An Olympic Kit for outcasts ?

[ultragirl]

An Olympic Kit for outcasts ?

By Woodwards_R_Arses

http://www.eightlane.co.uk/index.php?p= ... -outcasts-

The subject of Cooke the Taekwondo sportsman being deprived of his rightful place in the Olympics has to be resolved, I can only see one possible way to do this for him and others in a similar position, Saudi women ! That is, the IOC providing an opportunity for sportsmen to compete in an Olympic Kit, a special kit designed by lets say NIKE, who would design acceptable kit for the Saudi women to compete in as well.

We must never forget we are all here to serve the competitor not build self serving empires around them, so I implore the IOC to take the high ground in this matter and do the right thing for the competitor, not the nation (politicians and other beneficieries of the sportsmen & their coaches hard work, money and skills and related successes)


I think Woodwards_R_Arses brings an important issue to our attention, one which deserves proper debate, Young Cooke is being cheated and so are the female athletes in Saudi to name but a few, what is being suggested needs to be put into action for these "inclusive" games other wise the Olympic governing body is selling sport short.

What do you guys think about this?

[larkim]

I'm glad you and he are Taekwondo experts so that you can inform me and others all about why the Gb Taekwondo association know nothing about their own sport.

No-one has a "rightful" place to be at London 2012. They have the opportunity to be selected, their governing body sets rules and applies them, the BOA arbitrates and considers appeals where it has reason to believe the processes haven't been followed.

Cooke has the right to follow the various appeals routes, and if anything is not right he will find resolution. Some sports, such as badminton, have chosen to use world rankings only as the determinant for who they choose for their spots at the Games. Other sports don't, and Cooke takes part in one of those. He has to abide by the process, and I'm frankly getting a little tired of an attempt to use over-simplification, a sub-current of racism (note I don't make this accusation against yourself, ultragirl, nor Woodwards_...) about selecting a "british" guy vs Lutalo Mohammed, and the usual hype of the red-top media to interfere in something which has all of the right safeguards and appeals processes to make sure that fair and just outcome arrives.

Matt

[ultragirl]

My argument is not based on racism it is based on fact , Cooke is number one in the world, and you are sadly dissallusioned if you believe this closed shop which supposedly claims to be an unbiased NGB does not suffer from an over dose of their own self importance and feel aggrieved that Cooke has become number one in the world outside of their obviously unfit for purpose set up. He has done better on his own from his back garden shed. This is not an exception, in athletics great world beaters do not allow UKA interference but still get selected because a system is in place which does not allow for much ambiguity or variables on demand.

Cooke gave an excellent reposte to his NGBs claims and made them look fools, this is why we need the IOC to be the final abitrator in these matters by giving support and kits to worthy sportsmen and women to free them from the shackles of corrupt power bases.

[trevorp]

What do you guys think about this?

I think that this is the Current Events forum on the message board of an athletics website, not the most obvious place to discuss Taekwondo selection policies.

No response is required or welcomed.

(Later) Thanks for moving this, Jon.

[larkim]

My argument is not based on racism it is based on fact , Cooke is number one in the world, and you are sadly dissallusioned if you believe this closed shop which supposedly claims to be an unbiased NGB does not suffer from an over dose of their own self importance and feel aggrieved that Cooke has become number one in the world outside of their obviously unfit for purpose set up.

I was holding my tongue, but I won't as its Friday

I explicitly made the point of saying that I did not level the accusation of racism at you in your opinions about this. You had said nothing which would have led me to think that that was part of your thinking, and I strongly presume that you are a decent, respectable person for whom racist thoughts would be abhorrent.

I also pointed out that the fact that Cooke is no. 1 in the world is irrelevant as the NGB explicitly does not use world rankings to determine its selections. Therefore, the fact that he is ranked no.1 in the world is not a compelling argument as to why he should be selected.

I'm also aware that you have strong opinions about NGBs who, in your view, fail the sports that they are representing. That is a view to which you are entitled. However, and I may be wrong here, I strongly suspect that you are not closely related to the sport of Taekwondo and, like me, aren't sufficiently familiar with the personalities, politics and structures involved. My point was, overall, that we should not believe everything that we read in the papers, and that as a general principle we should not make a judgement about the fairness (or otherwise) of a situation until the full stories have been disclosed and challenged through the various arbitration and court services which might need to get involved where there is a challenge to an administrative decision.

Matt