COMMENTARY : Harding’s Action/Inaction Is Anything but Olympian

Two weeks from Saturday, during the opening ceremony of the 1994 Winter Games in Lillehammer, Norway, one of the host country’s cross-country skiers, Vegard Ulvang, will step forward to deliver the athletes’ oath:

“In the name of all the competitors, I promise that we shall take part in these Olympic Games, respecting and abiding by the rules which govern them, in the true spirit of sportsmanship for the glory of sport and the honor of our teams.”

If figure skater Tonya Harding is allowed the privilege of participating in the Winter Olympics, I cannot believe it will be possible for her to recite that oath without words such as sportsmanship, glory and honor getting stuck in her throat.

With her admission Thursday that she learned afterward that persons close to her had been responsible for the attack Jan. 6 on Olympic teammate Nancy Kerrigan but chose not to report the information to law enforcement authorities, it became clear that she had failed in her responsibility as a citizen.

More than that, she failed in her responsibility as an Olympian.

Even in a cynical age in which many athletes are running as fast as they can to distance themselves from the idea that they should be role models, becoming little more than highly paid shoe salesmen, the public perceives that there still is something special about Olympians.

Track and field athletes often complain that the media report abuses of anabolic steroids and other performance-enhancing drugs in that sport as scandals while paying relatively little attention to the same abuses in sports such as football. My answer is that track and field, because of its connection to the Olympics, is--and should be--held to a higher standard.

As someone who might eventually be called upon to contribute to a ruling on Harding’s Olympic status, Anita DeFrantz, a member of the U.S. Olympic Committee’s executive committee and the International Olympic Committee’s executive board, was unwilling Thursday to offer either personal or professional opinions about the specifics of this particular situation.

Speaking generally, however, she said, “The Olympics work because people believe in them. If people stop believing in them, they’re going to cease to exist. They’ll become just another track meet.”

To assure that people continue believing is the obligation of the IOC, the USOC and other governing bodies associated with them, including the U.S. Figure Skating Assn.

Each has a code of conduct, which enables it to take action against athletes or others associated with the team, such as coaches, trainers or doctors, whose behavior is contrary to that expected of Olympians.

According to the USOC’s code, “All members of the official delegation shall conduct themselves in conformity with the traditions of the Olympic Games and in such a manner that you bring credit and honor to yourself, your teammates, your national governing body, the United States Olympic Committee and the United States of America.”

The USOC has used its code of conduct to discipline athletes for a wide variety of offenses, from testing positive for banned drugs to stealing a decorative mask from the wall of a hotel lobby in South Korea.

USOC officials said Thursday they could use the code of conduct to remove Harding from the team.

They should.

She said Thursday that her lawyers advised her that failing to report her knowledge of a crime is not a crime. The district attorney of Multnomah County, Ore., might argue otherwise. Some lawyers contend that obstruction-of-justice issues could be raised. But regardless of the legal ramifications, she committed a crime against the tenets of sportsmanship and fair play.

She said that her action, or non-action, was motivated in part by fear, but part of being an Olympian is having the courage to do the right thing.

After Harding won the women’s title in the recent U.S. championships, she said her motivation for wanting to become the Olympic gold medalist was “the dollar signs in my head.” If she was willing to accept the potential riches that come with being associated with the Olympics, she must also accept the responsibilities.

* HARDING’S ADMISSION: Skater says she didn’t tell authorities what she learned about the attack on Nancy Kerrigan. U.S. Olympic Committee is “deeply concerned.” A1