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American Morning
Interview With Donna DeVarona
Aired August 07, 2002 - 07:51 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: We move on now to the Olympics, and if the figure skating fix with an organized crime connection wasn't enough for international Olympic officials to digest, now there is another scandal brewing out there.
This one from the world of taekwondo, as a South Korean magazine says that a former vice president of the World Taekwondo Federation admits that he helped fix the results at the 2000 Sydney Games. That was the first time that Taekwondo appeared at the Olympics, by the way. But now, he is denying that report, but the USOC wants an investigation.
And we have invited Donna DeVarona, who is an Olympic gold medalist herself and a co-founder of the Women's Sports Foundation, to get up early and join us here this morning to talk about this.
DONNA DEVARONA, CO-FOUNDER, WOMEN'S SPORTS FEDERATION: Right, you know, transparency is important, and I think that the fact that this is revealed is very disappointing for athletes. The person that wrote the story has since apologized to the Taekwondo Federation, saying that maybe these things were taken out of context. I mean, it's very hard to sort out the truth in these things.
I think the important thing is, is that we are learning about these things, and we are taking stands, and we are doing about -- something about it. I grew up in an era when things were really fair. I was in swimming.
KAGAN: It was...
(CROSSTALK)
DEVARONA: And if you got to the finish line first, you know, you knew you had won. And I think we want all of our young people to feel that way, that it's a fair and even playing field. And then things have changed.
KAGAN: Right.
DEVARONA: Things started to change with the East Germans and some athletes using steroids and drugs. And...
KAGAN: Two -- I want to just get in here. Two things are different.
DEVARONA: Yes.
KAGAN: Let's go back to the time, 1964, that's when you won two gold medals...
DEVARONA: Right.
KAGAN: ... a whole different era in sports.
DEVARONA: That's right.
KAGAN: It was about train, achieve, set the goals, go home with the gold...
DEVARONA: Right.
KAGAN: ... end of story. Also not as much money involved in it at that time, though, so sports perhaps more pure.
DEVARONA: Well, I think so. I think the money and the global interest in this movement has done two things. One thing is it has elevated it. Everybody feels that it's something worth saving, that we should be connected to it. On the other hand, there are egos, greed, politics, big money, big-time payoffs, for some athletes, great rewards after financially. So we have all of these things converging at the same time.
But we did have an era where people were in denial. They didn't deal with the drug issue. I think we're halfway there with the independent World Anti-Doping Agency, and I think the next step is looking at how we can correct and improve judged sports. How we can control...
KAGAN: Well, I was going to say, that...
DEVARONA: ... these judges.
(CROSSTALK)
KAGAN: ... the difference in your sport of swimming, it's pretty simple. The gun goes off, you swim as far as you have to...
DEVARONA: That's right.
KAGAN: ... and then whoever swims the fastest wins. The figure skating, that's a judged sport, and taekwondo, that's also a judged sport, and that's kind of where the funky little gray area gets in.
DEVARONA: That's right.
KAGAN: Do those sports belong in the Olympics?
DEVARONA: I think as many sports as we can have in the Olympics as possible is a good thing. I think what we have to do is just, like we're seeing in everything, we have to reevaluate and come up with a way to judge our judges and pick our judges. I mean, if I am a Korean judge, I shouldn't judge a match where someone from my country is competing. And that should just be a rule. And I think...
KAGAN: But that would imply you wouldn't want American judges... DEVARONA: Right.
(CROSSTALK)
KAGAN: ... judging the American skaters?
DEVARONA: That's right. Absolutely.
KAGAN: No, you're out.
DEVARONA: No, you're out, and they should bring in some of the retired judges to rotate in and out of the judging process. I haven't come from a judged sport, but I think that we have to look at it. That's the next challenge...
KAGAN: The next thing...
(CROSSTALK)
DEVARONA: ... for the International Olympic Committee.
KAGAN: Bottom line, are you pleased or satisfied with how the IOC is handling this whole emerging picture of the Olympics?
DEVARONA: I think Rogge did the best he could during the games when he just started to deal with the judging scandal in skating. I don't know how he could have, you know, seen in a crystal ball that maybe there would be a crime connection. We still have to investigate further.
He has been very open and supportive of the World Anti-Doping Agency, which is independent, which is controlling that issue in sport. And I think he has done a very good job, and we just have to keep pushing and keep being transparent, so we can clean up the whole arena for young people.
KAGAN: I don't know, a lot more work to do, because it is something that people enjoy...
DEVARONA: Yes.
KAGAN: ... and watch so much. Donna DeVarona, thank you so much...
DEVARONA: Thank you.
KAGAN: ... for stopping by.
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