Olympic Stadium D-Day

West Ham are favourites to be named the preferred tenants of the Olympic Stadium this morning.

 The future of the Olympic Stadium should become clearer today with the announcement of the preferred bidder.

The Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, is expected to award a lease to the Hammers, subject to conditions which are likely to include the installation of retractable seats over the running track.

West Ham were told they could not buy the stadium last year - the new occupants will be tenants.

One of the conditions of becoming tenants was keeping the athletics track, which ruled Tottenham out of the running as the North London club wanted to rip it up.

One sticking point at a meeting of the London Legacy Development Corporation this morning will be who funds an estimated £20m shortfall in the budget to convert the stadium to use for football.

If West Ham are granted the lease there could yet be legal issues, with Leyton Orient - who want to share the stadium - possibly mounting a challenge.

West Ham may also be required to hand over a share of profits to the public purse, because of the huge amount of taxpayers' money used to build the stadium.

There is unlikely to be any football at the stadium until 2015 at the earliest - and possibly not until the 2016-17 season.

A football business consortium and a consortium hoping to stage Formula One races there are also in the running.

But West Ham are favourites to win the bid because they are likely to have the least impact on the public purse in the years ahead.

2012 Olympic Games - Opening Ceremony

The Queen officially declared the 2012 Olympic Games open Friday in London, setting in motion a 4-hour, $42.2 million opening ceremony. The epic event featured over 10,000 athletes from 204 countries and lots and lots of music from Queen, David Bowie, and the Beatles. Plus, appearances by David Beckham, Lord Voldemort, Mr. Bean, Will & Kate, and more!

Check out photo highlights from the ceremonies below:

A performer in a giant ball is passed around during the Opening Ceremony of the London 2012 Olympic Games at the Olympic Stadium on July 27, 2012 in London, England.

Basketball player Lauren Jackson of Australia carries her national flag into the stadium during the Opening Ceremony of the London 2012 Olympic Games at the Olympic Stadium on July 27, 2012 in London, England.



Performers with a jetpack takes part in the Opening Ceremony of the London 2012 Olympic

Games at the Olympic Stadium on July 27, 2012 in London, England. 

Tower Bridge is seen before the opening ceremony of the London 2012 Olympic Games on July 27, 2012 in London, England. 

The Olympic Stadium is illuminated during the opening ceremony of the 2012 London Olympic Games on July 27, 2012 in London, England. Athletes, heads of state and dignitaries from around the world have gathered in the Olympic Stadium for the opening ceremony of the 30th Olympiad. London plays host to the 2012 Olympic Games which will see 26 sports contested by 10,500 athletes over 17 days of competition.




Queen Elizabeth II (R) and Jacques Rogge (L), President of the International Olympic Committee, attend the Opening Ceremony of the London 2012 Olympic Games at the Olympic Stadium on July 27, 2012 in London, England.





(L-R) Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge and Samantha Cameron watch on during the Opening Ceremony of the London 2012 Olympic Games at the Olympic Stadium on July 27, 2012 in London, England. 

Performers pay tribute to British music during the Opening Ceremony of the London 2012 Olympic Games at the Olympic Stadium on July 27, 2012 in London, England.

The Olympic rings are assembled above the stadium in a scene depicting the Industrial Revolution during the Opening Ceremony of the London 2012 Olympic Games at the Olympic Stadium on July 27, 2012 in London, England. 

David Beckham drives a speedboat carrying the Olympic flame to the London 2012 Olympics opening ceremony on July 27, 2012 in London, England. Athletes, heads of state and dignitaries from around the world have gathered in the Olympic Stadium for the opening ceremony of the 30th Olympiad. London plays host to the Olympic Games which will see 26 sports contested by 10,500 athletes over 17 days of competition.

The Olympic rings are assembled above the stadium in a scene depicting the Industrial Revolution during the Opening Ceremony of the London 2012 Olympic Games at the Olympic Stadium on July 27, 2012 in London, England.



British actor Rowan Atkinson in his role as Mr Bean takes part in the Opening Ceremony of the London 2012 Olympic Games at the Olympic Stadium on July 27, 2012 in London, England. 

Performers in the role of Mary Poppins float inside the stadium during the Opening Ceremony of the London 2012 Olympic Games at the Olympic Stadium on July 27, 2012 in London, England.

 

 

FA won't ask for Bale ban

Team GB coach Stuart Pearce and the English FA will not complain over Gareth Bale's participation for Tottenham in a friendly match, meaning he will not be banned from playing for his club by FIFA until August 12.



Bale scored as Spurs drew 1-1 with LA Galaxy during their American tour on Tuesday, but had previously been withdrawn from GB coach Stuart Pearce's squad for the Olympics because of injury.



That led FIFA president Sepp Blatter to claim that Bale could be banned for playing for Tottenham during the Olympic Games if the FA lodges a complaint.



The FA and British Olympic Association did not initially comment on his appearance for Andre Villas-Boas' side, but Blatter said: "The principle is that if a club does not release a player, then an association can come to FIFA and we will then ban this player during the Olympics.



"So far, nobody has come to FIFA [to complain about Bale] - but it is a possibility that we could ban these players if they are not at the disposal of the national team.



"They [a football association] complain and then we say: 'Let this player go or he cannot play for the club.' FIFA's position has never been so clear as it is now for the Olympics 2012 and 2016."



But Bale will escape a ban as an FA insider then told ESPN: "I don't believe we are going to lodge a compliant with FIFA, I would say the answer to that is no. The Olympic GB team met up many weeks ago, and it doesn't mean to say that the player was not unfit when we selected the squad in the first place."



The Welsh winger insisted he had recovered from his injury "well ahead of schedule" justifying, in Spurs' eyes, the initial decision to withdraw him from Pearce's GB squad and the subsequent decision to play him in Tuesday's friendly..



Bale played 74 minutes of the match against Galaxy, and Villas-Boas said: "Gareth is extremely young and physically a beast, so he was able to put on the effort.



"We extended [his time] because we want him to complete a certain amount of minutes before we start the season."



Speaking after the match, Bale told Tottenham's official website: "It was a good workout. It was one that I needed, and it was good to get a goal as well.



"My rehab's gone very well at the club - we are well ahead of schedule. It's important to get a pre-season under my belt for the forthcoming season, so I am delighted to be back now without any problems."

Bale out for Olympics

Tottenham Hotspur star Gareth Bale has suffered an injury which will rule him out of this summer's London Olympics, according to reports.



The Wales winger was expected to be one of the main attractions in Stuart Pearce's Team GB squad when the Games get under way.



But Bale, who on Wednesday signed a new contract at Tottenham, is understood to have aggravated an old back and hip injury while on a personal training run to stay fit for the Olympics.



The setback will come as a major blow to Spurs as they prepare for the start of the Premier League season at Newcastle on 18th August.



And, more immediately, Bale's absence will come as greater setback to Pearce, who is expected to name his Team GB squad on Monday.



Team GB have been drawn in Group A for the Games and will begin their campaign against Senegal on 26th July before taking on United Arab Emirates and Uruguay.



Pearce has already caused huge debate by surprisingly deciding to omit Olympic ambassador and former England captain David Beckham from his squad.



Instead, Manchester United's Ryan Giggs, Liverpool's Craig Bellamy and Manchester City's Micah Richards are understood to have been preferred as the three overage players for the Under-23 tournament.



Beckham said on Thursday of his omission in a statement: "Everyone knows how much playing for my country has always meant to me.



"So I would have been honoured to have been part of this unique Team GB squad.



"Naturally I am very disappointed but there will be no bigger supporter of the team than me. And like everyone, I will be hoping they can win the gold."

Kagawa to miss Olympics

The technical director of the Japanese FA, Hiromi Hara, has handed Manchester United a boost with the news that midfielder Shinji Kagawa will not be included in the country's selection for the Olympic Games.



Kagawa, 23, is eligible for selection, but will instead join up with his new Manchester United team-mates once he has completed his medical examinations and received a work permit.



The decision has been made with Japan's World Cup qualifiers in mind, with the Japanese association hoping to give their star midfielder time to rest and undertake a full pre-season this summer.



Hara confirmed: "Kagawa is one of the leading members of the Japan national senior team and he is almost certainly going to join one of the biggest clubs in the world.



"We came to the conclusion that not giving him enough rest is not good for his future nor our final World Cup qualifiers. I talked to Kagawa directly and told him he would not be chosen.''



David de Gea is set to be part of the Spain squad, while Tom Cleverley and Chris Smalling are among those eligible for selection in Stuart Pearce's Team GB squad to be named in the first week of July. However, Smalling's participation would depend upon his recovery from the groin injury that ruled him out of Euro 2012.



Ferguson has already negotiated with the Mexico FA to ensure that Javier Hernandez will not be included in their squad for the games, having participated in national team encounters in June.

Article Advocates Title IX Approach to Olympic Games

In the current issue of the Seton Hall Journal of Sports and Entertainment Law, attorney Susannah Carr argues that the International Olympic Committee should look to Title IX as a model for eliminating discrimination against female athletes in the Olympic Games and the Olympic Movement more broadly. Despite a considerable a increase in the percentage of female Olympians in the modern Olympic era -- from 2% in 1896 to 41% in 2004, there are still evidence of sex discrimination in the Olympic Games. At the Games themselves there are events that exclude women (ski jumping!) or favor men's participation (sailing, for example). Beyond Olympic events themselves, discrimination exists at the national level. For example, nine countries sent no female athletes to Athens in 2004, and many fail to provide equal resources toward their support and development.

To address this discrimination, Carr proposes that the IOC require participating countries and international sports federations to equitably distribute resources among male and female athletes, measured, as in the Title IX regulations, by such things as participation opportunities, equipment and supplies, travel support, scheduling, coaching, facilities, medical and training services, housing and dining, and publicity. For example, in the context of participation, governing bodies would be required to "select events that test similar skills, such as strength and agility; offer the same number of team and individual events; and select the same number of classic and high-performance events for women and men." Such a requirement would prevent sports like sailing, for example, from selecting events that rely on equipment better suited to men and effectively excluded women from the opportunity to compete. Nations, too, would have to comply with a Title IX-type measure for equal opportunities. Carr does not suggest that they be required to send equal number of male and female participants (perhaps because this outcome is based on the result on competitions, and is not entirely in a country's control) but she does suggest countries that send disproportionately fewer female athletes be made to satisfy a prong-two like standard of showing a history and continuing practice of expanding Olympic opportunities for women.

I think Carr's proposal is interesting and useful. Though it doesn't examine every application or answer every question that would be raised by such a policy, it starts a much needed conversation about the issue of sex discrimination in the context of the Olympic Games.

Citation: Susannah Carr, Title IX: An Opportunity to Level the Olympic Playing Field, 19 Seton Hall J. Sports & Enter. L 149 (2009).

Women Ski Jumpers Sue for Inclusion in Olympic Games

Though outside the scope of Title IX, the Title IX community may be interested in the pending lawsuit to include women's ski jumping in the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver. Some of my favorite women's sports blogs have been posting on this for a while, and All Things Considered covered it in its broadcast tonight. Ski jumping is the only Olympic sport that excludes women, so 10 female ski jumpers, including American champion Lindsey Van, have sued the Vancouver Organizing Committee, arguing that as a government entity, it must comply with the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, their equivalent of our constitution's equal protection clause. In American constitutional law, the US Olympic Committee is not a state actor (thus, the USOC was immune to equal protection challenge of its prohibition on the "Gay Olympics") but I don't know if Canadian courts have similar precedent or whether they are more likely to impose constitutional requirements on their Olympic entities. But if the charter does apply to VANOC, it seems unlikely that it could justify the exclusion of women by simply evoking the fact that the IOC does not sanction women's ski jumping. To use a Title IX analogy, that would be like letting colleges that are subject to Title IX get away with gender inequalities by blaming the policies of NCAA. An entity's obligation to comply with nondiscrimination law (by virtue of being a state actor in VANOC's case, or by virtue of accepting federal funding in the Title IX case) is not negated by that entity's association with another entity that is outside the scope of that law.

Anyway, it will be interesting to see how the case resolves. Maybe the plaintiffs will win, and the Americans will rock at women's ski jumping, and colleges across the country will start adding women's ski jump teams to comply with Title IX?

[thanks SJE]

On the other hand

Boston Globe columnist Bob Ryan attributes the success of the American women's teams in Beijing to Title IX.
Too bad he keeps referring to the athletes as "ladies" in that way in which many male sports writers, thinking they are being supportive, are so condescending.

Title IX and the Olympics

You knew we wouldn't make it through an Olympics--even a highly successful one for the United States--without hearing about Title IX threatening the future of Olympic sports. This article in The Wall Street Journal is not entirely condemning of Title IX, but it does leave open the potential inferences by readers that cuts to men's Olympic sports happen because women's sports are "protected" by Title IX. Maybe we should go ask the female fencers at JMU how protected they felt.
The United States is all about medals--or at least that's the impression we get from watching the television coverage. We won the medal race this time around (but not the gold medal race--China got that one). There has been a lot of discussion over why the US track and field team did not perform as well as expected. But funding these sports at the college level is not a commitment schools are making. And with little state support, why would there be an expectation of success? Success will come to those who can pay for it as privatization takes over.
Lisa Love, athletic director at Arizona State University, which has recently gone through the cutting and backlash experience, said cuts are dictated by what the market wants. I guess if the market wants football it shouldn't complain about medal counts every four years.

PS If you're looking for the even less nuanced, factually incorrect version or you're just in the mood to get really ticked off, you can read Phyllis Schlafly's version of how Title IX hurt the US Olympic Team and how China benefited from not having to deal with all this "feminist nonsense."

Beijing Sex Testing Criticized

Begging your indulgence for a slightly off-topic post, but I am inspired by Colby College professor Jennifer Finney Boylan's insightful op-ed in today's New York Times to address recent reports that Olympic organizers in Beijing will run sex-verification tests on athletes competing in women's events whose female-ness is "suspect."

While the IOC has banned blanket sex-testing and has allowed transsexual athletes who meet certain surgical, hormonal, and legal qualifications to participate in the category of their post-operative sex, Beijing officials recently announced a plans to operate a “gender determination lab” to evaluate athletes' sex based on their physical appearance, hormones, genes and chromosomes.

Boylan, like some of the bloggers who have also criticized the policy (e.g., here and here), points out that gender testing is far more likely to inflict dignitary and emotional harm on those tested -- especially those who test positive for athletically irrelevant anomalies -- than it is to nab any genuine gender impostors, of which there has been only one in Olympic history. Because, like gender itself, gender testing is fraught with ambiguity. After all, Boylan asks, "what makes someone female?":

If it’s not chromosomes, or a uterus, or the ability to get pregnant, or femininity, or being attracted to men, then what is it, and how can you possibly test for it? The only dependable test for gender is the truth of a person’s life, the lives we live each day. Surely the best judge of a person’s gender is not a degrading, questionable examination. The best judge of a person’s gender is what lies within her, or his, heart.....A quick look at the reality of an athlete’s life ought to settle the question.

Boylan concludes by imploring the Beijing organizers to "make peace with a world in which things are not always quantifiable and clear." As I imagine the unspeakable pain and degradation that a gender witch hunt would cause to sport, to women, and to the Olympic games, I hope they take her advice.

Cross posted at Feminist Law Professors.