USOC's latest scandal

<A HREF="http://www.nytimes.com/2003/02/24/sports/othersports/24OLYM.html">ht
tp://www.nytimes.com/2003/02/24/sports/othersports/24OLYM.html</A>

U.S.O.C. Ensnared in Another Controversy

By RICHARD SANDOMIR

lawyer for a former United States Olympic Committee executive said yesterday that confidential
information about his client's relocation expenses was released to a Denver newspaper as part of an
effort to force the organization's embattled chief executive, Lloyd Ward, from his position. "The
release of confidential employee personnel documents and the subsequent dialogue about it creates a
gross distortion," said Philip Hilder, the lawyer for Toby Wong, the executive who resigned earlier
this month to pursue other business opportunities after only nine months as the Olympic committee's
chief marketing officer. "It is patently obvious to me that current and former members of the
U.S.O.C. are attempting to use Ms. Wong as a pawn in their attempts to remove Mr. Ward."

The Denver Post reported yesterday that Wong received a $50,000 relocation bonus and subsequently
billed the organization another $34,000 to stay in two Colorado Springs hotels while she planned to
relocate from an apartment outside of Phoenix. Hilder said the contract was cleared by the
U.S.O.C.'s compensation committee, and that it was clear to Wong that the $34,000 was approved by
Ward. But Mike McManus, of the compensation committee, said he never saw Wong's contract calling for
the bonus, rather that it was cleared by Ward and Paul George, the committee chairman. Senator Ben
Nighthorse Campbell, Republican of Colorado, who has called for Ward's resignation, told The Denver
Post that he had no doubt that Ward authorized Wong's hotel payments. "The C.E.O. authorizes things
like that," he said. "The buck lands on Ward's desk." The Denver Post received detailed information
about which days Wong stayed in the two hotels and how much the Olympic committee paid. She never
relocated, but she was preparing to look for a residence in Colorado Springs. Ward was recently the
subject of an ethics investigation into his directing a staff member to help advance a business
proposal from his brother and a friend to provide backup power for the Pan American Games in August
in the Dominican Republic. He eventually lost his $184,800 bonus for "creating the appearance of a
conflict of interest." In the aftermath of the ethics investigation, six Olympic officials resigned,
including Marty Mankamyer, the U.S.O.C. president. Ward was asked to step down in a private meeting
on Jan. 12 with William J. Hybl, a former president, but he has refused to leave. But one of his
public supporters, Bill Stapleton, a U.S.O.C. vice president, who led a group that forced
Mankamyer's ouster, is said to be ready to seek Ward's resignation, three Olympic officials said.
"Lloyd's outlived his usefulness to that group," said one member of the policy-making executive
committee, who spoke on condition of anonymity. Stapleton could not be reached. "I have no knowledge
of that," Ward said last night. "Your information is better than mine." He declined to comment on
any details of the Wong matter. Dissatisfaction with Ward stems from the ethics investigation, his
performance at a Senate Commerce Committee hearing in January into ethics problems at the
organization and his refusal to resign from Augusta National Golf Club, a men's-only club. Last
year, during the Salt Lake Winter Olympics, Ward said that he wanted to be his own chief marketing
officer. But two months later, he hired Wong, a former executive for Coca-Cola and Nike. Wong, who
was born in Canada, received an agreement that allowed her to commute from Arizona, where she had
applied for United States citizenship. (Hilder said immigration officials required her to maintain
that residence until her citizenship was approved.) Then, in negotiations for her severance package,
she agreed to repay about half of the $34,000 in hotel expenses because of a dispute with the
U.S.O.C. over personal and business costs. McManus said "some of the business expenses were deemed
excessive." Hilder would not say why Wong did not use her relocation bonus to make her hotel
payments. Last week, Hilder denied accusations made by Campbell that Wong was about to

severance of nearly $150,000 constituted "hush money."

 

Time to put the Olympics out of their pain.

Magni

--
Dear, you cannot drink gin and tonic in the middle of the night. You must have whisky to give you
energy. --Margaret Thatcher

"BikeAdman" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:[email protected]...
> <A HREF="http://www.nytimes.com/2003/02/24/sports/othersports/24OLYM.html">ht
> tp://www.nytimes.com/2003/02/24/sports/othersports/24OLYM.html</A>
>
>
>
> U.S.O.C. Ensnared in Another Controversy
>
> By RICHARD SANDOMIR
>
>
> lawyer for a former United States Olympic Committee executive said
yesterday
> that confidential information about his client's relocation expenses was released to a Denver
> newspaper as part of an effort to force the
organization's
> embattled chief executive, Lloyd Ward, from his position. "The release of confidential employee
> personnel documents and the
subsequent
> dialogue about it creates a gross distortion," said Philip Hilder, the
lawyer
> for Toby Wong, the executive who resigned earlier this month to pursue
other
> business opportunities after only nine months as the Olympic committee's
chief
> marketing officer. "It is patently obvious to me that current and former members of the U.S.O.C.
> are attempting to use Ms. Wong as a pawn in their attempts to remove Mr. Ward."
>
> The Denver Post reported yesterday that Wong received a $50,000 relocation bonus and subsequently
> billed the organization another $34,000 to stay in
two
> Colorado Springs hotels while she planned to relocate from an apartment
outside
> of Phoenix. Hilder said the contract was cleared by the U.S.O.C.'s compensation
committee,
> and that it was clear to Wong that the $34,000 was approved by Ward. But
Mike
> McManus, of the compensation committee, said he never saw Wong's contract calling for the bonus,
> rather that it was cleared by Ward and Paul George,
the
> committee chairman. Senator Ben Nighthorse Campbell, Republican of Colorado, who has called
for
> Ward's resignation, told The Denver Post that he had no doubt that Ward authorized Wong's hotel
> payments. "The C.E.O. authorizes things like
that," he
> said. "The buck lands on Ward's desk." The Denver Post received detailed information about which
> days Wong stayed
in
> the two hotels and how much the Olympic committee paid. She never
relocated,
> but she was preparing to look for a residence in Colorado Springs. Ward was recently the subject
> of an ethics investigation into his
directing a
> staff member to help advance a business proposal from his brother and a
friend
> to provide backup power for the Pan American Games in August in the
Dominican
> Republic. He eventually lost his $184,800 bonus for "creating the
appearance of
> a conflict of interest." In the aftermath of the ethics investigation, six Olympic officials
resigned,
> including Marty Mankamyer, the U.S.O.C. president. Ward was asked to step
down
> in a private meeting on Jan. 12 with William J. Hybl, a former president,
but
> he has refused to leave. But one of his public supporters, Bill Stapleton, a U.S.O.C. vice
president,
> who led a group that forced Mankamyer's ouster, is said to be ready to
seek
> Ward's resignation, three Olympic officials said. "Lloyd's outlived his usefulness to that group,"
> said one member of the policy-making executive committee, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
> Stapleton could not be reached. "I have no knowledge of that," Ward said last night. "Your
> information is better than mine." He declined to comment on any details of the Wong
matter.
> Dissatisfaction with Ward stems from the ethics investigation, his
performance
> at a Senate Commerce Committee hearing in January into ethics problems at
the
> organization and his refusal to resign from Augusta National Golf Club, a men's-only club. Last
> year, during the Salt Lake Winter Olympics, Ward said that he wanted
to be
> his own chief marketing officer. But two months later, he hired Wong, a
former
> executive for Coca-Cola and Nike. Wong, who was born in Canada, received an agreement that
> allowed her to
commute
> from Arizona, where she had applied for United States citizenship. (Hilder
said
> immigration officials required her to maintain that residence until her citizenship was approved.)
> Then, in negotiations for her severance
package, she
> agreed to repay about half of the $34,000 in hotel expenses because of a dispute with the U.S.O.C.
> over personal and business costs. McManus said
"some
> of the business expenses were deemed excessive." Hilder would not say why Wong did not use her
> relocation bonus to make her hotel payments. Last week, Hilder denied accusations made by Campbell
> that Wong was about
to

her
> severance of nearly $150,000 constituted "hush money."

 

"Magni" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Time to put the Olympics out of their pain.

They did that when they allowed professionals into the Olympics.

 

"Tom Kunich" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:<[email protected]>...
> "Magni" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:[email protected]...
> > Time to put the Olympics out of their pain.
>
> They did that when they allowed professionals into the Olympics.

Oh, right Tom. Like the athletes of the 50's and 60's from eastern european countries, and the
soviet union???? more professional than 92% of the D3 US "PRO" bikers. And that refers to most of
the sports.

You are quite possibly the author of the Most Stupid Posts in this newsgroup!

Keep it up, dumbass!

Thanks, Ronde Chumpion