Morgan's good

It was something of the mountain/molehill hubbub. Morgan Hamm had a cortisone shot May 2, then failed a drug test not because a cortisone shot is a banned substance but because no one in Morgan's camp remembered to fill out required paperwork stating the shot was for therapeutic purposes.

Wednesday the USA Gymnastics federation and the United States Olympic Committee reaffirmed the obvious -- Morgan would receive no more punishment than the warning he had already received from the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA). Morgan remains a member of the U.S.men's Olympic team.

Since the announcement of the failed test came a couple of weeks ago there had been speculation that Morgan's results from U.S. nationals, where the failed test turned up, would be negated and jeopardize his selection to the team. Others wrote that whether or not Morgan and Coach Miles Avery made an honest mistake, they had broken a rule in a stupid way that was unforgivable.

Sometimes a crime isn't really a crime. Sometimes it is neglected paper work. Morgan's indiscretion was passed to the USADA, the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and the international gymnastics federation (FIG). None of those organizations is prone to giving the U.S. the benefit of the doubt so it seems that Hamm and Avery were telling the truth. Morgan's ankle hurt, his doctor said take some cortisone, it's what I'd give any patient. Morgan agreed but didn't sign on the dotted line.

USA Gymnastics President Steve Penny said the men's selection committee reran the numbers, taking out Hamm's results on the day he failed the doping test.

"They absolutely went back and reviewed this," Penny said. "There were two questions. One, would he have advanced to the trials? The answer was yes. And two, would he still have been selected to the Olympic team? And the answer again was yes."      

Here's a link to Paul and Morgan's blog about their journey to making the Olympic team, which includes Paul's return to working some apparatus for the first time since he broke a bone in his hand last May at nationals as well as Morgan's explanation of how and why he had the cortisone shot.

Paul will be in Colorado Springs this weekend trying to prove to the selection committee that he is making adequate progress from his injury and will be able to compete at the Olympics. Morgan will remain on the team where his floor routine, pommel horse work and difficult vaults are needed for the U.S. team score. If his achy ankle needs another cortisone shot before Beijing, Morgan says he'll take one. And then sign the papers.

-- Diane Pucin

Comments

[Bill Baldwin, Jr.]

I will be cheering for our Women's team and glued to the set as usual watching the fantastic precision and great skill of all the women's teams. Women's Gymnastics has always been the more exciting event as opposed to the men, so, my viewing routine will remain largely the same. Plus, the women are selected carefully and without special favors, inside deals or a propaganda campaign worthy of the "great" work of the Carter Administration when it boycotted the Moscow Summer Games.

It's unfortunate that the Times has seen fit to take it's reporter off this story in favor of someone who seems to swallow the USA Gymnastics' party line as well as any genuflecting toady. You see, Ms. Pucin, if the regulations of the Federation were actually adhered to, Morgan Hamm would have been judged to have taken a banned substance in direct violation of the doping statues. A crime is a crime when the person committing it, in this case, a veteran of two previous Olympic teams and therefore one who knows the rules by heart, does not seek written approval to take the medication prior to the meet, as both his doctor and Mr. Hamm knew full well was the rule in place. Perhaps, Hamm thought it was minor and he could slide by without incident. Whatever his reasoning, anyone who has taken a similar shot for pain, as I once did, will tell you without any hesitation that with the pain absent, they had a distinct advantage over competing and being IN pain.

Notwithstanding the obvious bias from the Federation in Morgan Hamm’s favor, logic would dictate that without the scores from the May meet, Hamm couldn’t possibly be selected AGAIN over any of the three alternates. And yet, here's the selection committee meeting behind closed doors and running the numbers again: Quoting from your article,

"USA Gymnastics President Steve Penny said the men's selection committee reran the numbers, taking out Hamm's results on the day he failed the doping test."

And then comes the statement that robs this group of what little credibility it had left when Penny then says of the committee....
.
"They absolutely went back and reviewed this," Penny said. "There were two questions. One, would he have advanced to the trials? The answer was yes. And two, would he still have been selected to the Olympic team? And the answer again was yes."

“And the Answer again was yes"
“We had to destroy the village in order to save it”.
“The check is in the mail”

I venture to say had Morgan Hamm been caught wearing an I Love BALCO tee shirt, 'the answer would again have been yes."

And so, in what amounts to the Men's Gymnastics Federation's version of The Single Bullet Theory, Morgan Hamm remains, and Alexander Artemev, Raj Bhavsar and David Durante are screwed again.

Yes, you’re right, Ms. Pucin, sometimes a crime isn’t a crime, sometimes it’s nothing less than A NATIONAL DISGRACE.

[Shawna]

Thank you for posting this article. It at least gives your readers an opportunity to see both sides of the issue. It's pretty pathetic that other readers have used this as an opportunity to slam Morgan for making an honest mistake, simply because they are upset that their favorite gymnasts didn't make the team. The committee reran the numbers... but apparently those readers have not! To blame Morgan for Raj and David not making the team is just ignorant, as they have completely different strengths. And as for Sasha, unfortunately when you're picking an Olympic team sometimes you have to go with consistency over flash. Morgan's proven he can hit it when it counts. At this point, Sasha just isn't dependable enough, and his events besides horse aren't quite strong enough perhaps to take the risk. They needed someone who could also get big scores on high bar and vault. Obviously, people who make blanketed remarks really don't know Morgan. People claim that he knew about it because he's been in the sport so long... but the type of injection that Morgan got wasn't put on the list until 2005, which was a year after he retired! He's a class act, and until this point has never had anything to do with controversy. He's not a disgrace! Morgan has only ever brought honor and pride to this country.