The Front Runner

they have agreed to underwrite all the legal and activist costs."
    They sat drinking their wine, thinking. The AAU does not have the money to fight long expensive court cases. It barely has enough money to run its athletic programs.
    "We'll also call for the congressional committee on amateur sports to investigate the whole business," I said.
    "Amateur sports are supposed to stay clean out of politics," Flasgtaad said quickly. "That's the basis on which we belong to the Olympic movement."
    "This isn't politics," said Aldo. "It's civil rights. If you don't think you're answerable to the civil-rights laws, then you go tell that to all the black athletes in the AAU, and all the women."
    "Then," I said, "we've got that federal law behind us. Maybe you don't know about the law. John . . ."
    John sat smoking a little cigar and telling them about the Supreme Court decision, and how it would apply here. "You've put your blacklisting order on paper," he said. "I have a copy of it. So there's going to
    be no doubt in a court's mind what is going on. They would see it as a black and white case."
    They were all silent, listening, a little mesmerized by John's grim precise courtroom manner. Until just recently, AAU officials have had little to do with lawyers, because athletes did not seek legal redress—they just suffered.
    "Now," John went on, "if the ban isn't lifted, the first thing we'll do is get a temporary court injunction against the blacklisting, pending a hearing. This means that you would have to let the boys run, and if you didn't, you'd be in contempt of court. Second, if we have to, we will file suit against the AAU and against all meet promoters who go along with your policy. And we will ask for big damages for the boys. Let's say, for instance, that we might ask for a million dollars each."
    Again that silence, as they thought of the AAU's little bank account.
    "Now obviously," said John, "you ought to check this out with your own lawyer. Have him tell you if he thinks you stand a chance in court. And bear in mind that if you lose the case, you pay all the court costs."
    Flagstaad said, "Mel, the meet promoters. If just one of them gets hit with a suit, they're all going to ignore your memo."
    "Then we cut off AAU money to them," said Stein-bock.
    "They'll find the money somewhere else," said Flagstaad. "Several of the meets are already getting funds from private industry and stuff."
    "Then we won't sanction the meets," said Reel recklessly.
    "What's the point of that?" said Aldo. "Do you want to hurt all the athletes?"
    "There's one more thing," I said. "And that's publicity. You don't like publicity like the crap in the National Intelligencer. And frankly, neither do we. We're not afraid of publicity. But it's a nuisance. We're not looking for publicity at all. As far as we're concerned, it shouldn't be an issue. We're interested in peace and
    quiet, and business as usual, and seeing to it that the boys run."
    "I agree with you there," said Steinbock. "The publicity is awful. But you were asking for it."
    I shook my head. "This guy McGill comes up to us at the 15-kilo and he asks us questions about something that all the track people are talking about. Are we gonna stand there and deny it, and make fools out of ourselves? We didn't ask him to come there. There's a difference between publicity that you go looking for, and publicity you just fall into like a manhole."
    "What we're trying to point out," said Aldo, "is that the more you fight the boys, the more publicity there is going to be. And there are people around who will make martyrs out of them. You guys are just going to come out as the heavies."
    "That's true," said Steinbock painfully. "We always come out as the heavies. Nobody ever sees how overworked we are, or what good we do."
    I could sense that the publicity thing was turning them in our direction.
    "We can guarantee you," I said, "that if you think you're overworked now, you'll think you were on vacation if this blacklist thing stands. For instance, there's a big demonstration planned for tomorrow, in front of the AAU office in New York. The boys have been in touch with the media, and the media are very interested."
    "Christ," said Steinbock.
    "A bunch of people are coming up here to picket the convention," John added. "The three boys are coming up too. All the major newspapers and two of the TV networks are sending people."
    The wine glasses were empty. We could see the unease growing on their