Olympic bid leaders from L.A., Paris and Budapest have traveled to Doha, Qatar, to "pitch their case to the general assembly of the Association of National Olympic Committees," and President-elect Donald Trump's comments during the campaign "about Muslims and Mexicans and his foreign policy plans could hurt the U.S. city's standing with some of the IOC's 98 members," according to Stephen Wilson of the AP. Tomorrow's presentations "occur exactly a week after" Trump's election victory. LA 2024 Chair Casey Wasserman said that his group has "already been in contact with members of Trump's transition team." Wasserman: "My personal support of (Hillary) Clinton isn't an indictment of president-elect Trump's ability to support our effort. We're fully confident that he will be an enthusiastic supporter of the Olympics and our bid." While details have "been kept secret," the L.A. presentation, which includes Democratic Mayor Eric Garcetti, is "likely to deal head-on with the U.S. election result and seek to reassure Olympic officials that the bid represents openness, diversity and inclusiveness." Wasserman: "We're not going to pretend like there wasn't an election but we're not going to be defensive about it. I think there are some things we're going to say that will surprise some people" (AP, 11/14).
PARALLEL UNIVERSE: SPORTSBUSINESS JOURNAL's Ben Fischer writes Paris "could have its own potential political problem soon enough" based on its own political situation. IOC members and other experts said that most European sports leaders see Marine Le Pen, France’s far-right nationalist politician who will stand for president in May, as a "greater threat" than Trump. Former USOC Exec Dir Harvey Schiller said that Trump "could end up being 'very positive'" for LA 2024. Schiller said, "He’s certainly a big sports fan." He also recalled Trump "getting along well with IOC members at a dinner during the failed" N.Y. '12 bid and cited Trump's "regular attendance at Yankees games" (SPORTSBUSINESS JOURNAL, 11/14 issue).
BOOST TO THE BID? SportsBusiness Journal's John Ourand & Ben Fischer discuss the potential impact of Trump's presidential election on the U.S.' bid for the '24 Games.
