March 2021 Featured Interview
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Interview with
Cameron Myler, Esq., OLY
Four-Time Olympian & Advocate for Using Sport to Promote Positive Social Change
About Cameron:
Cameron Myler’s professional experiences are diverse, but there's a common theme: sport. She is a Clinical Assistant Professor at New York University’s Tisch Institute for Global Sport, an arbitrator with the Court of Arbitration for Sport, an intellectual property and sports lawyer, and a four-time Olympian in the sport of luge.
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At NYU, Cameron’s teaching and research interests include legal issues relating to Olympic sport, international sports governance, the regulation of doping in sport, intellectual property, as well as athletes’ commercial rights, branding and career transitions. Cameron is a member of the Court of Arbitration for Sport, which adjudicates eligibility, doping, ethics and commercial issues related to sport. She served on the Anti-Doping Division of CAS at the 2018 Winter Olympic Games in PyeongChang, South Korea. In her legal practice, she has represented Olympic athletes and sports organizations, advised media and entertainment clients in a variety of commercial matters, and litigated high-profile intellectual property cases.
Prior to practicing law, Cameron competed in four Olympic Games in the sport of luge (1988 – Calgary, 1992 – Albertville, 1994 – Lillehammer, 1998 – Nagano) and was elected by her teammates to carry the American flag at the Opening Ceremonies of the XVII Olympic Winter Games in Lillehammer, Norway. She was U.S. National Champion seven times and won 11 World Cup medals. Cameron was inducted into the Hall of Fame of the National Association for Sport & Physical Education and is featured in the book SuperWomen: 100 Women --- 100 Sports. She is a two-time grant recipient of the Women’s Sports Foundation Training and Travel Fund. |
South Korea: Cameron posing with the PyeongChang Mascot at the
2018 Winter Olympic Games |
She is committed to using sport to promote development and social change. Cameron is an Athlete Ambassador for Kids Play International, a nonprofit that uses sport to promote gender equity in countries impacted by genocide, an Olympic Ambassador for Athlete Ally, which advocates for inclusion of the LGBTQ+ community in sports, and a Champion for the Sports Integrity Global Alliance. She also supports Champions for America’s Future, a nonprofit organization that promotes policy solutions for at-risk kids to compete in life.
After retiring from competitive sport, Cameron received her J.D. from Boston College Law School and an Executive Masters in Sports Organization Management from the University of Poitiers, a program coordinated by the IOC. She is currently enrolled in a coaching certification program at the International Coach Academy and plans to coach athletes in their career transitions after she completes the program.
Since the start of the pandemic, Cameron has been living in Woodstock, NY with her chiweenie dog, Flash.
After retiring from competitive sport, Cameron received her J.D. from Boston College Law School and an Executive Masters in Sports Organization Management from the University of Poitiers, a program coordinated by the IOC. She is currently enrolled in a coaching certification program at the International Coach Academy and plans to coach athletes in their career transitions after she completes the program.
Since the start of the pandemic, Cameron has been living in Woodstock, NY with her chiweenie dog, Flash.
Myrna Beth Haskell, executive editor, spoke with Cameron about her experiences as an Olympic athlete, her arbitration and litigation work, and her varied creative pursuits.
Why luge, and when did you start competing?
When the Winter Olympics were held in Lake Placid [1980 Olympic Games held in Lake Placid, NY], I went with my parents to watch the events every day – they were volunteering. Luge was still very new in the U.S. I was fascinated by it. To get people interested in the sport, the luge association held a two-week camp right after the Olympics. My parents let me skip school to go. I was always studious and did my homework, so they were fine with me going. I loved it so much! I don’t remember this, but my mother claims when she asked me if I was afraid that I told her I was ‘humming and singing all the way down.’ At the end of the two weeks, there was a Junior Olympics race, and I won my age category. I was invited back to a camp that next summer. I was 11 years old, which is a typical age to start in the sport. I made the national team in my junior year of high school. I won nationals when I was 16.
I always hold my breath when I see luge competitions. Were you fearful at first due to the speeds? Did you ever crash?
Why luge, and when did you start competing?
When the Winter Olympics were held in Lake Placid [1980 Olympic Games held in Lake Placid, NY], I went with my parents to watch the events every day – they were volunteering. Luge was still very new in the U.S. I was fascinated by it. To get people interested in the sport, the luge association held a two-week camp right after the Olympics. My parents let me skip school to go. I was always studious and did my homework, so they were fine with me going. I loved it so much! I don’t remember this, but my mother claims when she asked me if I was afraid that I told her I was ‘humming and singing all the way down.’ At the end of the two weeks, there was a Junior Olympics race, and I won my age category. I was invited back to a camp that next summer. I was 11 years old, which is a typical age to start in the sport. I made the national team in my junior year of high school. I won nationals when I was 16.
I always hold my breath when I see luge competitions. Were you fearful at first due to the speeds? Did you ever crash?
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This is not a sport you can do if you are afraid. I would crash once a year…which is not too bad. Everyone crashes.
In 1998, the year of the Nagano Olympics, I was ranked 2nd overall in the World Cup rankings. I was competing in my last World Cup race. The rules that season had changed so that all of your races counted (you couldn’t drop any). This last race of the season was in Altenberg, Germany. It was a very fast track, so they had always started the women at the typical juniors’ start and the men at the typical women’s start. That’s how it had been at this track for my entire luge career. When we got there, they had decided to switch it back. I crashed on my last run from the women’s start. You usually know why a crash happens, but I didn’t this time, so I couldn’t make adjustments. I then had to go up to what had previously been the men’s start. I crashed two more times in the next two days, and on the last one, my sled got away from me. I was done and didn’t want to go anymore. But my coach, who was from Lichtenstein, said, ‘You must go.’ It was one of the most difficult things I had to do - mentally, it was extremely difficult. I wound up placing 5th. |
2018: A Look at the Track in PyeongChang
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I finished 7th in Nagano. I really didn’t think I could have done better. Of course, I would have liked to have medaled at the Olympics, but knowing that you’ve done the best you can do is what matters. [Cameron’s best Olympic finish was 5th in Albertville, France in 1992. She was sick with the flu that year.]
Cameron with Former U.S. President, Bill Clinton
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You are a four-time Olympian and were on the U.S. National Luge Team for 14 years. How did you remain in top form all of those years?
Well, you’re not always at exact peak performance level. The typical season starts in the beginning of October. You’re then on the road for about ten weeks. There are several weeks of training, then the world cup circuit starts. You’re home for a week, then another eight weeks after Christmas. It’s a fairly long season. During the summer months, you do intense physical training. You work on your start which requires a lot of upper body strength. The start is the only time you get a chance to accelerate the sled. Luge is the only sport that is calculated to the one thousandth of a second. If you’re a 100th of a second slow on the start, there is no way to make up the time. It takes time to learn all the tracks in the world, and you get only about 20 runs per track in a year. What is your most memorable experience at the Olympic Games? There are several memorable moments – I had a lot of firsts. I was the first American to win a medal in a World Cup competition in Sarajevo (when it was still Yugoslavia). But, carrying the flag for the U.S. at the 1994 Olympics [in Lillehammer, Norway] was at a different level. |
Each sport nominates someone who best represents the Olympic ideal. Then, one person is picked from the selected athletes. I didn’t think I would be picked. It was like the Oscars – it’s an honor to be considered, and you’re included with this amazing group of athletes. [Speedskaters] Bonnie Blair and Dan Jansen were candidates! It was also a very tough year. I had dislocated my shoulder earlier that year, and my brother was dying from colon cancer. Cameron smiles as she remembers her brother. He competed in the luge first, so I kind of stole all of his equipment (he was 13 years older than me, very much my big brother). He was super supportive of me, so it was really tough.
You were elected to the U.S. Olympic Committee board of directors. Did this role inspire you to become a lawyer?
Yes. During my time on the USOC, I met a lot of lawyers who were doing work in different capacities. I was on the board from 1996 to 2003/2004. The board was very large (120 people were on it and 20% of the board of directors had to be athletes). There were about 20 on the executive committee. The USOC needed to develop a new governance structure at the time, so a task force of 10 people was chosen, and we proposed that the new board would consist of only 11 people. We had to convince all of these people to give up their positions. I testified before Congress on behalf of the task force during that process.
You were elected to the U.S. Olympic Committee board of directors. Did this role inspire you to become a lawyer?
Yes. During my time on the USOC, I met a lot of lawyers who were doing work in different capacities. I was on the board from 1996 to 2003/2004. The board was very large (120 people were on it and 20% of the board of directors had to be athletes). There were about 20 on the executive committee. The USOC needed to develop a new governance structure at the time, so a task force of 10 people was chosen, and we proposed that the new board would consist of only 11 people. We had to convince all of these people to give up their positions. I testified before Congress on behalf of the task force during that process.
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You’ve litigated unfair competition cases concerning anti-doping, ethics matters, eligibility, etc. Over the course of the years that you competed as an Olympian, did you feel that athletes were supported well and that their voices were heard?
I was also vice president of USA Luge. I was always interested in advocating for athletes. The Ted Stevens Act* of 1998 provided a way for athletes to have more opportunities to participate as compared to other countries. It required a certain percentage of athletes participating in the governance of sports - sitting on boards/committees, having a say in selecting teams and distribution of funds. *Ted Stevens Olympic and Amateur Sports Act: a bill to amend the Amateur Sports Act of 1978 to strengthen provisions protecting the right of athletes to compete, recognize the Paralympics and growth of disabled sports, improve the U.S. Olympic Committee's ability to resolve certain disputes, and for other purposes. As a former athlete who has experience with international competition, do you feel you can navigate these types of cases more easily than someone who doesn’t have life experience as a top athlete? I’ll speak from the experience of my current role as an arbitrator for the Court of Arbitration for Sport. It’s a world I am very familiar with, and it certainly was instructive for me to have been an athlete for so many years and to have been involved in governance. However, I want to be viewed as a smart and fair decision-maker, someone who will hear all of the facts, apply the relevant law, and make a fair decision – one that does not always decide in the athlete’s favor. |
U.S.A. House in PyeongChang
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Cameron Works with Children as Sports Ambassador for Kids Play International
(Photo Credits: Don Cook) |
You’ve traveled to Rwanda to work with Tracy Evans’s nonprofit organization, Kids Play International, and you’re currently vice president of the organization. Its mission is to use sport to promote gender equity. What changes have you seen from working in these communities? I had litigated for ten years in New York City. I liked my career, but I didn’t love it. I didn’t see myself litigating cases for the rest of my career. I was looking for something else. My firm at that time wanted me to become a partner. Even though Cameron had a good working relationship with the firm, becoming a partner was not what she wanted. She just needed to figure out what was next. When Tracy contacted me about Kids Play, I said, 'Tell me some more.' I’ve always welcomed new opportunities. Through Kids International, we use sport as a way to engage kids to learn how boys and girls can do the same things. |
I’ve been there three times now, but the first time I went to Gatagara [a small, rural community in the hills of Rwanda], I saw a community with no running water or electricity. If you had a goat, you were considered in good shape. These kids literally had one shirt, one pair of shorts and plastic shoes. They would wrap rubber bands around rags to be used for football [known as soccer in the U.S.]. The societal norms were very specific about what it means to be a boy versus a girl. We brought baseball equipment and taught them how to play baseball. It was fantastic to see the change in mindset. We’ve since heard from the community that the boys now realize that cleaning and doing dishes is not just for girls – they’re seeing girls as their equals. The last time we were there, we opened a new community sports field.
I can definitely categorize this as one of the best sports-related experiences I’ve had in my life. We have a program in Cambodia now. We’ve done a lot of training with the local coaches. A State Department program brought the Rwanda coaches to Park City, Utah for two weeks to learn the curriculum. Most of them had never been out of their village.
I can definitely categorize this as one of the best sports-related experiences I’ve had in my life. We have a program in Cambodia now. We’ve done a lot of training with the local coaches. A State Department program brought the Rwanda coaches to Park City, Utah for two weeks to learn the curriculum. Most of them had never been out of their village.
In terms of gender equality, what improvements have you seen since you first competed in the luge?
Women are now competing in all of the sports that men compete in. The numbers of female athletes are also now much closer to the numbers of male athletes – participation is closer to 50-50.
However, there is still a lot of room for improvement with women’s pay for professional athletics, participation in the governance of organizations, and equity within commercial partners - sponsorship and brand organizations. I believe there is room for improvement off the field more than on the field.
You’re faculty adviser for the Women in Sports student club at NYU. What does this club offer female athletes?
We provide for opportunities for these female athletes to interact with professionals within the sports industry. I’ve organized a variety of panels. It’s valuable for these students to have the opportunity to interact with and to see what women have accomplished at a high level - if you can see it, you can be it.
Women are now competing in all of the sports that men compete in. The numbers of female athletes are also now much closer to the numbers of male athletes – participation is closer to 50-50.
However, there is still a lot of room for improvement with women’s pay for professional athletics, participation in the governance of organizations, and equity within commercial partners - sponsorship and brand organizations. I believe there is room for improvement off the field more than on the field.
You’re faculty adviser for the Women in Sports student club at NYU. What does this club offer female athletes?
We provide for opportunities for these female athletes to interact with professionals within the sports industry. I’ve organized a variety of panels. It’s valuable for these students to have the opportunity to interact with and to see what women have accomplished at a high level - if you can see it, you can be it.
I’ve heard you also have a passion for photography. When did this interest develop?
My mom was very crafty, so I grew up doing a variety of things. I have this mix of analytic and creative skills.
Dartmouth was on quarterly semesters which worked well with my schedule. It took me seven years to get my degree because I would do two quarters per year. Right after my brother died, I signed up for two art classes in drawing and design. I got citations for extraordinary work and wound up taking additional art classes. I was originally doing a lot of painting – large-scale abstract landscapes.
Cameron said she transitioned to photography after taking a bunch of beach photos with a disposable camera on a business trip to California.
I realized that what I had been painting was what I was capturing through photography.
Cameron is also passionate about weaving.
Several years ago, I made a big loom. I use upcycled fabric to weave rugs - recycled sheets and recycled t-shirts.
My mom was very crafty, so I grew up doing a variety of things. I have this mix of analytic and creative skills.
Dartmouth was on quarterly semesters which worked well with my schedule. It took me seven years to get my degree because I would do two quarters per year. Right after my brother died, I signed up for two art classes in drawing and design. I got citations for extraordinary work and wound up taking additional art classes. I was originally doing a lot of painting – large-scale abstract landscapes.
Cameron said she transitioned to photography after taking a bunch of beach photos with a disposable camera on a business trip to California.
I realized that what I had been painting was what I was capturing through photography.
Cameron is also passionate about weaving.
Several years ago, I made a big loom. I use upcycled fabric to weave rugs - recycled sheets and recycled t-shirts.
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Any advice for young female athletes you’d like to share?
Sports test you both physically and mentally. There comes a point in every athlete’s career where one must decide to continue or to search for an internship or a job. If it’s truly a sport that you love, I recommend that you see where it takes you. There is a limited window of time that you can compete – to excel and test your limits. Where do you find sanctuary? I find sanctuary in a couple of different ways. I love being outdoors in nature. ‘Forest Bathing’ [a.k.a. shinrin-yoku] is a Japanese concept of spending time in a forest as a therapeutic exercise – being outdoors and in nature to rejuvenate yourself. I also love to spend time and walk outside with Flash [Cameron’s beloved rescue dog]. |
