40 years later, Team USA still defiant over controversial Olympic loss

In the waning seconds, after the U.S. team had trailed pretty much from the start, Collins stole a careless Soviet pass, raced to the basket and got hammered. Dazed, he still sank two of the most pressurized free throws ever. That put the Americans up 50-49.

But even as Collins launched his second foul shot, confusion had begun. A horn blew. The Soviets clamored for a time out but didn’t call it properly – or did they? A hurry-up inbounds play was wiped off and the team in red tried again, with an errant pass that sparked a U.S. celebration. Gold!

But wait: R. William Jones, the 65-year-old co-founder of FIBA with no authority in that Olympic championship moment, showed up on the court and ordered the timekeeper to put three seconds on the clock. A timeout had been called, he said, but missed by the international referees. The U.S.S.R. got a third chance. This time, a long pass wound up in Aleksandr Belov‘s hands for a quick turn and layup.

Unbelievable. The Soviets danced on the court. The U.S. players sulked to their locker room, angrier with each step. In the heat and profanity of the next few minutes, they decided to protest the game (the review panel chosen by Jones was stacked with three Communist-bloc countries and the outcome was upheld 3-2). Someone also said something about not accepting any bleeping silver medals …
So those medals sit in a vault in Switzerland to this day. The Americans skipped the ceremony and resisted every attempt by the IOC to convey them – until even those bureaucrats gave up about 15 years ago.

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