Lesbian wrestler Stephany Lee kicked off Olympic team for smoking pot

Stephany Lee, an openly lesbian wrestler who married her partner a day after qualifying for the London Olympics, was kicked off the team after testing positive for smoking marijuana. Pot is a banned substance under U.S. Olympic Committee rules.

Lee's win at the Olympic trials and marriage to her partner Brigg McDonald was heartwarming and nice chronicled by John Branch of the New York Times. But now her Olympic dreams are in tatters.

Stephany Lee, an openly lesbian wrestler who married her partner a day after qualifying for the London Olympics, was kicked off the team after testing positive for smoking marijuana. Pot is a banned substance under U.S. Olympic Committee rules.

Lee’s win at the Olympic trials and marriage to her partner Brigg McDonald was heartwarming and nice chronicled by John Branch of the New York Times. But now her Olympic dreams are in tatters.

She said that she quit using marijuana two weeks before the trials — “the longest I ever quit before a competition,” — and that she was surprised to learn of the result from the United States Anti-Doping Agency several weeks later. … Lee said she had had 16 consecutive negative tests since 2009, when she tested positive for marijuana at the prestigious United States Open.

While she said she was surprised by the positive test, Lee did not go so far as saying her sexual orientation played any role in her dismissal, telling Branch: “I’m more angry than anything at myself. I’m disappointed for the people I’ve let down that have been behind me. I’m sad. I could have stopped earlier. I could have prevented this.”

I have never seen how smoking pot enhances performance and think its prohibition makes as much sense as banning athletes from drinking. But the rules are the rules (no matter how stupid) and Lee should have been a lot more careful. She said she hopes to win a spot on the 2016 team. Her place in London will be taken by Ali Bernard, whom she beat in the trials.