Reaction was mixed to the IOC's expulsion of six
members and the overwhelming vote of confidence for
President Juan Antonio Samaranch during the committee
meetings in Lausanne on Wednesday. U.S. Senator John McCain
(R-AZ), who has vowed to take congressional action against
the IOC if reforms weren't significant, said, "Expelling
members does nothing to address the utter lack of
transparency and accountability" (USA TODAY, 3/18). In
Lausanne, ABC's Sheila MacVicar reported, "Olympic sources
say the American pressure is resented here and that the IOC
is now determined to act on its own, much slower schedule"
("World News Tonight," 3/17). In Toronto, Randy Starkman
wrote that the six members expelled "are being viewed as
scapegoats in many quarters" (TORONTO STAR, 3/18). CBS's
Mark Phillips noted that all six expelled members were from
"poor, non-white or third world countries" ("CBS Evening
News," 3/17). FSN's Keith Olbermann: "It's amazing how
insiders can see a purge, when the rest of the world sees a
slap on the wrist" (FSN, 3/18). A FINANCIAL TIMES editorial
writes the IOC "missed its chance to make a fresh start," as
"there is suspicion that bigger fish have been allowed to
get away." The TIMES adds that the IOC failed "its biggest
test in allowing Mr. Samaranch to stay" (FINANCIAL TIMES,
3/18). The N.Y. POST editorializes that the "bad news"
about yesterday's vote is that Samaranch "is around" (N.Y.
POST, 3/18). USA TODAY's Christine Brennan calls the IOC's
actions "deceiving," as it "did not remove the man who had
presided over the most embarrassing and costly scandal in
Olympic history." USA TODAY's Mike Dodd adds that Samaranch
"demonstrated he still has influence within the IOC, though
his power in the international sports world is badly
compromised" (USA TODAY, 3/18). In N.Y., George Vecsey,
under the header, "Samaranch's Troubles Can Only Get Worse,"
writes, "No matter what he says, Samaranch cannot possibly
be the agent for reform in his short time remaining. ... The
question is whether association with Samaranch will taint
the visible younger leaders like [Dick Pound, Anita DeFrantz
and Kevan Gosper]" (N.Y. TIMES, 3/18). In DC, Amy Shipley
writes that yesterday's votes "may have been more noteworthy
for what they kept in place than for what they changed"
(WASHINGTON POST, 3/18). In Atlanta, Bert Roughton writes
that a "persistent" rumor has Samaranch retiring at the end
of the Sydney Games, "which are generally regarded as having
the potential of being so well done that no one will
remember much about the scandal." Samaranch: "My idea is to
remain until 2001. But we will see" (CONSTITUTION, 3/18).
SPONSOR REAX: The WALL STREET JOURNAL's Copetas &
Fatsis write that the IOC's "action generated qualified
support from sponsors." One exec of a U.S. sponsor: "The
good news for the IOC is that they seem to be in a position
to avoid an internal meltdown. They clearly had their ducks
lined up." After yesterday's meeting, the IOC's marketing
arm, Meridian Management SA, sent e-mails to sponsors and
followed up with phone calls (WALL STREET JOURNAL, 3/18).
UPS spokeperson Susan Rosenberg: "It is a step in the right
direction. It is a demonstration that the IOC membership is
intent on making change, but just how far and how wide
remains to be seen" (ATLANTA CONSTITUTION, 3/18). Eastman
Kodak spokesperson John LaBella: "Basically from the onset,
we have been telling the IOC to go deep and go wide in their
investigations and it appears they are now doing that." IBM
Dir of Worldwide Olympic PR Debra Gottheimer: "Reform is not
going to happen overnight. There needs to be a long-term
commitment and we will see how that evolves. We will
continue to watch closely" (WASHINGTON POST, 3/18).
BRING IT ON: In N.Y., Jere Longman reports that the
case of IOC member Kim Un Yong remains open and he "is upset
that he has not yet been cleared." Kim had a confrontation
with IOC VP Dick Pound and IOC Exec Dir Francois Carrard
yesterday during a break. Witnesses said that "angry words
were exchanged and that Kim struck a martial arts stance,
which led Carrard to leave the room." Kim is President of
the world tae kwon do federation (N.Y. TIMES, 3/18). Kim
and Pound "exchanged words, in a lower tone," before
Samaranch "came over and led Kim away." Pound: "There was a
brief incident, which is now behind us" (USA TODAY, 3/18).
NOTES FROM LAUSANNE: IOC VP Anita DeFrantz said she has
talked to an attorney "about filing a lawsuit" after former
SLOC VP Dave Johnson told the N.Y. Times that she was aware
of the bid group's actions. DeFrantz: "Those allegations are
slanderous in my opinion" (SALT LAKE TRIBUNE, 3/18)....Dick
Pound was "not impressed" by the OATH group of Canadian
athletes who aim to make the IOC more accountable and are
being supported by Frank Stronach's Manga Int'l. Pound was
approached by Manga Int'l VP Keith Stein and said,
"Congratulations on your belly flop." Pound: "It does seem
to me a rather strange way to try to attract attention and
I'm not sure of the role of the commercial enterprise that
seems to be bankrolling them" (TORONTO STAR, 3/18).
