SLOC President Tom Welch "plans to return home Thursday
from his African safari so he can deal with his legal
problems -- and see how they may impact his job," according
to Gorrell & Horiuchi of the SALT LAKE TRIBUNE. Welch was
charged on Monday with a misdemeanor for allegedly
assaulting his wife (SALT LAKE TRIBUNE, 7/23). Welch "has a
substantial problem whether or not he is tried or found
guilty," according to Philip Hersh of the CHICAGO TRIBUNE.
Several "prominent national and international Olympic
officials, all speaking on condition of anonymity, suggested
Welch would be unlikely to keep the $325,000-a-year job."
One IOC member: "He has put himself in an untenable
predicament." Hersh adds that "in an area dominated by the
Mormon church, which puts heavy emphasis on family and takes
a strong public stand against adultery, the idea of having
an Olympic chief whose dirty laundry has been aired in
public would seem particularly problematic." One USOC
official said that "in nine out of 10 cases, he wouldn't
survive. But this is an unusual case because Salt Lake City
is an unusual place (because a small group of influential
people hold considerable sway)" (CHICAGO TRIBUNE, 7/23).
