Dwain Chambers Loses High Court Challenge to Overturn His Lifetime Olympics Ban

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The decision on 18 July, 2008 by the English High Court (Mr Justice Mackay) not to overturn the British Olympic Committee (BOA) lifetime Olympics ban imposed on the British sprinter, Dwain Chambers, for a doping offence and allow him to compete in the Beijing Olympics, on the grounds that it is not an unreasonable restraint of trade is, in my opinion, a travesty of justice and a sad day for the widely held principle of the rehabilitation of offenders.

On the restraint of trade point, one argument before the Court was that the lifetime ban does not prevent Chambers from working but, I would counter that by saying that it does prevent him from participating in the …