The Executive Council of the International Amateur Athletics Federation voted unanimously Friday to change IAAF rules to allow the reinstatement in track and field, including the Olympics, of banned American hurdlers Willie Gault and Renaldo Nehemiah. Nehemiah and Gault were banned after signing pro contracts with the Bears and San Francisco 49ers, respectively. The rule change must be approved at the IAAF congress in August, but that is considered a formality.
The International Olympic Committee has endorsed a move to permit professionals to compete in the Olympics, subject to the approval of the governing bodies in their sport.
— In other action, the Executive Council imposed life bans on Americans Duncan Attwood and August Wolf on grounds they infringed IAAF doping regulations. Attwood, a javelin thrower, was disqualified after failing to pass an anti-stimulant control at a track meet in West Germany on Aug. 28. Wolf, a shotputter, was banned after refusing to undergo a test in Norway on July 7. Also banned were shotputters Nicolaos Yendekos of Greece and Ahmed Kamiel Shata of Egypt. A lifetime IAAF ban of Finnish long-distance runner Martii Vaino was lifted.
HERSHISER WINS $1 MILLION
Pitcher Orel Hershiser of the Los Angeles Dodgers became the first $1 million winner in this year`s baseball arbitration hearings. Hershiser, who made $212,000 last year, had been offered $600,000 after posting a 19-3 record and 2.03 earned-run average. He becomes the fourth Dodger who will receive a seven-figure salary in 1986, joining Fernando Valenzuela, Pedro Guerrero and Jerry Reuss.
In other arbitration rulings Thursday, New York Mets` pitcher Ron Darling and Texas Rangers` outfielder Gary Ward lost their cases, and Cleveland Indians` outfielder Brett Butler was a winner.
Darling, who made $230,000 last season, had asked for $615,000. He`ll receive $440,000. Earlier, teammate Ed Lynch won a $530,000 case. Ward had requested $930,000. He`ll get $865,000, up from the $720,000 he made last year. Butler was awarded $850,000, double the $425,000 he made last year.
— The New York Yankees have withdrawn their grievance against Don Baylor. ”Don has given us a conditional list of clubs to which he would accept a trade,” said Woody Woodward, vice president of baseball
administration for the Yanks. ”Because of a lack of interest in him at this time, an equitable trade could not be worked out.” Baylor, who has a no trade-clause in his contract, had asked to be dealt to another team. He refused a trade to the White Sox when the Sox wouldn`t agree to guarantee the option year of his contract.
NEW MINNESOTA CHARGES
New charges were filed against three former University of Minnesota basketball players Friday at a hearing in which innocent pleas were entered on their behalf on sexual assault charges involving an 18-year-old Madison, Wis., woman. Kevin Smith, Mitchell Lee and George Williams Jr. remained free on bail. Dane County Circuit Judge George Northrup set a pretrial hearing for April 11 and a May 5 jury trial. Lee, who had been charged with one count of first-degree and two counts of second-degree sexual assault, was charged with six counts of first-degree sexual assault at the hearing. Smith, who had been charged with one count each of first-degree and second-degree sexual assault, was charged with four counts of first-degree sexual assault. Williams, who had been charged with one count of second-degree sexual assault, was charged with two counts of first-degree sexual assault. Assistant Dane County District Attorney Judith Hawley said the increase in the number and the severity of the charges was based on information from the woman`s testimony at a Feb. 6 preliminary hearing.
— Michigan State basketball star Scott Skiles Friday was ordered to serve a 30-day jail term for violating probation on a 1985 misdemeanor drug conviction. The agreement calls for Skiles to serve a 30-day jail term, divided between spring break and a period after the school year. Skiles would be required to serve a minimum of 15 days, receiving one day off his sentence for each day served on good behavior.
— The Big Eight Conference has asked the NCAA to rule on the eligibility of Kansas State`s Norris Coleman, the 24-year-old freshman who leads the league in scoring, according to The Associated Press. An investigator spent two days in Jacksonville, Fla., Coleman`s home town, checking into allegations the Army veteran did not have high enough high school grades to be eligible, sources said.
TROUBLE FOLLOWS RICHARDSON
Micheal Ray Richardson is still leading the National Basketball Association in troubles. Richardson was arrested and charged with assaulting his wife, Leah, Thursday after violating a court order to refrain from going near the couple`s Mahwah, N.J., home, according to the New York Daily News. Richardson then sat out a practice with a cut on the inside of his left hand. The injury is the latest in a series of problems for Richardson, whose NBA career hinges on his ability to lick his cocaine dependency.
PATRIOTS BEING PROBED: REPORT
The National Football League reportedly is conducting two investigations involving the New England Patriots. NFL commissioner Pete Rozelle has asked for a complete investigation into the team`s drug situation and into the background of Phil Malina, according to Will McDonough of The Boston Globe. McDonough said Malina, who was not otherwise identified but reportedly is working on behalf of Patriots` vice president Chuck Sullivan, allegedly tried to get a loan for Stadium Management Co., which Sullivan owns, from the Central State Teamsters Union. The NFL wants to know wants to know who Malina is and why he was trying to get the loan, the Globe said.
— The Peach Bowl may be in trouble. CBS officials notified bowl officials the network will drop the game from its schedule. Executive director Dick Bestwick said he wasn`t surprised. ABC has dropped the Gator Bowl, and NBC didn`t exercise its option to carry the Citrus Bowl. ”Frankly, supply has exceeded demand,” said Bestwick.
