Finch, Bandits disappointed by softball's Olympic exclusion

The exclusion of softball from the 2016 Olympic Games was met with disappointment at the Judson University Softball Complex on Thursday, but at least two Chicago Bandits players and their coach vowed to push forward with making their sport as viable as possible.

"Luckily, I've been able to see this sport grow and to have that taken away is hard," said Bandits pitcher and two-time Olympian Jennie Finch. "But our sport will prevail."

The International Olympic Committee's Executive Board met in Berlin, Germany on Thursday and did not recommend that softball or baseball be considered for the 2016 Olympics. The board did recommend adding golf and rugby as Olympic sports and a final vote on those will be taken in October at the IOC session in Denmark. In addition to baseball, the board also did not recommend adding karate, roller sports and squash.

The U.S. Olympic team won the Silver medal in the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Softball made its Olympic debut in Atlanta in 1996 and the U.S. rolled to the Gold medal, then successfully defended its title at the next two Olympics in Sydney and Athens. But in 2005, softball was voted off the Olympic program for the 2012 London Games. And at Beijing, Japan upended the United States in the Gold medal game.

"The ISF and wider softball family is certainly disappointed by today's decision by the IOC," International Softball Federation president Don Porter said in a statement. "However, we respect the IOC's decision and I tip my cap to golf and rugby for getting recommended."

Bandits coach Mickey Dean also expressed disappointment but didn't point any fingers.

"This fight has been a strong fight but had we been prepared and at the top of our game from the beginning this would never have happened," said Dean, also the head coach at Radford University. "You can't make any assumptions and I think we did that."

For DePaul graduate Amber Patton, a current member of the U.S. National Team, the dream of playing in the Olympics may be on hold - but not her love of the game.

"It's very unfortunate," Patton said prior to the Bandits NPF game in Elgin against the Rockford Thunder on Thursday. "There was that hope that (the IOC) would see how great a sport it is internationally. It looked promising because the other countries are becoming so competitive. It's disappointing they didn't give us a shot for 2016."

While softball may be off the Olympic docket, Finch pointed out that the NPF and the world championships will continue. The 2009 World Championship tournament will be held in Oklahoma City.

"We'll still have that and the World Cup and the Pan Am Games," Finch said. "And this league will be huge for continuing support. The world championships in Oklahoma City next year will truly be our venue to show how far the sport has come."

Finch, 28, deflected thoughts of her Olympic career possibly being over.

"I've had my experience," she said. "My heart goes out to the women who were next in line, for the Amber Pattons and for all the 12-year olds who had the Olympic dream. And my heart goes out to all those women in third world countries who have worked so hard to improve. My hope is those programs continue to grow and they help to grow the game globally."

Dean also agreed the game will continue on and make the best of what it has.

"I don't think the dream has died," he said. "It's just taking a different direction. Eight-nine years ago, who would have thought there would be an NPF where all these women could play professionally? And there's still going to be the NPF, the World Cup and the World Championships."