OLYMPIC COMMITTEE MADE RIGHT DECISION

Eric Lamaze Belongs In Rehab And Not In Spruce Meadows At The Sydney Olympics

It is easy to feel sympathy for equestrian Eric Lamaze. Lamaze spent his
youth growing up on the streets of Montreal, raised by an alcoholic
grandmother. His mother was a drug-addicted convict and his father was unknown.

But he is no longer a troubled teenager.

Lamaze now lives in a large home in southern Ontario, runs a burgeoning
stable north of Toronto and earns a six-figure salary.

That he was able to rise above such circumstances deserves praise. That he
has followed his mother's path into drugs does not.

Yesterday, Lamaze was informed that the Canadian Olympic Association would
not allow him to compete in the Sydney Olympics even though an adjudicator
lifted a lifetime ban on competition that had been placed on Lamaze on Aug.
29. The ban was imposed by the Canadian Equestrian Federation after he
tested positive for cocaine use.

Olympic officials made the right choice by refusing to allow Lamaze to
compete. Lamaze was considered one of Canada's best hopes to win a medal at
the Olympics and this made reinstatement a tantalizing option for a
medal-starved country. Had Olympic officials allowed Lamaze to take part in
the competition this weekend, it would have sent a message to other members
of the Canadian team, the country and to many other groups that being on
the medal podium is more important than how a person reaches it.

Lamaze had signed an agreement with the equestrian federation to compete
drug-free. He wasn't - a point Lamaze acknowledges.

This was also the second time that Lamaze was banned from Olympic
competition for using cocaine. He received a four-year ban from competition
prior to the 1996 Atlanta games. The ban was lifted after seven months.

Lamaze turned back to cocaine after he received news of another ban on Aug.
18. He had tested positive for a banned substance he mistakenly ingested
through a dietary supplement.

During the adjudication, Lamaze said he fell into depression and
contemplated suicide before the first ban was quietly lifted Aug. 24. A
test on Aug. 29 found evidence of cocaine, ingested during the period
before the first ban was lifted. He said he had been drinking at a party
following an equestrian competition and had smoked a cocaine cigarette.

The fact that Lamaze felt cut loose when word of his ban reached him in
August shows the COA and the equestrian federation have to examine the way
in which bans are handled.

Handing down a competition ban can only be seen as part of the process.
Another part should be ensuring the athlete has the counselling he or she
needs to cope with the implications of a ban. As well, rehab must be part
of the equation.

Under the Canadian Policy on Doping in Sport, penalties for drug use
include competition bans and loss of federal funding. There is no mention
of helping athletes gaining help to rehabilitate. They are cut loose,
discarded, and left to deal with the effects of their actions.

If athletes have a responsibility to perform drug-free, then the athletic
groups which they belong to have a responsibility to help them achieve this
laudable goal and assist them when the pressures of competition or society
lead them into drugs.