The public -- and now public officials -- are "tired of Boston 2024
acting like a private club, being exclusive and secretive about
everything from venue details to staff salaries," according to Shirley Leung of the BOSTON GLOBE. Even Boston '24 Chair John Fish "would have a hard time arguing" that the city's Olympic movement "hit a new low this week." What "brought Fish and Boston 2024 to their knees was how the team handled the hiring" of former Gov. Deval Patrick as its global ambassador, which managed to "blindside" Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker and Boston Mayor Martin Walsh. Fish said, "There were some mistakes in communication." He added, "Walsh was caught off guard. For that, I apologized." Leung writes Fish is "getting a taste of humble pie, and perhaps for the first time we’re hearing a sense of humility, instead of hubris, from Olympic organizers whose bid to host the Games nine years from now at one time felt like a fait accompli." Up until now, Fish and Boston '24 have "acted as if they can make up their own rules." Boston '24 has "become a shadow government, working the system to put on a multibillion-dollar event that could transform the city and the region for decades to come." Boston '24 "after a week like this" needs to "stop acting like a private club" (BOSTON GLOBE, 3/13).
