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Reforms completed Olympic committee bans visits to bid cities
Posted: Sunday December 12, 1999 04:09 PM
LAUSANNE, Switzerland (AP) -- Exactly a year after being rocked by the biggest corruption scandal in its history, the International Olympic Committee delivered on its promises Sunday. The IOC enacted a package of sweeping reforms -- including a ban on visits by members to bid cities -- in a bid to restore public confidence in the organization after its worst crisis. Despite complaints that the no-visits rule implied that members couldn't be trusted, the 100 IOC delegates approved the blanket ban by an overwhelming margin. The decision eliminated the biggest perk enjoyed by IOC members -- travelling around the globe at the expense of bid cities desperate to win their vote. The vote capped a two-day meeting in which delegates passed all 50 of the reform proposals by a huge majority, marking the biggest restructuring in the history of the 105-year-old IOC. The result was a major victory for IOC president Juan Antonio Samaranch, who will now have some ammunition when he travels to Washington to testify Wednesday before a skeptical U.S. Congress. "What we did today marks a historic page in our long history," Samaranch told the delegates."We promised to the world to change, and we are delivering this change. The new millennium will see a new International Olympic Committee." U.S. Rep. Fred Upton, who will be chairing the hearing before the House Investigations Subcommittee, praised the reforms as "an important first step toward returning some of the luster to the Olympic rings." But the Michigan Republican said he wanted to "verify, verify, verify" the changes. "Wednesday's hearing will give us a chance to thoroughly review them, to ensure they're worth more than just the paper written on," Upton said. The changes were finalized a year to the day after Swiss executive board member Marc Hodler triggered the crisis by alleging widespread vote-buying in the bidding process for Olympic host cities. The scandal, which centered on Salt Lake City's bid for the 2002 Winter Games, resulted in the expulsion or resignation of 10 IOC members. "The problem we faced at the beginning of the year -- today we will say this problem is solved," Samaranch said, flashing a grin as he brought down the gavel to close the session. Later at a news conference, Samaranch said: "These reforms are our answer to the public, to the athletes, to the Olympic movement. We did what we promised. We recognize there has been a breach of trust between the IOC and the public, and that it will take time to heal. Today, we have started that process." On Saturday, the IOC approved a set of structural reforms, including lowering the age limit for new members from 80 to 70, setting a renewable eight-year term of office for all members and creating a special panel to screen candidates for membership. The IOC also agreed to the inclusion of 15 active athletes, elected by their peers, on the committee. Ten were officially appointed Sunday, including former U.S. volleyball star Robert Ctvrtlik, Russian swimer Alexander Popov and Ukrainian pole vaulter Sergei Bubka. The proposal on visits was the most contentious issue of the session and provoked impassioned debate, with 36 delegates taking the floor to speak. Two proposals were on the table: one stated that visits are "not necessary" and the other allowed for tightly regulated visits organized and paid for by the IOC. At the end of the 2 1/2-hour debate, Samaranch bypassed any sort of parliamentary procedures in order to make sure he got his way for a complete ban. "Those in favor of visits, raise their hands," he said. Only 10 -- including Britain's Princess Anne -- did so. There was one abstention. "The proposal is approved," Samaranch said. And that was that. Just before the decision, Samaranch responded to concerns that the ban suggested he felt the members were open to bribes. "I would like to say very clearly ... I trust the members 100 percent," he said. Visits were at heart of the Salt Lake scandal. Investigations showed members and their families were showered with more than US$1 million worth of cash, gifts, scholarships, free travel and other favors by the bid team. "The problems we faced in Salt Lake was mainly due to the visits," Samaranch said. "For this reason, I am very happy the visits have been canceled and I hope they will be canceled forever." During the debate, several delegates said they felt they were being blamed for the misdeeds of others and complained that the bid officials who offered favors did not get their share of the punishment. "Some of the influences that have used satanic jaws to mislead some our members have gotten away very lightly," said Pakistani member Syed Shadid Ali. Said Thomas Sithole of Zimbabwe: "I still believe that those candidate cities responsible for the mess we find ourselves in have gotten away scot free." But, in the end, the vast majority swung in favor of the ban. The result ay have been driven more by political reasons, namely to appease public opinion, than out of real conviction against visits. "The ban on visits was a litmus test for our intentions," IOC vice president Kevan Gosper said. "To have reverted to visits would have unzipped a great deal of what we achieved at the meeting." Passage of the whole reform package was deemed crucial by Samaranch before his appearance before the House Commerce Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations. Congressional leaders have threatened to strip the IOC of its tax-exempt status if the organization fails to enact significant reforms. "I think the endorsement of the package as a whole is Samaranch's best ally as he goes to Washington," Gosper said. Not all members think Samaranch should be going "You are the president of the IOC and are accountable only to the Olympic family," Greek member Lambis Nikolaou said. "We have no lessons in morals to receive from anyone." Samaranch said he had no particular message to deliver to Congress. "I am going only to answer questions," he said. Among those accompanying Samaranch will be Anita DeFrantz, an American IOC vice president. "We have done what we've said we would through the year," she said. "How often in life can people say that? I'm proud of what we've done. I think we ought to get credit for it. A lot of people doubted us. Now they know we fulfilled our commitment."
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