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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted at 12:39 a.m., Wednesday, July 16, 2008

Olympics: Ban to be reversed for US boxer

Associated Press

DALLAS — Luis Yanez, the 19-year-old light flyweight who was banned from the U.S. boxing team for the Beijing Olympics after skipping several workouts, apparently has reached an agreement to be reinstated, a Dallas newspaper reported early this morning.

The Dallas Morning News' online edition, quoting people familiar with the deal who were not identified, reported that Yanez's reinstatement was to be announced today. USA Boxing did not confirm the report and Yanez could not be reached late last night.

The newspaper said an agreement was reached late last night requiring Yanez to publicly apologize to USA Boxing CEO Jim Millman, national director of coaching Dan Campbell and his teammates. He also will have to acknowledge wrongdoing and agree to ongoing psychological evaluation, plus pay back a yet-to-be-determined amount for training costs.

Yanez was kicked off the roster July 1 for skipping more than three weeks of workouts last month at the team's residency training program in Colorado Springs, Colo. Campbell and Millman said they didn't hear from Yanez, who left June 4 for his native Duncanville, Texas, until shortly before they sent a formal letter setting a final deadline for his return.

On Monday, USA Boxing's judicial committee upheld the organization's decision to ban Yanez from the Olympic team.

Yanez, a two-time U.S. champion who won a gold medal at the Pan-Am Games last year, missed a training trip to Argentina in late June, instead attending a send-off dinner in Dallas where a Texas state representative gave him a commemorative plaque.

When Yanez finally got back in contact with his coaches, he was reluctant to say why he had missed workouts. He eventually claimed he was caring for his sister and her four children while she went through rehabilitation for an addiction to crack cocaine, but the team still barred Yanez from the U.S. Olympic Training Center.