Though the IOC "is expected to ask as many as a dozen
of its members to resign next week, it will take no action
against" the SLOC for cash and gifts it gave to voters in
the bid process for the 2002 Winter Games, according to John
Powers of the BOSTON GLOBE. IOC Exec Board member Jacques
Rogge, who is on the six-member panel investigating the
scandal, said, "The people who were in the bid are no more.
They took the actions they thought were needed." Last week,
SLOC President Frank Joklik and Senior VP Dave Johnson
resigned under pressure. Rogge said the IOC is also looking
"into charges" that Sydney officials were approached for
payoffs during their bid to host the 2000 Summer Games.
Rogge dismissed calls for IOC President Juan Antonio
Samaranch's resignation: "He is not a corrupt man. ... Why
should someone resign at a moment of crisis? We need
leadership. We do not need resignations" (BOSTON GLOBE,
1/14). USA TODAY's Mike Dodd reports that the IOC sent
letters to 13 of its members "demanding explanations of
activities" around Salt Lake's bid (USA TODAY, 1/14).
CHANGE IN THE PROCESS: IOC VP Anita DeFrantz called for
an "overhaul of the selection process for Olympic Games
sites, saying all-expense-paid visits and gifts from bidding
cities to IOC members should be banned." DeFrantz: "No
visits, no gifts, and (therefore) no more press stories."
She said the "major work of studying bidding cities should
fall to a small committee of professional and technical
experts, and representatives from the Olympic community."
Reacting to calls for her resignation from former USOC
President Robert Helmick, DeFrantz said, "I thank him for
his suggestions and I will take them under advisement" (Amy
Shipley, WASHINGTON POST, 1/14).
A PAYNE-FUL PROCESS FOR MICHAEL? IOC Marketing Dir
Michael Payne met with Olympic sponsors Coca-Cola and UPS,
and also spoke by phone with officials from USOC sponsor
Home Depot. After the meeting, Coca-Cola spokesperson Ben
Deutsch said, "We're confident that they are going to do
what they said they would do -- take swift and decisive
action" (ATLANTA CONSTITUTION, 1/14).
SALT LAKE NOTES: Salt Lake City Mayor Deedee Corradini,
on giving gifts to IOC execs during the city's bid process:
"If they like to ski, we take them skiing. If they like
basketball, we take them to dinner and a Jazz game. I never
thought anything improper was going on. I have no
recollection of payments being made" (USA TODAY, 1/14).
