when did the olympics first allow professional athletes
Amateur sports Before the 1984 Winter Olympics, a dispute formed over what made a player a professional. The IOC had adopted a rule that made any player who had signed an NHL contract but played less than ten games in the league eligible. However, the United States Olympic Committee maintained that any player contracted with an NHL team was a professional and therefore not eligible to play. The IOC held an emergency meeting that ruled NHL-contracted players were eligible, as long as they had not played in any NHL games.[17] This made five players on Olympic rosters—one Austrian, two Italians and two Canadians—ineligible. Players who had played in other professional leagues—such as the World Hockey Association—were allowed to play.[17] Canadian hockey official Alan Eagleson stated that the rule was only applied to the NHL and that professionally contracted players in European leagues were still considered amateurs.[18] Murray Costello of the CAHA suggested that a Canadian withdrawal was possible.[19] In 1986, the IOC voted to allow all athletes to compete in Olympic Games starting in 1988,[20] but let the individual sport federations decide if they wanted to allow professionals.[21]