Nick D'Arcy's legal team has swung into action in a desperate bid to clear a path for the swimmer to compete at this year's Rome world titles.
His fate is set to again be played out in the courts instead of the pool following a decision by Swimming Australia's board this week to dump him for assaulting Simon Cowley.
With an SA judiciary committee considering further punishment, D'Arcy's lawyer Jack Leitner said the 21-year-old's fight was not over.
''We are considering a range of options and our position will be clearer over the coming days and weeks,'' he said.
''It is difficult to say which way we go about this because there are two proceedings.''
D'Arcy has long been a polarising figure and opinion has been split about whether this latest ban was necessary after he was sacked from the 2008 Olympic team and handed a 14-month suspended sentence.
Leitner felt his client deserved a ''fair go''.
''I don't think they [Swimming Australia] expected such a backlash,'' he said.
''I really think they were thinking that public opinion to be: 'Sucked in ... he deserved it'.
''Notwithstanding what Nick did because no one on earth can condone what he did and nor will I ever seek to do so.
''But I think the way that Swimming Australia went about it ruffled a few feathers in the public's eye.
''We all believe in a fair go and that is one of the fundamental Aussie principles and that is not what they have done.''
Leitner slammed SA for stringing D'Arcy along by parading him on a pool deck a fortnight ago as a team member for the July26 to August2 world championships, knowing he'd already pleaded guilty to a charge of recklessly causing grievous bodily harm.
Nick's father Justin D'Arcy feared the punishments would just keep on being dished out to his son.
''I don't know when it is going to finish,'' he told ABC Radio.
SA chief executive Kevin Neil said the board had to wait until after D'Arcy was convicted on March27 before delivering its ruling.
''They did not do what they thought would be popular, they did what they thought was right,'' he said.
Neil hinted the final decision from SA's judiciary committee wouldn't be made until next week.
In some positive news for the beleaguered swimmer, Australia's Commonwealth and Olympic bosses were both open to the prospect of D'Arcy representing Australia at the 2010 Delhi and 2012 London games.
Australian Commonwealth Games Association chief executive Perry Crosswhite said so long as he met SA's criteria, he could compete in India.
And Australian Olympic Committee president John Coates said D'Arcy would be considered for London.
''Swimming have had to deal with him under their by-law, I don't think they had any alternative,'' Coates said.
''We've made it clear as far as we're concerned that he's eligible for London ... if he establishes to us that he's an appropriate person to become an Olympian.'' AAP