usage of had+once

[MIP]

Note: this is an example from Princeton Material.

Although Smith once championed the charity, he
changed his mind after a journalist linked its origin to
a corrupt individual.

which one is correct here ??
1. once championed
2. had once championed

once already means some time in past and it's no longer true => this is as good as "had" isn't it ?

So do we need a had in this case ?? Also, i feel "although" isn't used in proper context. There is no contrast here. I think author wants to say B happened after A happened.

Appreciate your inputs from MGMAT staff. Thanks a bunch.

[RonPurewal]

two answers for you here:

one:

once already means some time in past and it's no longer true => this is as good as "had" isn't it ?

that's a very, very good question.

so good, in fact, that i will refrain from trying to answer it until i see a precedent in an official problem. this is the kind of issue on which convincing arguments can be made either way - and the official problems sometimes adopt surprising positions on such usage issues anyway - so i'll wait until i see what rules the gmat sets on its own playground.

by the way, was this distinction the only difference between two otherwise "correct" answer choices? if so, rest assured that the gmat will not make problems turn on such trifling distinctions, unless one of the two is CLEARLY incorrect or ambiguous.

--

two:

Also, i feel "although" isn't used in proper context. There is no contrast here.

oh no, there's definitely a contrast here.

the journalist held opinion X, but then did a complete 180 and holds what is essentially the polar opposite of opinion X. that is a contrast if i've ever seen one.
(edit: see, i can't even write the above sentence without reflexively using "but"! that says something)