Slaney Files Complaint Over Drug Test

Runner Mary Slaney has filed a complaint with the U.S. Olympic Committee, claiming the drug test that prompted her suspension last week by the International Amateur Athletic Federation was flawed and discriminates against women.

The USOC, in turn, demanded that USA Track & Field, the sport’s national governing body, respond by Friday, either by scheduling a hearing or taking other action.

By going through the USOC, Slaney is avoiding a showdown with the IAAF.

“That’s not a matter between Mary and the IAAF,” her attorney, Jim Coleman, said Tuesday. “That’s between USA Track & Field and the IAAF. Basically, the IAAF has intervened into something it should not have.”

Dick Schultz, executive director of the USOC, also criticized the IAAF for suspending Slaney, hurdler Sandra Farmer-Patrick and another unidentified U.S. athlete before their national federation had acted.

“I don’t know why they did this,” he said. “It sure complicated things.”

Schultz said that if the three athletes could not settle their dispute with USA Track & Field, their next step would be hearings before the American Arbitration Assn.

Slaney’s complaint, filed Monday, said the test for the male sex hormone testosterone violated the Amateur Sports Act, the federal law that governs amateur sports and is the heart of the U.S. Olympic system.

“Using the same rules or test in men and women--because it has been proven that testosterone varies in women--is discriminatory,” Coleman said.

Pete Cava, a spokesman for USA Track & Field, said no decision had been made on barring the three athletes from next week’s U.S. championships at Indianapolis.

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Michael Johnson’s coach questioned Donovan Bailey’s entourage for allegedly ordering him to deliberately try to get Johnson injured.

“From the accounts I’ve read in the Toronto papers, Dan Pfaff [Bailey’s coach] ordered Donovan to go take him out hard and you’ll get him hurt,” Clyde Hart said, referring to Sunday’s 150-meter match race at Toronto’s SkyDome.

“I have very strong concerns that their runner was instructed to do that.”

Hart said that Johnson, who pulled up because of a hamstring injury, would be sidelined for at least two weeks.

College Football

Representatives of the Sugar, Fiesta and Orange bowls made their bids to join a new “super alliance” that will guarantee a national championship game beginning in 1999.

The three bowls, which currently make up the Bowl Alliance, hope to form a four-game arrangement with the Rose Bowl, thereby ensuring that the two top-ranked teams will meet at the end of the season.

“We’re very confident that it went well,” Leslie Pantin Jr., president of the Orange Bowl, said as he emerged from a meeting with members of the Bowl Alliance committee that lasted more than two hours. “They’ll let us know in a few days.”

Pro Football

The San Diego Chargers signed unrestricted free-agent quarterback Jim Everett, formerly of the Rams and New Orleans Saints, to a one-year contract. The Chargers released quarterback Sean Salisbury.

The Indianapolis Colts signed free-agent strong safety Robert Blackmon, formerly of the Seattle Seahawks, and released veteran strong safety David Tate.

Former USC wide receiver Chris Miller, a seventh-round selection of the Green Bay Packers in April’s draft, signed a two-year contract.

Ice Hockey

Peter Pocklington denied his Edmonton Oilers are in danger of tumbling into receivership because of his financial troubles.

Pocklington, who owes millions of dollars to the Alberta provincial treasury and is facing other legal problems, denounced a column in the Toronto Globe and Mail that said his days as an NHL owner may be numbered.

Miscellany

Former Kansas basketball player B.J. Williams was arrested on suspicion of domestic battery at Lawrence, Kan., after a weekend dispute with his wife.

Williams was a key reserve for the Jayhawks, who were ranked No. 1 for most of last season.

The 1998 West Coast Conference men’s and women’s basketball championships will be played at Santa Clara instead of Loyola Marymount, as was previously planned.

Soccer

For Major League Soccer’s second season, Commissioner Doug Logan had set an average attendance target of 20,000, a 15% increase over last year. With that figure now at just below 15,000, he concedes the league may not reach its goal.

“I don’t know if I’m going to get there,” Logan said.

Fifty-eight games into the season, MLS is averaging 14,925, 14% down from the final average of 17,416 through 160 games last year.