Senator: USOC official was harassed

IOC wants turmoil settled GENEVA (AP) -- The IOC wants quick action but intends to stay clear of the U.S. Olympic Committee while it sorts out the turmoil that has shaken the organization. "The crisis cannot continue for months, and the IOC is hopeful that it will be resolved soon," IOC president Jacques Rogge said. Rogge called the trouble at the USOC an "unhappy situation" and said he hoped beleaguered chief executive Lloyd Ward still has a future with the organization. Congress has urged a major restructuring of USOC, which has weathered numerous scandals and leadership changes. "The IOC is preoccupied by the situation within USOC but will not interfere in the process," Rogge said during a conference call Monday. "There are good people within USOC. It is just a matter of finding a good balance between elected and professional people." FULL STORY

DENVER (AP) -- Sen. Ben Nighthorse Campbell on Wednesday reiterated his stance that a high-ranking Olympic official was paid off to keep her from filing a sexual harassment lawsuit, even though Campbell received a letter from her attorneys denying it.

Campbell, R-Colo., received a letter Wednesday from the attorneys of former U.S. Olympic Committee chief marketing officer Toby Wong saying Wong was not sexually harassed and never intended to file a lawsuit.

"If Ms. Wong left the USOC under normal circumstances, then why would she retain a high-priced Texas law firm that represented at least one of the Enron whistleblowers?" Campbell said in a statement.

Wong, who resigned on Feb. 10, is represented by Hilder & Associates of Houston.

"USOC employees expressed their concern to me about Ms. Wong leaving after less than a year on the job and I'm not getting any answers," Campbell said.

Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., who heads a Senate committee investigating the USOC, also received the letter.

Campbell said in a Senate hearing last week that three USOC employees told him Wong resigned and was paid "hush money" so she wouldn't sue.

Wong's attorney, Philip Hilder, told The Associated Press on Friday that Wong never contemplated a sexual harassment suit.

In the letter to Campbell and McCain, Hilder wrote, "Ms. Wong did not personally experience sexual harassment at the USOC."

"Ms. Wong has never asserted a claim for sexual harassment against the USOC or any of its officials. We believe that Ms. Wong should have the right to return to the corporate marketing environment without having her name, professional reputation and personal integrity damaged by rumor innuendo and non-truths," the letter said.

Campbell said during the Senate hearing that the large settlement Wong received from the USOC was an indication that USOC officials were trying to cover up something.

Hilder's letter denied that, saying Wong's compensation package was negotiated when she started working for the USOC in April 2002.

"What is true is that Ms. Wong did receive a package of contractually obligated benefits common for senior executives at USOC and corporate employment," the letter said.

A news release from the USOC on Feb. 10 said Wong resigned to pursue other professional interests.

 

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