SHOW JUMPER DESERVES HIS CHANCE AT REDEMPTION

Eric Lamaze has paid a huge price for using cocaine. The promising young
international show jumper was banned from competing for Canada in the last
two Olympics because he tested positive for the drug.

There are people who believe that he has not suffered enough. One of those
is Ron Southern, co-chairman of the organizing committee for next week's
prestigious international Masters event at Spruce Meadows near Calgary. Mr.
Southern howled at the news that Mr. Lamaze was to be named to the national
team by the Canadian Equestrian Federation. "It holds the sport and Canada
up to immense ridicule," said Mr. Southern, who founded the private Spruce
Meadows facility.

Some critics maintain that Mr. Lamaze should not be allowed to represent
Canada again -- ever. He was banned for life from competition following his
second positive cocaine test, but the ban was overturned. There were
extenuating circumstances. Were there ever.

Mr. Lamaze was first exposed to cocaine in his mother's womb. His mother
couldn't tell him who his father was. He was raised in Montreal by an
alcoholic grandmother, because his mother was frequently in jail. He
dropped out of school in Grade 7 and lived on the street.

Mr. Lamaze was rescued by his love of horses. He worked at the famous
stables in Bromont, Que., and showed such talent that this rider who, his
colleagues joke, "has trouble reading in either official language," somehow
made it to the top of an inherently elitist sport.

It hasn't been an easy fit, this former street kid hanging out with the
sons and daughters of old money. And Mr. Lamaze has behaved badly.

His four-year suspension for cocaine use before the Atlanta Olympics was
well-earned. The suspension was reduced, though, and Mr. Lamaze was
preparing for the Sydney Olympics when he tested positive for the banned
substance ephedrine. Mr. Lamaze maintains ephedrine was added to a diet
supplement he had been taking for years when the manufacturer changed the
formula.

Regardless, the Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport banned him for life, a
penalty that exceeded the protocol for the substance, which can hardly be
considered performance-enhancing for a show jumper. Two days later, the
centre reversed its decision, but it was too late.

Mr. Lamaze says he became depressed and even suicidal, got drunk at a party
and unknowingly smoked a cigarette that contained cocaine. Shades of Nagano
Olympic gold medal winner Ross Rebagliati and the snowboarder's claim that
he didn't smoke pot, he was just hanging out in a room full of people who were.

It's easy to doubt both these athletes. But it's hard to prove that they
are lying.

Mr. Rebagliati had his medal taken away, but it was eventually returned.
Days after Mr. Lamaze was banned for life for his second cocaine
infraction, an arbitrator overturned that ban completely. However, the
Canadian Olympic Association decided not to name him to the Olympic team.
Mr. Lamaze chose not to fight that decision.

Which brings us to the current situation. If Mr. Lamaze remains clean, he
is entitled to compete. He is a former drug addict, not a sports cheat.
Yes, athletes are role models. Yes, Mr. Lamaze should be held to a high
standard of behaviour. But it's also true that people who overcome a tragic
past can be our most valuable role models.

Mr. Lamaze's life is a saga of a man seeking a refuge from his past and
redemption from personal demons. He should not be denied one more
opportunity to find that redemption. He deserves the chance to determine
his own fate. After all, his next strike will certainly be strike three.

As for Mr. Southern, whose son-in-law Jonathan Asselin replaced Mr. Lamaze
on the Sydney Olympic equestrian team, he is entitled to argue that Mr.
Lamaze shouldn't participate in the Masters. But his howls of outrage reek
of privilege and self-interest.