Some people will be astonished at the penalty handed down to a pair of swimmers selected to compete at the London Olympics. The nature of their " crime " seems more of a case of offending " political correctness " than any conflict with the law.
Nick D'Arcy and Kenrick Monk used their days off from a swim meeting in the United States to visit a gun shop It seems that they were invited to try a few shots at a firing range within those premises and afterwards a photograph was taken showing the pair holding both a pistol and high powered automatic shotguns. There was nothing illegal about any of these activities. No laws - either here in Australia or in America were broken.
D'Arcy and Monk both have a history of activities that rub a lot of people up the wrong way. D'Arcy was banned from the Commonwealth games because of a physical conflict that saw another swimmer suffer long term facial damage. This resulted in the court awarding damages against D'Arcy - and he declared himself bankrupt to avoid that payment. Monk made a false statement to police and instigated a costly police investigation to avoid embarrassment when he fell off a skateboard and suffered an injury.
The pivot point of the uproar that followed this visit to a gun shop in America was the posting of the photograph on Facebook and Twitter. The Australian Olympic committee claims that " they brought themselves into disrepute " by that action, and promptly imposed a draconian penalty.
They will be permitted to swim for Australia at the Olympics, but immediately their races are completed they will be required to fly home. They will miss the closing ceremony and any celebration of Australia's success at the games. In addition, they are totally banned from any " social media activity " during the games. In effect, they are silenced from any comment on Facebook, Twitter - or writing a blog for publication.
Some people will applaud this punishment because publishing that photo would seem to be a case of rubbing the Olympic Committee's " nose in it ! " Both swimmers were on shaky ground after previous incidents and they would have been wise to keep a low profile - and stick to winning swimming races. Other people may disagree. If they broke no law then the objection seems to be a case of infringing " political correctness " - and that would not sit well with libertarians !
A lot depends on what happens next. These two would be wise to accept their punishment and keep a low profile while the fuss blows over, but there is always the chance that it may be challenged in the courts - and that could lead to future Olympians being saddled with iron clad contracts - with all the i's dotted and the t's crossed to create a legal straight jacket.
" Political Correctness " and the law make strange bed fellows !
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