(3/17/99)
The International Olympic Committee did something today it's never done before.
It kicked out six members--
for taking hundreds of thousands of dollars in graft from bid leaders who won the Winter Games for Salt Lake City.
News Specialist John Daley has reaction.
The Games honor sport, but the scandal has become a game--a chess match that all the world is watching.
The IOC made a predictable move today, exiling six members from its exclusive club for bribes from Salt Lake organizers.
Basically all six are pawns, all from the Third World, with little visibility and less power.
Worldwide, there were calls for the head of President Juan Antonio Samaranch.
Still, the man who rules like a King hangs on--by an 86 to 2 vote.
Samaranch said, "For the last few weeks, we have been working hard to find ways this situation will never happen again. During the rest of my presidency, I intend to make it my highest priority."
The IOC will change the way host cities are chosen.
But power playing advocates for reform want more--new rules on:
conflict of interest
financial disclosure
accountability
Senator John McCain issued a terse statement, saying, "The time to study the problem has passed. The abuses are well documented. It is time for the IOC to take action."
Back home, Governor Leavitt was cautiously non-judgmental.
"We have games to put on. We want to get this behind us. We in Utah have done the right thing. We'll see how the world judges the IOC," he said.
The question ahead--how do sponsors judge the IOC? Salt Lake awaits $280 million from sponsors and the clock is ticking.
SLOC President, Mitt Romney, says, "I hope they will take aggressive and dramatic changes over the next two days, so there can be a return of faith in the Olympic movement."
The IOC's success in doing so could have a dramatic impact on whether Romney can raise the money he needs to put on the games.
Only one sponsor
--Kodak--
praised today's actions.
Others,
including McDonald's, Coca-Cola and John Hancock are remaining silent until the two-day session ends.
If concrete reforms don't come Thursday,
many expect the Olympic movement
and the 2002 Games to suffer financial trouble.
