MIXED MESSAGES: REBAGLIATI, THE IOC AND GRAFFITI

NAGANO, Japan -- Snowboarding gold medalist Ross Rebagliati, temporarily
dethroned by a drug test that showed marijuana in his system, refused to
Just Say No on Friday.

The Canadian Olympic Association suggested that the snowboarder
"demonstrate leadership within the sport of snowboarding" by issuing an
anti-drug message. He refused.

His revoked medal was returned on appeal, because of a vague policy on
testing for marijuana by both the skiing federation and the IOC. Rebagliati
said he had inhaled second-hand smoke at a going-away party before the
Olympic Games. Rebagliati said that he hadn't smoked marijuana since April.

"I'm not sending a message," he said. "People have to make choices in their
lives. You have to live by the decision you make. That's all."

The International Olympic Committee said it would review its policy on
testing for marijuana.

In the press center, someone has weighed in on the controversy with a magic
marker. There is a wall in the cafeteria where graffiti is encouraged.
Someone wrote: "Go ahead and play your little game, FIS (the skiing
federation, which oversees snowboarding and bans pot). You're an old man,
AFRAID of the kid! Take the gold because snowboarding will rule zee world!"

Luge bronze medalists Brian Martin and Mark Grimmette lived on a lake in
the Catskills last summer and designed an aquatic prank to tease visitors.
They converted a sailboat into a glass-bottom boat and then made up a
mannequin with old clothes, sank it in a shallow part of the lake, and took
friends out to the area to fake a corpse-sighting. Clearly, these guys
needed more snow in their lives.

Seen at the snowboard venue, written in red ink in the snow: "What's a Cool
You Are!" Lost in the translation was, well, nothing.

A sign outside the infirmary at the Main Press Center says: "Advice to Flu
Patients. No Drinking. No Smoking. No Karaoke."

)1998 San Francisco Examiner