SportAccord President Marius Vizer "apologized Wednesday for the manner of his attack on the IOC but stood by the harsh criticism that prompted Olympic sports federations to suspend ties with his umbrella body," according to James Ellingworth of the AP. Vizer said to the Association of Summer Olympic Int'l Federations, "Sincerely I regret ... regarding my way and moment to choose this opportunity, but regarding the content, I expressed my voice and that is my opinion. For the rest, I am sorry, but I think everybody in the world of sport is free to express their opinion, to have vision." ASOIF's meeting "was a hostile environment for Vizer after 27 of its member federations, all except his own judo organization, signed a letter condemning Monday's speech." Reaction to Vizer's apology "was mixed." ASOIF President Francesco Ricci Bitti told Vizer, "We believe the IOC is a very strong machine. It is a waste of time to make a war, in our opinion, from our side, or to try to destabilize the system." ASOIF VP Hassan Moustafa said, "We have to respect (Bach), we have to respect the IOC. You have to apologize to the president of IOC" (AP, 4/22). In a separate piece, Ellingworth wrote a year after "blasting organizers" for delays, leaders of summer Olympic sports "praised Brazil on Wednesday for getting preparations back on track for next year’s games in Rio de Janeiro." Rio organizers "were sharply criticized for severe construction holdups and political wrangling" when they appeared before the ASOIF at their meeting in Turkey in April. On Wednesday, the reception at ASOIF’s general assembly in Sochi was "markedly different" as Ricci Bitti said that "the situation is totally changed," with venue plans back on schedule. He said, "Not everything will be perfect, but it is always like that" (AP, 4/22).
