USAT patriarch David Backer wrote in today's Triathlon Digest:

"...Spencer should understand that a rejection of the appeal does not prove his innocence any more than a finding of "not guilty" in a criminal proceeding proves the defendant's innocence. It merely means that for any number of reasons, the party with the burden of proof failed to meet its burden."

My view? USAT should let it go. Spencer's been cleared three times in three hearings, and before each and every one I was assured by various ITU or USAT official that THIS time justice would be served. Maybe it was. It is unseemly for so august a longtime member of USAT's inner circle as David Backer to publicly air the federation's heartburn.

I do not begrudge USAT for filing its appeal, nor do I blame the ITU for filing one. But these federations are not without blame. The first is the body which sanctions the Hawaiian Ironman. The second is the body which oversees the first. Smith earned an invitation to the '99 Ironman by virtue of his performance in '98, yet wasn't offered a slot until competitors were within two weeks of starting their tapers. Smith was in good standing with his federation throughout. USAT should have threatened pulling Ironman's sanction months before. It never did.

Ironman will count themselves lucky if Smith does not sue. Likewise the ITU for not forcing USAT to honor and protect the rights of one of its daughter federation's athletes in good standing. Likewise USAT for not taking strong and timely action against one of its sanctioned races. All three are complicitous in not honoring the rights of one, singular athlete who--regardless of one's private beliefs about him--did everything "by the ITU book," won every round, and was still denied his rights. Shame on all three organizations.

USAT may privately believe whatever it wants as to Smith's guilt or innocence. But it should publicly keep quiet about Smith, both for its own benefit, and because of its own bad behavior in the matter. If it wants to take anybody to task, it should not be Smith, but the IOC, for compelling its daughter IF's, who in turn mandate to their daughter NF's, the prosecution of cases which everyone knows will never be upheld by CAS, the IOC's own designated court of last resort.