ComicalGnomes wrote:
I'm going to piss you all off by disagreeing with you, I think it's unfortunate he wasn't allowed in.
He was banned for 2 years in 2003, which he has served and then some. It's kind of like letting someone out of prison but then never allowing them to get a job, no matter how skilled they are, because they were a bit of a stupid cunt once. He looks pretty clean now, and remains a pretty good athlete, so I think the decision not to allow him to compete is more political than it is a strict adherance to the term 'lifetime ban'.
The 2 year ban was for competitive athletics entirely. The lifetime "ban" is re being allowed onto our Olympics team.
It's entirely fair that the UK Olympics team should have a say over who gets on it. They've got a rule, and they enforce it. And he knew about it when he decided to be a big cheating scumbag.
He can, and does, run competitively for prize money, so it's not the same as not letting released prisoners get jobs. He just isn't allowed to go off and represent our country in the Olympics.