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Three disabled athletes sue US Olympic Committee over benefits
Denver, July 29: Three Paralympic athletes filed a federal discrimination lawsuit against the US Olympic Committee saying the organization gives better benefits to Olympic athletes and violates disabilities law.
Denver, July 29: Three Paralympic athletes filed a
federal discrimination lawsuit against the US Olympic
Committee saying the organization gives better benefits to
Olympic athletes and violates disabilities law.
Wheelchair athletes Scot Hollonbeck, Tony Inguez and
Jacob Heiveil, say the USOC should be giving Paralympians the
same health insurance, grants, living expense stipends and
opportunities as Olympians.
Hollonbeck said the United States has fallen from first in Paralympic medals to sixth, trailing smaller countries like Canada.
"There are some wonderful people at the USOC but they have been treating us unfairly. We've exhausted all our other alternatives and that is why we filed the suit," Hollonbeck said yesterday.
The suit seeks unspecified compensatory damages. The USOC declined immediate comment.
The lawsuit alleges the USOC isn't complying with the Federal Americans with Disabilities Act and the Rehabilitation Act.
It also says the organization hasn't held up its end of a marketing contract with vie sports marketing, which Hollonbeck helped form after the USOC decided to separate the Paralympics into a single brand in 2000.
The main focus of the lawsuit is funding for Paralympians. The USOC spends US $ 3.75 million annually and about 3 per cent of its quadrennial budget of US $ 491.5 million on its Paralympic programme.
Bureau Report
Hollonbeck said the United States has fallen from first in Paralympic medals to sixth, trailing smaller countries like Canada.
"There are some wonderful people at the USOC but they have been treating us unfairly. We've exhausted all our other alternatives and that is why we filed the suit," Hollonbeck said yesterday.
The suit seeks unspecified compensatory damages. The USOC declined immediate comment.
The lawsuit alleges the USOC isn't complying with the Federal Americans with Disabilities Act and the Rehabilitation Act.
It also says the organization hasn't held up its end of a marketing contract with vie sports marketing, which Hollonbeck helped form after the USOC decided to separate the Paralympics into a single brand in 2000.
The main focus of the lawsuit is funding for Paralympians. The USOC spends US $ 3.75 million annually and about 3 per cent of its quadrennial budget of US $ 491.5 million on its Paralympic programme.
Bureau Report