U.S. Olympic Law Author Loses Senate Seat

Ted Stevens lost his re-election bid on Tuesday. (ATR) The U.S. senator who authored the United States’ Olympic law lost his Senate seat on Tuesday. Ted Stevens, who also turned 85 on Tuesday, had to campaign for re-election while on trial in Washington, D.C. over corruption charges.

He was convicted of failing to disclose the costs of renovations to his home made by a businessman and could face time in prison.

In 1998, Stevens was the leader in Congress for the current version of the law governing the Olympics in the U.S. Now called the Ted Stevens Olympic and Amateur Sports Act, the law spells out the authority of the U.S. Olympic Committee (USOC) over national governing bodies for sports. The law also establishes the USOC as the guardian of Olympic trademarks in the U.S.

He was also instrumental in creating the Amateur Sports Act of 1978, which created Ted Stevens (center) took part in a 2003 senate hearing on the USOC, chaired by John McCain, to Stevens right. (ATR)the USOC, and the national games boards for each Olympic sport in the U.S.

Prior to the 1978 law, the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) was largely in charge of representing the U.S. at international sporting events. The AAU was also infamous for having arbitrary rules for competitions, and was almost completely unregulated.

Stevens’ electoral fate was unknown after the Nov. 4 election because his race was so close. Alaskan law mandated that all ballots be counted by hand, due to the difference in votes. In the end, Steven lost by 3,724 votes, or 1 percent of the all votes cast.

Stevens, the longest-serving Republican in the U.S. Senate was defeated by Democrat Mark Begich, mayor of Anchorage.

Written by Ed Hula III.