Viewpoint

Bribes shouldn't be part of Olympics

When one thinks of the Olympics, he or she conjures up images of legends like Jesse Owens, Wilma Rudolph, Jim Thorpe and Mary Lou Retton. The Olympics are supposed to stand for what is good about athletics.

But new allegations could destroy all of that. In 1995, the International Olympic Committee named Salt Lake City the site for the 2002 Winter Olympics. It looked like the committee's decision rested upon the city's beauty.

Oh, it was that, and yet supposedly so much more. Former Salt Lake Organizing Committee President Tom Welch has been accused of bribing IOC officials. Welch says he has done nothing wrong, but according to The Deseret News, he has acknowledged cash payments and gifts to IOC members. Instead of bribing them, Welch said the SLOC made contributions to the Olympics.

"We never bribed anybody. We never bought a vote," Welch said. "We made contributions out there as a part of the Olympic family, as an obligation we have. ... It was the responsible thing to do." Welch admitted giving $50,000 cash to Jean-Claude Ganga, an IOC member from the Republic of Congo. Ganga sought the money to help children in the African nation ravaged by civil strife, Welch said.

He also acknowledged the bid committee made a $10,000 contribution to the campaign of Chilean IOC member Sergio Santander Fantini, who was running for mayor of Santiago. Welch also denied a rumor being investigated by the outside ethics panel for the SLOC that prostitutes were hired for IOC members visiting Salt Lake City.

The first incident is gray. The money may or may not have actually gone to children in the Republic of Congo, but Welch really had no way of knowing for sure.

The $10,000 campaign contribution is another story. What would Fantini's winning the mayoral race have to do with the Olympics?

Whether he won or lost, he still has to make the decision. That "contribution" seems to be an outright bribe. The third allegation is the most heinous.

The ax should fall on both sides if it is found out that prostitutes were hired for IOC members. If these allegations are proven, the 2002 Olympics should be moved to another city. Also, members of the IOC who took those gifts should be removed from their positions. It is the job of the IOC to make sure athletes behave ethically. How can they talk ethics when they cannot behave ethically themselves? This scandal has left a black mark on the image of the Olympics. If people like Owens and Rudolph were alive today, they would break every speed record in the book - by running away from this debacle.

01-13-99