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New IOC exec board member Angela Ruggiero thinks the U.S.-IOC relationship has improved
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On Monday, IOC member Angela Ruggiero was elected chair of the governing body's Athletes’ Commission, a job that automatically gives her a seat on the powerful executive board as well. She’s the second American on the 15-member policy-making panel, joining veteran colleague Anita DeFrantz. It’s a tough spot to be in -- athletes worldwide have complained about how the IOC has handled the Russian doping scandal, and some reportedly are planning highly visible protests during the Games.
During a lunch break at the IOC Session on Wednesday in Rio, I asked Ruggiero, a four-time Olympic medalist in women's hockey, a few questions.
■ What’s your top priority?
RUGGIERO: I think top of mind right now is looking at the anti-doping system, and obviously it’s the most pressing issue for our movement and our athletes. But overall, I really want to look at our Athletes’ Commission and commissions around the world, and see what we can do to make them more efficient and effective. They are the voice of the athlete, and I think we’ve been pushing for a very long time to establish them, and I want to see what we can do to enhance them.
I also look at holistically what could we do to help athletes on and off the field of play. There’s a lot of focus on the field of play, but I think the IOC is in a unique position to help athletes worldwide, like our athlete career program, or what can we do in that transition outside of sports.
■ What does it mean for the U.S. to have two members on the executive board?
RUGGIERO: We represent all of the movement when we’re up there. You try to not bring an individual [perspective], but of course I was a U.S. athlete, and this is where I was born, and it will be good for us.
■ Reporters will say this is a sign of further improvements to the U.S.-IOC relations. Is that a fair perspective?
RUGGIERO: I would say we’re in a good spot right now. I think especially, the last five or six years, we’ve done our best to be engaged with the movement, make sure we’re opening our doors and hosting international events. We’re not asking anything in return. We’ve worked out our revenue-sharing agreement with the IOC, and so I think we’re in a really good spot right now.
■ Do you believe doping scandals are hurting the business of the Olympics, namely sponsor and broadcaster interests?
RUGGIERO: Anything that puts the credibility of the movement in question ultimately effects the IOC, and its most important property, the Olympic Games. We want to repair the system so that athletes feel like there’s a level playing field, so sponsors, fans and all of the constituents of the movement feel like they can believe in this values-based organization, which is the Olympic Games.
I think we’re at an inflection point where we’ve built up the [anti-doping] system for 15 or 16 years, and we’re at a critical point where everyone is saying let’s re-evaluate and ask is it effective? And hopefully by doing that, what I would like to see over the next year is we do really analyze it and the output is a more credible system that will ultimately help the movement.
■ Is it an unreasonable expectation that the Olympics be certain it includes no athletes who have doped?
RUGGIERO: I’m an athlete. I always want incremental advancement, whether it’s my performance on the field of play or, in this case, the anti-doping system. It’s been 15 or so years, it’s been to a point where we’re recognizing major flaws in the system, and we’re pushing to make that better. Is there a system out there that’s perfect? I don’t know. I think that’s what we want to spend some time looking at.
