Print

Mail

wiki links

Legislation may damage US Olympic Committee

Legislation to restructure the US Olympic Committee could threaten New York's bid to host the 2012 Summer Games, a US delegate to the International Olympic Committee says.

Jim Easton contended that the changes spelled out in Senator John McCain's bill would put the US committee out of compliance with the international charter.

"If the USOC were not recognized, it could not put forward a city as a bid city," Easton said Tuesday. "That would really harm the athletes, because if the US puts on the Olympic Games it can raise a lot more revenue to support the athletes."

The legislation seeks a dramatic scaling back of the US committee's governing structure and provides more congressional oversight. The bill's prospects improved Wednesday when a leading opponent, Senator Ben Nighthorse Campbell, struck a deal with McCain to let the measure move ahead.

Campbell had pledged to stall the plan until he was assured the US committee's headquarters, now in Colorado Springs, Colorado, would remain in his state.

IOC leaders say McCain's proposal does not give athletes and representatives of national sports organizations a majority on the USOC executive committee when it deals with sporting issues.
This story has been viewed 1771 times.