Aaaaaaagh!!!!

Can you hear me screaming? What is up with the IOC??? Once again, they have stubbornly refused to even listen to the growing number of voices asking them to revisit the women ski jump event decision. Once again, they cite their rules and criteria, conveniently forgetting the fact that they have disregarded that same criteria for inclusion of other events.

In a statement issued yesterday, the IOC reiterated in no uncertain terms that it's their ball and they get to decide who plays. In fact, they seem to be getting a little huffy about the whole issue. Emmanuelle Moreau, a spokeswoman for the IOC, said it was "inappropriate and misleading" for people to suggest that the IOC is discriminating against the ski jumpers on the basis of sex.

I find it inappropriate and misleading for the IOC to continue to cry "technical merit" when they have accepted other events that do not meet this same criteria. On what basis are they able to bend the rules for some athletes and not others? What would they lose by allowing women ski jumpers in the Olympics???

A News 1130 story this morning stated, "Experts warn women ski jumpers to walk carefully on this subject, suggesting diplomacy is key in dealing with the IOC."

In other words, play their way, or they'll take their ball and go home.

I never did like playing with those kinds of bullies.

Oh, puhleeez, Mr. Pound!

Dick Pound is confused. Canada's senior Olympic official, responding to the call for the Canadian government to look closely at the gender bias barring women ski jumpers from competing in the Olympics, told CTV, "It's not the Canadian government that is hosting the event, it's the International Olympic Committee. They have rules that are technical in nature and that's what's been applied here. It's not a human rights issue, no matter how you dress it up."

Sorry, but I don't buy it. The IOC is claiming that they're only following the rules, which state that an event has to be practiced by 25 countries on three continents to be adopted by the Games. And yet when the IOC voted to exclude the women ski jumpers on these grounds, they also voted to include ski cross, which only lists 30 women from 11 nations. In the case of women's bobsleigh, there were only 26 women from 13 nations, according to the ISF. Hypocrisy, much?

No matter how you dress it up, Mr. Pound, the IOC is not playing fair. Don't insult our intelligence by throwing your guidelines in our face when you don't play by the rules yourselves.