U.S. Olympics Update --- Cyclists Win USOC Apology, USA Track Post-Beijing, Phelps No Comic

Bobby Lea and Michael Friedman on the track in Beijing. (Getty)

(ATR) An apology from the USOC to a group of cyclists chastised for wearing face masks as they arrived in Beijing… post-Beijing soul-searching at USA Track and Field…Michael Phelps, a fish out of water on Saturday Night Live? U.S. Olympics news inside…

USOC Apologizes to Cyclists for Mistakes, Confusion

The USOC has sent a letter of apology to the four Olympic cyclists who wore air filtration masks upon their arrival in Beijing and acknowledged it made a mistake in not having an athletes' advocate present when it confronted them.

The athletes had demanded the apology because they felt the USOC mishandled the situation in a way that was "humiliating and emotionally devastating" to them and affected their performances, according to attorney Chris Campbell, a former Olympic wrestler.

The four cyclists --Michael Friedman, Sarah Hammer, Bobby Lea and Jennie Reed --will give their response to the letter Monday during a teleconference call, but the USOC appears to have addressed their concerns.

In the letter -- which Campbell released -- CEO Jim Scherr admitted that the USOC erred by not having the Athlete Ombudsman, John Ruger, or an Athlete Services Coordinator present when the athletes were chastised by USOC staff about their behavior and forced to sign a letter of apology to BOCOG and the host nation. Scherr said it was simply an oversight caused by scheduling conflicts, but Ruger was not stationed in the Olympic Village at the time. Scherr pledged an advocate would be present in future situations.

"My athletes feel the conduct of the staff was really inappropriate," Campbell told Around the Rings. "We want guarantees systemically that we're not going to be in an abusive environment."

Not Intentional Gesture

The athletes also wanted a public acknowledgement that they did not intentionally do anything wrong. Although Scherr reiterated that the masks were "perceived by some as an attempt to purposely embarrass or offend the Games host," he wrote that the USOC accepted the athletes' explanation that "in no way did you intend to purposely embarrass or offend the Games host or other members of the United States Olympic Delegation, nor was it your intent to make a political statement."

He also said the USOC accepted the explanation that the decision was based on the athletes' understanding of advice given to them by a member of the USOC's Performance Services Division and "we regret there was confusion or a misunderstanding surrounding those instructions."

Mark Henderson, chair of the Athletes Advisory Committee, told ATR that he believes every athlete who makes the Olympic team "deserves a certain amount of respect."

"I'm pushing for the public to understand they were unfairly treated," he said. "The AAC wants to make sure it doesn't happen again and these athletes are vindicated."

Henderson, a 1996 Olympic swimming gold medalist, believes the issue boiled down to a communications breakdown. "I don't think it was properly communicated to them that they should not wear these masks for diplomatic reasons coming off the plane," he said.

USOC Acted in Haste

Henderson said if an athlete breaks a rule and the USOC is talking about sending them home, that's a matter he should hear as a member of the games administrative board that meets each morning during the Olympics. The mask incident took place in Beijing before Henderson began attending the meetings.

Henderson also stressed that the ombudsman should be present in the Olympic Village at all times, as he had been in earlier Games.

He also criticized the USOC for moving too swiftly. "When an incident like this happens, we do not immediately react to it," he said, "We should give them a chance of Lawyer Chris Campbell is representing some of the cyclists in their dealings with the USOC. (Getty)explaining themselves."

Likewise, Henderson said that in the cases of Paul Hamm and Marion Jones, the USOC staff has gone to the media and addressed the situation before talking to the athlete. Hamm's gymnastics gold medal had been challenged in a scoring dispute, while the USOC offered to give back Jones' Olympic medals from Sydney after she admitted using performance-enhancing drugs.

In the cyclists' situation, "They wanted to wipe it under the rug and be done with it," Henderson said. "The USOC was in an awkward position, representing the athletes' best interests, and protecting the image of the USOC and the diplomatic role. It's a very touchy situation."

New U.S. Athletics CEO Wants Better Results

USA Track and Field's new CEO has found the performance of his organization "seriously deficient", based on results during the Beijing Olympics and he wants to find out what went wrong.

Doug Logan wrote in a blog titled "Living up to Our Charter" (http://www.usatf.org/about/leadership/ShinSplintsBlog/)

that he is forming an ad-hoc Operating Audit Panel to reassess and examine the High Performance Programs "to which we contribute the greatest portion of our fiscal resources." He says the panel will be Michael Phelps on the set of SNL with show regular Kristen Wiig. (NBC)composed of former Olympic athletes and coaches with no ties or affiliation with the 2008 effort and two or three professionals.

Logan says he wants to begin the analysis within the next 30 days and have it substantially complete by the end of this calendar year.

He acknowledges that it "will probably be an uncomfortable exercise. But, this is not a 'knee jerk' reaction, or a 'witch hunt,' or an attempt to castigate anyone. Indeed, this panel may determine that the factors leading to less-than-optimal performance were beyond anyone's control. It is only after vigorous, objective and aggressive examination that we can determine those systems and methods that require improvement. We spend sizable sums of money on these programs, and I and we should ensure that they are being spent judiciously and are producing results."

Although the U.S. won more medals (23) than any other country in the sport of athletics, Logan says he became "uneasy" about individual performances and the 400-meter relays resulted in "stunning disappointments" when both the men's and women's teams dropped the baton in the heats.

"I wondered why we appeared not to be generating peak performances for the year," he wrote, "whereas others, whether in our sport or other disciplines, were achieving PRs and world records. I questioned whether the areas in which we seemed to underperform were the result of a fluke and bad luck, or if they were reflective of a systemic problem."

He conducted a study of the team's results and found that in 66 individual performances in men's competition, exclusive of relays, only seven were the best peformance of the year. Among 65 women's performances, only 11 were the best of the year.

Michael Phelps: Don't Quit Your Day Job

Michael Phelps made his acting debut as host of "Saturday Night Live" and called it "the ninth-greatest moment of my life."

Phelps, who won eight swimming gold medals in Beijing, delivered a credible monologue while SNL regular Amy Poehler played his doting mother in the audience. He also took celebrity pitchman tips from William Shatner and joked that he was the first person to appear on NBC for 390 consecutive hours.

Phelps appeared in eight different skits and seemed less wooden when he played characters other than himself, such as a quiz bowl contestant and an awkward teenager.

"I don't think I'm cut out for this whole swimming thing," was one of his lines in a skit as he portrayed a swimmer on a high school team.

For general comments or questions,

click here