USOC Is Still Opposed to Allowing All Professionals to Compete in Olympics

The United States Olympic Committee’s executive board has reaffirmed its opposition to Olympic competition that is open to all professionals without regard to eligibility rules.

The executive board passed the resolution without dissent Sunday in the final session of the three-day House of Delegates meeting in Los Angeles.

The executive board’s vote did not alter a resolution passed in February that supports the right of international governing bodies in each sport to decide their own eligibility.

That also is the position of International Olympic Committee President Juan Antonio Samaranch of Spain. The IOC will decide the issue in October meetings at Lausanne, Switzerland.

According to the USOC executive board’s February resolution, the USOC favors the acceptance of professionals into the Olympics in sports in which they are not employed. That would enable professional football players such as Renaldo Nehemiah and Willie Gault to participate in track and field at the Olympics.

USOC President Robert Helmick said, however, that the executive board does not support a recent vote by the executive committee of the international basketball federation (FIBA) that would enable all professionals, including NBA players, to compete in basketball at the Olympics.

FIBA’s entire membership will vote on that proposal in July in Barcelona. The United States and the Soviet Union are expected to lead opposition.