The Ted Stevens Olympic and Amateur Sports Act is a United States law (codified at 36 U.S.C. Sec. 220501 et seq. of the United States Code) that charters and grants monopoly status to the United States Olympic Committee, and specifies requirements for its member national governing bodies for individual sports.
The current version of the Act was sponsored by Senator Ted Stevens, then–United States Senator from Alaska, and adopted in 1998. It is a revision of the previous Amateur Sports Act of 1978 that reflects changes such as the fact that amateurism is no longer a requirement for competing in most international sports, expansion of the USOC's role to include the Paralympic Games, increased athlete representation, and protection of the USOC against lawsuits involving athletes' right to participate in the Olympic Games.
The United States Olympic Committee has used the law to force the "Gay Olympics" to change their name to the Gay Games. The organization has threatened to use the law against the "Redneck Olympics," though it has given special dispensation to the Special Olympics.
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