Baumann is involved in a legal struggle with the IAAF. The German athletics
federation, DLV, had cleared him of doping charges last summer, but the IAAF
refused to lift the suspension. Under pressure from the IAAF, the DLV then
reluctantly agreed to maintain the suspension, but Baumann took the case to
the Oberlandesgericht Frankfurt/Main and obtained an injunction to compete
at this year's German indoor championships. During the German championships
14 of the original 22 participants in the 3000m withdrew out of fear of
suspension. 7 chose to compete and have been suspended from international
competition as a result
In a similar but unrelated affair, the international wrestling federation
FILA has suspended all German wrestlers from international competition
indefinitely because the German wrestling federation permitted Olympic
champion Alexander Leipold to compete in the German championships. Leipold
was tested positive for nandrolon in Sydney, was stripped of his medal and
suspended for two years. The German wrestling federation stipulates a one
year suspension for doping offenses, and so allowed Leipold to compete.
Leipold's case is due to be brought up on 22 April at the international
Court of Arbitration in Lausanne, Switzerland.
[Source: De Volkskrant (online at
http://www.volkskrant.nl/nieuws/sport/360021131.html?history=/i335020927.
This is a rough summary; I do not guarantee that it is error free.]
-- Elliott Oti
PS: RT, lighten up; the Germans aren't all out to get you. And even if they
were, the rest of us wouldn't let them, would we guys?
----- Original Message -----
From: "R.T." <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Sent: Tuesday, February 27, 2001 5:37 AM
Subject: Re: t-and-f: German suspensions
> Here's my GUESS as to what's going on- nothing more than
> a guess, and others are welcome to throw crap at it....
>
> For years the German federation and it's powerful
> administrators, including the people connected with the
> drug-testing lab at Cologne (Köln), have taken the lead in
> firing salvos at every country around the world who had
> trouble figuring out how to walk the razor's edge between
> IAAF/IOC rules and their own national legal maze. You
> know, typically having to tread through complex concepts
> such as due process, assumption of innocence, beyond a
> reasonable doubt, preponderance of the evidence, burden of
> proof, double jeopardy, habeas corpus, amicus curiae,
> certiorari, caveat emptor, modus operandi, and whatever
> else I can remember from 8th grade government class and
> Perry Mason reruns.
>
> Maybe the IAAF has ASSUMED, because the Germans have been
> their 'deputy enforcers' for so long, that when and if
> any cases were to come out of Germany itself, that the
> IAAF could quickly impose punishments and the Germans would
> be good soldiers and fall into step immediately.
>
> What they have failed to take into account is that
> Germany has some similar concepts in its legal system too,
> thanks to occupation by the Americans, British, French
> and Canadians at the end of WWII (we'll ignore the Soviet
> legacy, since the German reunification pretty much adopted
> the Western legal model).
>
> Maybe such considerations don't exist to the same extent
> in such countries as Spain (Samaranch home) or Italy
> (home of recent IAAF head Nebiolo)- a bit more dictatorial
> in history over the last few decades with people like
> Franco running about?
>
> It is therefore with considerable glee that some Americans (and
> maybe Brits too) will observe the current dilemma the Germans
> have found themselves in- with Dieter Baumann being granted a court
> order, the IAAF threatening "contamination" suspensions, and
> other German athletes caught in the middle. Indeed, we've
> been down that path before, haven't we?
> And it is not restricted after all to "those stupid Americans"
> and their silly Constitution.
>
> Professional track has to proceed in a complex environment that
> the IAAF cannot dictate or control.
>
> RT
>
