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Watershed vote IOC faces decision time on scandal-driven reforms
Posted: Friday December 10, 1999 11:02 PM
LAUSANNE, Switzerland (AP) -- Is the International Olympic Committee really ready for change? Or is it determined to cling to its old ways? The answer will come this weekend when the IOC votes on reforms designed to overhaul the 105-year-old organization and prevent any further corruption in bidding for the Olympic host city. The meeting comes exactly a year after the Salt Lake City bribery scandal plunged the IOC into its worst crisis, damaging the credibility of a committee meant to uphold the ideal of fair play. "The IOC has listened and learned the lessons that had to be learned from the crisis," IOC president Juan Antonio Samaranch said this week. "We have learned that the IOC has to be more open, more proactive, a more modern organization." Samaranch, who has survived incessant calls for his resignation from outside the IOC, is putting his leadership on the line by asking members to give up some privileges and perks. "The whole world is watching us and expecting resolute action," Samaranch said in a letter to all members. "We cannot ignore public opinion." Samaranch said this week he is confident the reforms will pass. If they don't, he might feel compelled to resign. While the bulk of the 50 reforms should pass easily, there could be resistance on a few proposals -- the introduction of an eight-year term of office for members, with the possibility of re-election, and a ban or tight restrictions on visits to bid cities. With 95 of the IOC's 102 members attending, the session could be influenced by anti-American sentiment. Many delegates feel the reforms are driven by American political pressure. With Samaranch to appear before a skeptical Congress next week, members say they don't want to be seen as being dictated to by the Americans. "We are certainly not doing this to favor or please the Americans," said Hungarian member Pal Schmitt, a former IOC vice president. IOC members still complain they took most of the blame for the Salt Lake scandal. Six IOC members were expelled and four resigned in connection with the US$1.2 million worth of cash, gifts, travel and other inducements offered by Salt Lake bidders during the successful bid for the 2002 Winter Games. "They [Salt Lake] should take 50 percent responsibility for their conduct," Schmitt said. "They haven't taken one [percent], zero. All they did was get rid of two people [organizing committee president Frank Joklik and vice president Dave Johnson]. "What else did they do? Tell me one example where they paid any price for their misbehavior, while we were hunted by journalists around the world." Don Porter, the American president of the international softball federation, said the United States is losing influence in the Olympic movement because of the backlash. "The United States doesn't own the world and they certainly think they do," he said. "Let's face it. The politicians don't know a lot of what's going on in sports and only care about how much time they get in front of the cameras. "It's time a lot of people in the U.S. woke up and said, 'We want to be part of the team.' We're losing out because of the resentment that's built up all over the world against the U.S." In a move to improve the IOC's image in the United States, Samaranch brought in former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger and former Sen. Howard Baker to help the IOC recover from the scandal. Baker was appointed an outside member of a new IOC ethics commission, while Kissinger served on the IOC 2000 panel which drafted the proposed reforms. Kissinger is to address the IOC at the opening of the session Saturday. On Wednesday, Samaranch will testify before the House Commerce Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations. He will need to have some ammunition to convince lawmakers the IOC has made significant reforms. Otherwise, Congressional leaders have threatened to cut off the flow of American sponsorship and television funds to the IOC. All this comes at a time of renewed speculation that Samaranch might step down before his term expires in 2001. But the 79-year-old president reiterated again this week that he fully intends to stay, and close aides on Friday dismissed a news report that Samaranch had decided to quit early. "Every indication I have is the president's intentions haven't changed and that he will complete his mandate," IOC vice president Kevan Gosper said. "I expect him to see out his term and I feel he should. I think the session will reinvigorate him." Samaranch will need all his diplomatic skills this weekend to get his way on the issue of visits to bid cities. Two proposals are on the table: one would prohibit visits, the other would allow for tightly controlled visits organized and paid for by the IOC. Samaranch is adamant in arguing for a total ban on visits. But some members argue this makes them look like criminals, while others say it's impossible to choose a host without seeing the cities. Some members propose a compromise: Ban visits only for the upcoming bidding for the 2008 Summer Games, which will be awarded in 2001. Afterward, the IOC can decide whether to reinstate visits for the future.
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