North American reaction to the IOC reforms announced in
Lausanne, Switzerland, over the past two days is mixed, with
most of the criticism aimed at IOC President Juan Antonio
Samaranch appointing himself to oversee a new reform
commission called IOC 2000 and the IOC's failure to
establish a totally independent ethics commission.
FROM SPONSORS: John Hancock Mutual Life Insurance
President David D'Alessandro said with the decisions,
Samaranch "put the sponsors in a wait-and-see attitude
again. Absolutely nothing breathtakingly performance-
oriented happened" (N.Y. TIMES, 3/19). Samaranch: "We
promised to clean house. We did it. We promised reforms.
We did it. We promised an Olympics united. It's done." But
Stefan Fatsis of the WALL STREET JOURNAL reports that
corporate sponsors "weren't as definitive." D'Alessandro:
"All they did was vote for studying something people have
been telling them to do for three months." He added that
the company won't restore the Olympic rings to its products
or start negotiating with NBC about an Olympic ad buy.
Other sponsors "praised" the moves, but said the "job had
only begun." One sponsor exec who participated in a
conference call with the IOC and its PR firm, Hill &
Knowlton, said the PR agency was reading news clips to
sponsors to show "how great the [IOC] reform is playing" in
the media (WALL STREET JOURNAL, 3/19). D'Alessandro added
that unless more reform measures are added, John Hancock
"will definitely not continue to participate" in the Olympic
movement beyond the 2000 Games (BOSTON HERALD, 3/19). More
D'Alessandro: "I think Samaranch is having some trouble
getting it, at this point." But Xerox Dir of PR Karl
Langsenkamp said, "It's a positive step that they came out
and said they would take certain actions, and they followed
through. I don't think it's the end, certainly" (BOSTON
GLOBE, 3/19). CBS's Bill Whitaker: "Sponsors have been
waiting for the IOC meeting this week to clean up this
scandalous mess once and for all. They're still waiting"
("CBS Evening News," CBS, 3/18).
FROM THE EDITORIAL PAGES: An ATLANTA CONSTITUTION
editorial states, "The lords and ladies of Lausanne are
running the wrong race. They think it's a 100-yard dash
back to respectability; in reality it's a marathon." The
CONSTITUTION states that if sponsors "accept supposed reform
by the IOC that does not include outside access to its
financial records, they will regret that failure when yet
another IOC scandal erupts" (ATLANTA CONSTITUTION, 3/19).
Under the header, "Olympic Minimalists," a N.Y. TIMES
editorial calls the actions and reforms ratified "quite
meager" (N.Y. TIMES, 3/19). But a SALT LAKE TRIBUNE
editorial states that, "It is one thing to say that the IOC
did not act boldly enough this week -- it did not ... -- and
another to conclude that the IOC cannot move forward from
here. It can" (SALT LAKE TRIBUNE, 3/19).
OTHER COMMENTS: In Atlanta, Bert Roughton writes under
the header, "IOC Makes Pledges, But No Reforms," that the
IOC "seemed to slow its momentum for reform. Nearly two
months after its leaders issued calls for change, no
concrete long-range changes have been made" (ATLANTA
CONSTITUTION, 3/19). Story header in the TORONTO STAR:
"Reforms Plans Go Awry" (TORONTO STAR, 3/19). Also in
Toronto, Randy Starkman writes that "reform still seems like
a long way off" (TORONTO STAR, 3/19). In a sidebar,
Starkman writes, "What's also discouraging -- not to mention
infuriating -- is that Samaranch will not only chair the IOC
2000 group that will develop the reforms but will handpick
all of its members" (TORONTO STAR, 3/19). Also in Toronto,
Stephen Brunt calls much of what emerged from the meetings
"stunningly wrong-headed," as with the "same old faces in
the same old places, it's hard not to assume that the same
old standards will apply" (Toronto GLOBE & MAIL, 3/19). In
DC, Thomas Boswell writes, "Perhaps the most galling element
in this week's Lausanne charade was the sight of Samaranch
as moral leader, ethical reformer and key player in cleaning
up the Olympic movement that got so utterly filthy on his
watch." Boswell implores sponsors to continue to push for
reform: "Do the right thing. Coke. Big Mac. Big Blue. We
know your names" (WASHINGTON POST, 3/19). In Chicago,
Philip Hersh writes that Samaranch "made clear ... that he
is the boss and will remain so until his term" ends in 2001
(CHICAGO TRIBUNE, 3/19). But in Philadelphia, Bob Ford
writes that "whether what emerged from the two-day session
will provide lasting reform for the tarnished keeper of the
Olympic flame could take years to determine. At least the
machinery seems to be in place" (PHILA. INQUIRER, 3/19).
MCCAIN NOT PLEASED WITH THE PROGRESS: U.S. Senator John
McCain (R-AZ), who will open Senate hearings on the Olympic
scandal on April 14, said in a statement the moves "fall
short of the reforms needed to bring transparency and
accountability to the organization. Nothing I have
witnessed provides any substantive movement in that
direction" (COLORADO SPRINGS GAZETTE, 3/19).
POCKET MONEY: Financial records show that the 90 or so
"rank-and-file" IOC members received business-class airfare,
hotel accommodations, breakfast and $110 per day during
meetings. IOC exec board members get $1,000 in cash per
meeting, plus all expenses paid and first class airline
tickets (ATLANTA CONSTITUTION, 3/19)....Salary figures show
that Director General Francois Carrard earns $170,000;
Secretary General Francoise Zweifel $165,000; Marketing Dir
Michael Payne earns $158,000; Dir of Int'l Cooperation &
Communications Fekrou Kidane $158,000 and Sports Dir Gilbert
Felli $152,000 (Mike Dodd, USA TODAY, 3/19).
