A matter of honor
Posted: Wednesday February 10, 1999 12:17 PM
At Lausanne, Switzerland, a few days ago, in the aptly named Palace Hotel --
wherein resides, in the grand suite, room 301, His Excellency, Juan Antonio
Samaranch, president of the International Olympic Committee -- I encountered an
old acquaintance on the
elevator.
His name is Alex Gilady. Years ago, in Olympic circles, Alex was facetiously
known as "the delegate from NBC." He is, most prominently, an
official of that network, and he was a ubiquitous Olympic presence. Then, one
day, the delegates arrived at a meeting to learn that His Excellency had
determined that Alex should become a genuine member. So overnight, the honorary
delegate from NBC became the real IOC delegate from
Israel.
Naturally, in the fuzzy Olympic world, where everybody seems to have a second or
third agenda -- some concealed, some brazen -- Mr. Gilady continued to work for
NBC, even as NBC purchased Olympic rights for 10 years at $3.5 billion in secret
negotiations that denied all other networks any opportunity even to
bid.
But then, that's the way that business is carried on in the Samaranch
regime.
So Alex and I met there at the elevator, and, gently, he upbraided me for not
being more understanding of Samaranch and his cozy Olympic club. "Frank,
please," Alex said, "we are not robots." He meant that any
group of a hundred or so men and women was bound to exhibit some very human
foibles and failings. Couldn't I -- couldn't the rest of the baying wolves in
the press -- couldn't we understand
that?
"Yes, Alex," I replied, "I
could."
But couldn't he understand why so many thoughtful people believed that the man
in charge had to take responsibility for an organization that was so riddled
with graft that any reasonable person had known about it for years. Already,
newspapers all around the world had begun to call for Samaranch's resignation,
but Alex Gilady assured me that the IOC of His Excellency's personal appointees
would never permit it. The committee is convinced, it seems, that the
financial gloss of the Olympics outweighs whatever corruption rusts the Olympic
rings.
Now Alex Gilady is an honorable man. So are they all on the IOC -- well, most
of them -- honorable men and women. Or, anyway, they started out meaning well.
But they are simply the most obvious example of what happens to people who are
treated like kings and queens, with no one to tell them no. After a while
reality drifts out of whack, and they begin to see themselves above the law.
More than anything, it's a group hubris that the IOC
suffers.
Once, years ago, Alex Gilady and I stood together at a cemetery outside of Tel
Aviv, praying silently and crying a little before the graves of several of the
Israeli Olympic athletes who had been murdered by terrorists at Munich. Oh, I
know Alex is not a robot. I know so many members of the IOC never intended to
countenance graft and deceit. But their leader, in his personal quest for power
and prestige, let them wander down that path ... and now it is their
responsibility to restore their honor, to choose the Olympics over their
benefactor. They must tell Juan Antonio Samaranch that he must
go.
That is the true Olympic
spirit.
These commentaries, which appear each Wednesday on National Public Radio's Morning Edition, are posted weekly by CNN/SI.
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