Tarnished Rings: The International Olympic Committee and the Salt Lake City Bid Scandal

Appendix: Salt Lake City Scandal Time Line, 1998–1999

173 Appendix Salt Lake City Scandal Time Line, 1998–1999 Legend AHC Ad Hoc Commission DD David D’Alessandro IOC International Olympic Committee JAS Juan Antonio Samaranch MRP Michael Payne RWP Richard Pound SLOC Salt Lake City Olympics Organizing Committee SOCOG Sydney Olympics Organizing Committee TOP The Olympic Partners (Worldwide Olympic sponsors) WADA World Anti-Doping Agency November 1998 • RWP receives a phone call from a member of the Salt Lake City media. Individual informs him that a document has been leaked that indicates Sonia Essomba, daughter of the late IOC member René Essomba (Cameroon), received Salt Lake City bid committee funds to assist with her college education in the United States. Pound alerts JAS regarding the prospect of trouble for the IOC. • Reporter Chris Vanocur (KTVX-TV, Channel 4, Salt Lake City) breaks the story concerning tuition support granted to Sonia Essomba. • Salt Lake City bid committee officials deny wrongdoing. 174 | Appendix December 1998 • JAS assigns internal investigative responsibilities to the IOC Juridical Commission , led by Senegal’s Kéba Mbaye. • SLOC shares bid documents with the IOC Executive Board. • JAS appoints RWP chair of the AHC. The AHC replaces the Juridical Commission as the body responsible for conducting the IOC’s internal investigation. • AHC launches its investigation. • Marc Hodler reveals his concerns about IOC member conduct and the bid process to reporters gathered in Lausanne for the meetings of the IOC Executive Board. • Past bid committee officials from unsuccessful cities reveal approaches from Olympic “agents” who promised access to groups of IOC members in exchange for payment. • RWP informs representatives of corporate sponsors who sit on the IOC’s Marketing Commission of the IOC’s pledge to confront the issue. • JAS, RWP, and MRP open lines of communication with TOP sponsor CEOs. • RWP travels to Salt Lake City to initiate on-site investigation. January 1999 • AHC pores over files provided by SLOC officials. • David Johnson, SLOC vice president, and Frank Joklik, SLOC president, resign. • Deedee Corradini, Salt Lake City’s mayor, announces she will not seek reelection. • Australian media report John Coates’s 1993 deal with Charles Mukora and Francis Nyangweso on the eve of the vote on the site of the 2000 Summer Olympics. • Corporate sponsors issue statements of support for the IOC, but clearly indicate the level of their collective concern in private communications with IOC officials. • DD, president and CEO of John Hancock, warns the IOC of the need to confront problems with the flawed and compromised bid process. • AHC identifies thirteen IOC members for possible censure. These members are asked to respond via written communication to issues raised as a result of the AHC investigation. • Two IOC members, Pirjo Häggman and Bashir Attarabulsi, resign. • The IOC Executive Board recommends the expulsion of seven IOC members , a warning for one member, and a continuation of the investigation of three other cases. Appendix | 175 • The IOC Executive Board confirms Sydney and Salt Lake City as sites of the 2000 and 2002 Olympic festivals and announces new rules for the 2006 Olympic Winter Games bid competition. Samaranch suspends IOC-member bid city visits. • A study by Datops and Sportsweb reveals that late January is the high-water mark for media coverage of the crisis in terms of volume of articles appearing on a per-day basis. • JAS faces many calls in the media for his resignation. He refuses to submit his resignation. • Hill & Knowlton’s presence felt in Lausanne in terms of the IOC’s interaction with the media. • Charles Mukora, IOC member to Kenya, resigns. • Eight of eleven TOP sponsors pledge their continued support for the 2000 Sydney Olympics. February 1999 • World Anti-Doping Conference lays the groundwork for the establishment of the WADA; however, the gathering in Lausanne offers a platform for the media and government representatives to grill IOC officials concerning the ethical shortcomings of some IOC members. • JAS believes some unnamed IOC members and headquarters staff members are destabilizing his leadership. • The IOC Executive Board backs away from its plan to remove IOC member voting privileges for the upcoming vote on the site for the 2006 Olympic Winter Games. • SLOC releases the investigative report filed by its Board of Ethics. Ten additional IOC members, including Australia’s Phil Coles, fall under scrutiny. • DD suspends negotiations with NBC for advertising time on Sydney 2000 telecasts and removes Olympic rings from his company’s stationery. • Corporate sponsors unload their frustrations on RWP...