U.S. skier loses Olympic shot after peeing incident on plane
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Sandy (Robert) Vietze earned the nation’s ire this week for peeing on a sleeping 11-year-old girl while aboard a JetBlue flight -- he was drunk and failed to make it to the bathroom on time. Today, the 18-year-old lost a shot to represent the nation in the 2014 Winter Olympic Games in Socchi, Russia.
Vietze had been nominated to the U.S. Development Alpine Ski Team for the 2011-12 season. But that was before he made headlines, horrifying the U.S. Ski and Snowboard Assn. A statement released by the association’s executive vice president of athletics, Luke Bodensteiner, was terse and to the point:
‘Based on the information we have, Sandy Vietze is in violation of the USSA code of conduct and team agreement, and has been dismissed from the team.’
The South Warren, Vt., youth was caught by the girl’s father -- ‘midstream,’ as the New York Post put it -- as he returned from taking his other daughter to the bathroom. As you might imagine, the situation nearly came to blows.
The teen, who later said he’d had eight alcoholic beverages, reportedly offered up this excuse to law enforcement: ‘I was drunk, and I did not realize I was pissing on her leg.’ Vietze was taken into custody after the plane landed and was issued a federal summons for indecent exposure. There have been conflicting reports on whether further charges are pending.
Still to be determined: How did an 18-year-old get his mitts on eight drinks? And did he drink them aboard the plane, which was traveling between Portland and New York City, or in the airport?
What do you think about the U.S. ski team’s actions? Is this too harsh a penalty? Or did Vietze forfeit his right to such an honor?
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-- Rene Lynch
Twitter.com/renelynch
