• Jacques Rogge of IOC says baseball now has bad image

  • AP
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  Baseball must adopt tougher anti-doping rules in the US and make Major League players eligible for the Olympics to have a chance of getting back into the fold after the 2012 London Games, IOC president Jacques Rogge said yesterday.

  Wrapping up a weeklong International Olympic Committee session in Singapore, Rogge also said that softball has to increase its global appeal to win back its place.

  "The message is clear," Rogge said. "The IOC wants clean sport, the best athletes and universality."

  Both sports were thrown out of the Olympics for 2012 on Friday in the first cut from the program in 69 years. They remain on the list for the 2008 Beijing Olympics and can reapply in 2009 for readmission at the 2016 Games.

  Baseball was singled out because Major Leaguers don't play in the Olympics and the US league's drug-testing program falls way short of international standards. Softball suffered because of a perceived association with baseball and lack of global popularity.

  "In the case of baseball, the best athletes are not competing and the major athletes perform in an environment where doping controls are not what we have in the Olympic world," Rogge said. "The session thought there was not enough universal appeal [for softball]."

  Rogge said the two sports had not done enough to save themselves since the 2002 session in Mexico City, where the IOC put off a vote on dropping baseball, softball and modern pentathlon.

  "Both sports should have read the writing on the wall in Mexico," Rogge said. "They could see that the IOC wasn't happy with the way the sports were being organized. The two sports have not worked in the interval of three years to address the concerns of the IOC."

  The removal of baseball and softball leaves 26 sports on the program for London. It's the first time since the 1996 Atlanta Games that 28 sports haven't been on the list.

  While some IOC members raised the possibility the committee could still bring baseball and softball back for 2012, Rogge virtually closed the door on that.

  "The decision we've taken in the session is final," he said. "This is not the intention of the IOC or the session. It's a seven-year process, not a two-year process. We will not leave enough time for London or teams to prepare -- it's not a realistic option."

  Rogge said the IOC would work with the two sports to put on a good show in Beijing, then give them a chance in 2009 to make their case for reinstatement in 2016.

  "In four years, a federation can do a lot of improvement," he said.

  Softball and baseball are sports with deep American roots, and their removal reflects the heavy European influence in the IOC. But the decision affects thousands of players around the world. Baseball, in particular, in popular in the Caribbean, Latin America and East Asia.

  American IOC member Anita DeFrantz, a leading advocate for women's sports, said softball had been unfairly linked with baseball's problems. She said softball -- the only female-only sport in the games -- brings its top players to the Olympics and doesn't have a doping problem.

  DeFrantz said she remained hopeful softball could still find its way back in for 2012. She suggested IOC members could reconsider their decision or the IOC could waive its rule on finalizing the program seven years before the games.

  Just as stunning as the removal of baseball and softball was the IOC's rejection of the five sports in line to replace them: rugby, squash, karate, golf and roller sports. Squash and karate were nominated for inclusion, then overwhelmingly shot down in a final vote.

  With a two-thirds margin required for final approval, members voted 63-39 against squash and 63-38 against karate.

  "Ultimately, the session was of the opinion that none of the five sports would add extra value," Rogge said.
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