on so many levels.
Deep breaths, Burney, deep breaths.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/gymnastics/37832754
I've never really understood the legalities surrounding a company or organisation of some kind being able to suspend or dismiss someone for something that isn't illegal. As an example, there are now states in America where you can legally purchase and smoke marijuana. Yet most, if not all, sports leagues drug test for marijuana and if caught you can be suspended from playing, thereby preventing you from earning a living even though you did nothing illegal.
Would the athlete win if he sued the league? Similarly, could Louis Smith sue UK Gymnastics given that he did nothing that was illegal?
I would guess that most employers could sack someone if they deemed that they had doen something against company rules, doesn't have to be illegal.
He competes under gymnastics rules, same as all sportsmen, they have to abdide by the rules no matter how daft they might seem
Northern Monkey ... who can't upload a bleeding Avatar
I think that's a generalisation. Employers cannot put whatever they want in a contract, they are required to ensure that the contract does not contain restrictions which would limit certain personal freedoms, as an example. I expect that if Louis Smith took UK Gymnastics to court and said that they were preventing him from earning a living because he laughed at a joke, he would probably win, as would the NFL player who legally purchased and smoked marijuana yet was banned anyway.
I also expect that most people simply decide it isn't worth it, so nonsense like this ban slowly becomes acceptable.