Topic: Editorial: Casey at Bat- The Innocent Punished

[Chris Ⓐ LeRoux]

Casey at Bat: The Innocent Punished
By Chris LeRoux

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Casey Burgener is at the Olympics. But unlike the infamous Casey that Ernest Lawrence Thayer famously described, he will not get to bat. Until December 19th, 2007, the USA had a slot for Burgener to compete, but on that day the doping results from the 2007 Senior World Championships were released. Although Burgener is clean as a whistle and never tested positive for drugs in his entire career, lifters from other nations did. And as a result of their cheating, the complex qualification system scheme the International Weightlifting Federation (IWF) has developed was reshuffled and the USA lost Burgener’s slot.

Now, the IWF says the USA never had that slot, that the slot was provisional upon drug testing results. This is an argument that apparently would prevail in a courtroom. But, it sure doesn’t prevail in the hearts of USA Weightlifting.

As USA Weightlifting executive director Dennis Snethen said, "He deserves to be on this team. America is hurting right now. We need our big, strong guy in the main event."

Then, on April 4th, 2008, insult was added to this most grievous injury. Eleven out of 14 of the Greek Olympic weightlifting team tested positive in surprise out of competition testing conducted by the World Anti-Doping Agency- all for the same steroid.

Under the anti-doping rules of the IWF, entire teams can be suspended from international competitions for up to two years if three or more athletes from the same nation fail doping tests within one year.

However, the IWF had failed to enforce such bans at times, instead charging “fines” in lieu of the suspensions. Iran, Russia, Argentina and Kazakhstan for instance were allowed to compete at the 2006 Senior World Championships after paying a 50,000 dollar fine for each caught athlete (in Iran's case 450,000 dollars for nine positive tests).

Then, inexplicably, the IWF executive board voted to allow Greece to send a team of four weightlifters (three men and a woman) to the Beijing Olympics. That is double the number of male slots the IWF is allowing the USA men despite the USA having no doping positives and the fact that the Greek slots were earned by performances by the very athletes caught cheating.

Three days before the USA Olympic Trials on May 17, USA Weightlifting was informed verbally by IWF Vice President and USOC member Dragomir Cioroslan that the team was being granted the 3rd slot due to the Greek doping scandal. Cioroslan promised that a written letter of the official decision was on its way. But, the letter never arrived and since then Tamas Ajan has denied that the origin of the statement was the IWF saying, “At this point, I must stress that USA Weightlifting and the USOC never received any official communication from the IWF…we repeatedly and officially advised the USAW and the USOC confirming the 2-men quota.”

But, there is the rub. Since Dragomir Cioroslan is the IWF Vice President and reported to the USAW that he was informed of a third slot, this is inherently contradictory. Clearly an IWF representative did inform the USAW of the third slot and the USAW then announced it and conducted an official Olympic Trials on that basis.

Burgener chose his attempts based on that information and earned the third slot whereas if there were only two slots and he was made aware of that fact, he would have gone after the 2nd place slot to make the Team.

Interestingly enough, Tamas Ajan, the self described leader of the IWF for the last 32 years, has not denied either that Dragomir Cioroslan informed the USAW of the third slot or denied that Cioroslan was Vice President of the IWF- only that nothing official was communicated.

Having known Dragomir Cioroslan for 18 years as his former athlete and friend, it is obvious to me that Cioroslan is being hung out to dry and made a scapegoat for whatever reason suits Tamas Ajan. It makes no sense to believe that Dragomir Cioroslan simply made up a story, for no conceivable purpose, that the USA had been granted a 3rd slot, a decision that would clearly fall outside his authority to make on his own, but is well within the seemingly neverending and endless power of Ajan.
 
For example, after nine Iranian weightlifters were all busted for the same steroid and banned by the IWF from the then upcoming 2006 Senior World Championships, Ajan then unilaterally waived the team suspension in the case of the Iranian superheavyweight Hossein RezaZadeh, who was one of only two of Iran’s team not to test positive, offering him a “personal invitation” despite the team suspension already being officially issued by the IWF. Subsequently, the IWF allowed Iran to pay a fine, as mentioned previously, to avoid the team suspension.

Meanwhile, Casey Burgener is suffering as a result while nations that should have been suspended and should have lost the points earned toward slots by dope busted athletes are getting more athletes in the competition than the USA.

Clearly this is a case of the same arrogance of the Casey written about by Thayer, on the part of Tamas Ajan- hopefully soon to be the former IWF President. Ajan has been “leading” the IWF for 32 years through repeated doping scandals and has utterly failed to draw a firm line against doping which is threatening the very existence of our great sport in the Olympics and causing it to be the poster child of the doping plague threatening the credibility of Olympic sport.

For instance on Wednesday, August 13th, the head of the World Anti-Doping Agency, John Fahey, said weightlifting was at risk of being excluded from the Games, “if the cheating is continued.”

Casey Burgener should not be suffering for the cheating of others and the failures of Tamas Ajan.

Casey at the Bat
By Ernest Lawrence Thayer

The outlook wasn't brilliant for the Mudville nine that day;
The score stood four to two, with but one inning more to play,
And then when Cooney died at first, and Barrows did the same,
A pall-like silence fell upon the patrons of the game.

A straggling few got up to go in deep despair. The rest
Clung to that hope which springs eternal in the human breast;
They thought, "If only Casey could but get a whack at that —
We'd put up even money now, with Casey at the bat."

But Flynn preceded Casey, as did also Jimmy Blake,
And the former was a hoodoo, while the latter was a cake;
So upon that stricken multitude grim melancholy sat;
For there seemed but little chance of Casey getting to the bat.

But Flynn let drive a single, to the wonderment of all,
And Blake, the much despised, tore the cover off the ball;
And when the dust had lifted, and men saw what had occurred,
There was Jimmy safe at second and Flynn a-hugging third.

Then from five thousand throats and more there rose a lusty yell;
It rumbled through the valley, it rattled in the dell;
It pounded on the mountain and recoiled upon the flat,
For Casey, mighty Casey, was advancing to the bat.

There was ease in Casey's manner as he stepped into his place;
There was pride in Casey's bearing and a smile lit Casey's face.
And when, responding to the cheers, he lightly doffed his hat,
No stranger in the crowd could doubt 'twas Casey at the bat.

Ten thousand eyes were on him as he rubbed his hands with dirt.
Five thousand tongues applauded when he wiped them on his shirt.
Then while the writhing pitcher ground the ball into his hip,
Defiance flashed in Casey's eye, a sneer curled Casey's lip.

And now the leather-covered sphere came hurtling through the air,
And Casey stood a-watching it in haughty grandeur there.
Close by the sturdy batsman the ball unheeded sped —
"That ain't my style," said Casey. "Strike one!" the umpire said.

From the benches, black with people, there went up a muffled roar,
Like the beating of the storm-waves on a stern and distant shore;
"Kill him! Kill the umpire!" shouted some one on the stand;
And it's likely they'd have killed him had not Casey raised his hand.

With a smile of Christian charity great Casey's visage shone;
He stilled the rising tumult; he bade the game go on;
He signaled to the pitcher, and once more the dun sphere flew;
But Casey still ignored it, and the umpire said "Strike two!"

"Fraud!" cried the maddened thousands, and echo answered "Fraud!"
But one scornful look from Casey and the audience was awed.
They saw his face grow stern and cold, they saw his muscles strain,
And they knew that Casey wouldn't let that ball go by again.

The sneer has fled from Casey's lip, the teeth are clenched in hate;
He pounds with cruel violence his bat upon the plate.
And now the pitcher holds the ball, and now he lets it go,
And now the air is shattered by the force of Casey's blow.

Oh, somewhere in this favored land the sun is shining bright,
The band is playing somewhere, and somewhere hearts are light,
And somewhere men are laughing, and little children shout;
But there is no joy in Mudville — mighty Casey has struck out.

[Dave Chiu]

Here's the point:

US WEIGHTLIFTING, IN THE PERSON OF CASEY BURGENER, HAS BEEN PUNISHED FOR THE SINS OF OTHERS.

DRUG TEST CRIMES SHOULD ONLY PUNISH THE OFFENDERS, NOT TAKE AWAY FROM CLEAN ATHLETES.

Some teams moved up due to the positives, BUT OTHER CLEAN TEAMS SHOULD NOT HAVE BEEN MOVED DOWN.

The biggest reason to not lift clean is that you get screwed twice by the current system that allows so much cheating, and also punishes the innocent so willy-nilly when the guilty are occasionally caught.

[Chris Ⓐ LeRoux]

I am predicting the near future, again. Mark my words.

[Roman Hunt]

Fantastic piece Chris.

[Jim Hooper]

Well said, Dave and Chris.  The system is pretty bizzare.

[Chris Ⓐ LeRoux]

Ajan's days are numbered in double digits. But, I would like to see our lifters and staff in Beijing hanging him in effigy to protest these last evil actions he has taken.

[Mike Wittmer]

Very interesting theory, Chris.  It would be nice to know who said what, who heard it, and when.  There are some who believe some of our people knew before the Trials that we would not have the third slot, but let things proceed anyway.  I heard second hand the day after we would not have a third slot.  Obviously, we knew something quickly based on the MSNBC production and the USAW web site.  I hope there is an investigation into this incident.

I don't know why they just did not tell the truth, which according to your theory would have been something like: "We have been told by Tamas Ajan that we will be given a third slot, however, we do not have it in writing as of yet. (I think that is key as if Ajan had the power, or wanted, to insure we would have a third slot he could have put it in an email as easy as saying it in a phone conversation.)  So, as of now, we have two slots with the promise of a third.  Consider that when choosing your attempts."

The truth always works.

[Chris Ⓐ LeRoux]

There is much information on this matter I can not currently disclose but which will all come out after the Olympics.