Jordan Chiles appeals ‘unfair’ decision that cost her Olympic bronze medal
By Thomas Schlachter and Kevin Dotson, CNN
(CNN) — Jordan Chiles filed an appeal of the decision that led to the US gymnast being stripped of an Olympic bronze medal, her attorneys announced Monday.
Chiles was stripped of her first individual Olympic medal after the Romanian gymnastics team challenged the decision to revise her final score in the floor exercise to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).
CAS eventually upheld the challenge, meaning the US star’s bronze went to Romania’s Ana Bǎrbosu.
Chiles has now opted to appeal CAS’ decision to the Federal Supreme Court of Switzerland – where CAS is based.
“From start to finish, the procedures leading to the CAS panel’s decision were fundamentally unfair, and it is no surprise that they resulted in an unjust decision,” Chiles’s attorneys said in a press release.
Her attorneys argue CAS violated Chiles’s “right to be heard” by “refusing to consider the video evidence that showed her inquiry was submitted on time,” and that Chiles was not properly informed that the President of the CAS panel had a potential conflict of interest.
“Jordan Chiles’ appeals present the international community with an easy legal question—will everyone stand by while an Olympic athlete who has done only the right thing is stripped of her medal because of fundamental unfairness in an ad-hoc arbitration process? The answer to that question should be no,” Maurice M. Suh, counsel for Chiles, said.
“Every part of the Olympics, including the arbitration process, should stand for fair play,” Suh added.
CAS told CNN that it cannot comment as it has not yet been notified of the appeal by the Swiss Federal Tribunal.
The United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee (USOPC) said they are determined to see Chiles receive the recognition she deserves.
“Due to the egregious errors and oversight by CAS in handling the case and overlooking clear evidence of Jordan’s rightful Bronze win, we are determined to ensure she receives the recognition she deserves. Our commitment to truth in this matter remains steadfast,” the USOPC told CNN Monday.
USA Gymnastics (USAG) told CNN it is not involved directly in the appeal at this stage but is supporting Chiles and her team.
“USAG is closely coordinating with Jordan and her legal team and will make supportive filings with the court in the continued pursuit of justice for Jordan,” the body said.
“Chiles believes in competing fairly and with integrity and holding these organizations to the standards and rules that were established to ensure fairness,” the gymnast’s attorneys added Monday.
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