Professor settles disputes at Olympics

As the Olympic torch was lit and the opening ceremony commenced, Gary Roberts’ job was only just beginning.

Roberts, Dean Emeritus of the McKinney School of Law at IUPUI, was one of the lawyers selected to solve disputes at the 2014 Sochi Olympic Games.  

“What they wanted to do was have the ability to solve disputes quickly,” Antony Page, vice dean of the law school, said. “It’s really useful to have a body that can make these decisions quickly.”

The moment a legal problem arises during the games, he said, Roberts and eight other lawyers resolve it within a matter of hours.

He and the other lawyers have already settled disputes for the International Olympic Committee, Roberts said.

Two skiers, one Argentinian and one Austrian, appealed to the court, saying they had been unfairly ruled ineligible to compete.

In both cases, the lawyers found their ineligibility legitimate, and the athletes weren’t allowed to compete.

Roberts said he is free to attend whichever events he wants as part of the “Olympic Family,” but he must always be available in case a problem arises that needs to be settled.

When a report comes in, he works around the clock reading submissions, conducting hearings and meeting with other lawyers to reach a decision, he said.

After that, he is free until the next case.

The group of eight lawyers he’s part of is selected from the Court of Arbitration for Sport, a judicial body founded in 1994 to resolve legal disputes in professional
athletics.

“As the president of the Sochi CAS contingent said to me, we are the IOC’s insurance policy, to make sure that disputes and controversies have a mechanism for quick and fair resolution,” Roberts said in an email.

In most IOC cases, there are two kinds of disputes: eligibility, such as questions regarding citizenship or drug testing, and rules of an event, including complaints about equipment or another party’s behavior, Page said.

A recent example of the latter arose when the Russian team disputed the results of a
cross-country skiing event, Page said.

They came in fourth place.

They claim a Norwegian skied out of his own path and won the bronze medal unfairly.

Depending on the decisions of Roberts and the other lawyers, this could change the medal results of the event.  

Page said Roberts’ work away from IU isn’t going unnoticed.

“We’re all really proud that he was chosen to go and make these decisions,” Page said. “It’s quite an honor and a recognition that he is one of the top sports lawyers in the world.”  

Follow reporter Alison Graham on Twitter @AlisonGraham218.