Olympic elites ‘making off like bandits,’ says author

Scandals at the Rio Olympic Games are providing more ammunition to those calling for independent oversight to stem Olympic corruption.

Yesterday, Irish Olympic official Pat Hickey was arrested in connection with a scheme to sell tickets at greater than face value. It’s alleged the scheme made a profit of $3million.

Controversial boxing decision

Some referees were sent home after several highly controversial decisions in boxing events. “It’s been kind of heartbreaking to see because there have been some incredibly quizzical decisions made by referees here in some of the bouts where it seems like one fighter should absolutely should win the bout and then, out of the blue, the referee gives the win to the other boxer,” said Jules Boykoff, political science professor at Pacific University and author of Power Games: A Political History of the Olympics.

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Corruption not new

Scandal is nothing new to the Olympics, said Boykoff speaking from Rio. He points to the Salt Lake City bid to host the 2002 Winter Games where nearly $3million was spent on IOC officials to sway the decision. “This was crazy stuff,” says Boykoff noting that one official from Congo was given more than $250,000 worth of gifts plus his mother got knee surgery, his wife got cosmetic surgery and he was treated for hepatitis courtesy of the bid committee.

That got world attention and the International Olympic Committee (IOC) made some new rules in a bid to curb corruption but “today we’re seeing again corruption popping up—not exactly the same formation as we saw in that extreme form around Salt Lake City but serious corruption nevertheless,” says Boykoff.

‘Trickle-up economics’ at play

He points to the great disconnect between the Olympic athletes who are held in the highest esteem and those profiting from the games. “A small group of elites within both the Olympic movement, from various corporations around the world and certainly from local organizing committees and well-connected economic and political elites…They’re kind of performing this form of what you might call trickle-up economics where the wealth that is generated from the Olympics tends to go to a few hands.

“That’s really the key disconnect of our era—the amazing athletes who most everybody appreciates and this small group of elites who are making off like bandits thanks to the Olympics.”

Independent watchdog called for

Boykoff says there is no accountability with regards the promises host cities make to their every-day people. He notes the IOC has an ethics committee but it reports to the IOC and that, he says, is not good enough.

“There’s a lot of evidence that the Olympics need to have independent watchdogs to keep an eye on this thing. The Olympics are important enough and they deserve serious watchdogs from the outside to help the Olympics get on the up and up.”