2034 Winter Games: Some people are calling the new rule “blackmail” and “dirty games.”
On July 24, the 2034 Olympics were awarded in Paris. This law lets the International Olympic Committee take them back if the United States “does not fully respect the supreme authority of the World Anti-Doping Agency in the fight against doping or if the application of the World Anti-Doping Code is hampered or undermined.”
After just getting back to the United States, Fraser Bullock, president and CEO of the Salt Lake City-Utah Committee for the Games, said, “I’ve obviously seen many opinions and stories.” “I hope people understand the two main ideas that are driving all of this.”
Bullock said that these principles include working for a “clean” Games where athletes don’t use performance-enhancing drugs and easing tensions that have been “festering for years” between the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) in Canada and the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA).
He said that the current debate over Chinese swimmers who tested positive for a banned substance but weren’t banned is caused by the tensions. Bullock doesn’t think Utah will lose the 2034 Games, even though it’s up to the state’s leaders and the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee to make things right.
“Forget about the Games for a moment; I know we’re the right fit for the IOC.” “Utah is a great place for them,” the person in charge of the bid said. “But we will face problems from time to time, and this is one of them.” That being said, every problem is also an opportunity, and our chance is to help solve a problem.
Gene Sykes, Chair of the USOPC and new member of the IOC, is also sure that Utah will still host the 2034 Winter Games.
“No one wants Utah to be given the chance to host the 2034 Games instead.” “I don’t think this will change anything about the chance,” Sykes told the Deseret News from the Paris Summer Games in 2024. “I would tell people in Utah, ‘Please don’t worry.'” You have nothing to worry about with this.
People who were critical of Sykes fought back.
“I don’t agree with the idea that this is blackmail.” “I don’t think we agreed to some condition that is impossible to handle,” the U.S. Olympic leader said, adding that his lawyers told him that the new language doesn’t make the USOPC or the Utah managers responsible for anything else.
“This isn’t something new that makes us obligated; we already said in the contract that we support the World Anti-Doping Code.” “It’s built into the way U.S. Olympic sports work with sports from around the world,” Sykes said. “This was meant to make people feel less anxious.”
In a very short-term matter, he said, the goal was “to remind all of us in the United States that we are signatories and participants in the world anti-doping system and to see us say that we take that with a lot of respect and treat it as something we are ready to show our commitment to.”
How people see the change in the 2034 Olympics deal
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Some people don’t agree with the change in the deal.
The Associated Press wrote about the International Olympic Committee’s decision on July 24 to give the state a second Games: “What was supposed to be a simple coronation of Salt Lake City as the 2034 Winter Olympic host turned into complicated Olympic politics Wednesday, as the IOC pushed Utah officials to end an FBI investigation into a suspected doping coverup.”
“In a shocking move on Wednesday, the International Olympic Committee moved to crush U.S. inquiries into a Chinese sports doping scandal by threatening to reject Salt Lake City’s bid to host the Winter Games in 2034,” NPR wrote online. The change was seen as a demand from the IOC.
After some days, Bloomberg published an opinion piece called “Salt Lake City Looks Silly Agreeing to Winter Olympics Contract.” The article said that Utah had the power to reject troubling doping-related parts of the IOC’s contract for the 2034 Games. But the government wouldn’t use it.
Members of Congress are speaking out about the controversy, which got worse when the U.S. government issued a subpoena to a sports official in Switzerland earlier in July as part of a federal investigation into claims that WADA wrongfully let Chinese swimmers compete after they tested positive for a banned substance.
“Why would the US want to host dirty Olympics?” Roll Call says that Rep. Morgan Griffith, R-Va., who is the head of the House Energy and Commerce Oversight Subcommittee, asked last week. The subcommittee held a meeting in June to look into the claims that were first made in April, but WADA did not show up.
Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., has introduced a bill that would let the U.S. withhold nearly $4 million a year in funding for WADA until authorities are sure that “our athletes are on a fair and even playing field.” Van Hollen was quoted by Roll Call as saying, “We are not going to back down in the face of blackmail.”
Gov. Spencer Cox of Utah signed the deal on behalf of the state. He told reporters in Paris that he didn’t have any other choice.
“We agreed that the United States could pull the Games from us and the United States if they don’t follow the rules set by the World Anti-Doping Agency,” the governor said at the time. The only way we knew for sure we could get the Games was to do that.
The governor of Utah said that Utahns and U.S. officials would “work very hard” to make sure that didn’t happen, but he was also sure that the 2034 Games wouldn’t be taken away. “That doesn’t bother me.” Cox said, “I’m 100% sure that we can get through this.”
Since international sports leaders were worried about the federal investigation, the contract change was made after almost a week of nonstop, behind-the-scenes talks. This was done to answer questions about whether the bid would be awarded as planned on Utah’s Pioneer Day.
“Because the international sports federations are so angry about this issue, the IOC and we thought it would be a good idea to add more language to the host contract,” Bullock said.
What part does Sen. Mitt Romney play in clearing things up?
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Bullock said that the new language makes the U.S. government as well as Utah’s Olympic organizers follow the World Anti-Doping Code. It also makes it clear that the IOC can end the contract “if, in any other way,” the code’s application is “hindered or undermined” or if WADA’s “supreme authority” is not respected by the host country.
But he said that wouldn’t be a problem for the Games in Utah if the U.S. could get the two anti-doping groups to work together.
“If that takes place, I have no doubts about what the government will do.” “Because I think we’ll have a system that works for everyone,” Bullock said. “We’re also at ease because we know the real problem is the gap between WADA and USADA, which we think can be fixed.” We hope to have a small part in that.
So, what needs to happen to end the fight?
Sykes said that people from both WADA and USADA have met with him in Paris.
“If the World Anti-Doping Code can be applied more strictly and in a way that is even stronger, we think this could be helpful,” the head of the USOPC said. “Neither side sees it that way yet.” It will take time, a lot of creativity, and patience to get there. What we think, though, is that these two groups should see things the same way for the sake of everyone.
Bullock said there might be some improvement in the next few weeks, but she also said, “This is a long-term problem that everyone needs to deal with.”
He is getting help from Utah Sen. Mitt Romney, who has known him for a long time and was in charge of the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City when Bullock was chief operating officer. A spokeswoman for Romney said that he supports the 2020 U.S. law that gives U.S. law enforcement authority over any international sports events involving American athletes or financial interests.
To the Deseret News, a spokeswoman said, “Sen. Romney has and will continue to support current U.S. law, the Rodchenkov Act. He is also working with the USOPC and the Salt Lake City bid committee to fully support the Utah Games.” The 2020 rule that caused a lot of debate was used to start the federal investigation into the Chinese swimmers.
Sykes said that Romney has already spent “a great deal of time” on the subject.
“He obviously has the greatest interest and the most insight into a lot of the history, personalities, and some of the temper that happens in geopolitics around sport,” the head of the USOPC said. “He knows the IOC very well, and they have a lot of respect for him,” the leader of the USOPC added.
Bullock made it clear that trying to change Congress’s mind is not part of the plan.
He said, “There are not going to be any talks with Congress.” “There is no lobbying at all with the law or with the police.” The main topic of all talks is how to bring WADA and USADA closer together.
Olympic ski champion Lindsey Vonn, who was a key part of Utah’s bid team, told the Deseret News that she wasn’t ready for the controversy and that the change to the host contract was “good for sport.”
“It’s kind of like a weather delay in ski racing,” Vonn said in Paris after the Utah bid presentation. Several IOC members then spoke out against the U.S. government’s investigation. “I didn’t see it coming, and neither did we.” We were ready for anything, though, and the team did a great job.
Vonn said, “We got the bid.” This shows how dedicated we all are to making sure the Games are great, in my opinion. In all honesty, the change is a good thing. To make sure sports are safe, I think it will probably be written into every deal from now on.
“Safe sport is what we all strive for,” said the four-time Olympian who first competed in the Olympics as a teen in the 2002 Winter Games. “That is always my goal, both as an athlete and as a committee member, to make sure that 2034 is amazing and that the Olympic spirit and morals continue on.”
The IOC’s words about the 2034 Winter Olympics being linked to cheating
IOC President Thomas Bach didn’t go to the media on July 24 as planned. Before the vote, Bach told the bid team on stage at the IOC meeting in Paris, “You have nothing to do with this.” He was getting IOC members to support Utah’s bid. It’s a terrible thing. I’m sorry for you and us.
Afterward, a top IOC official told the Deseret News that he thinks the contract addition makes “everybody comfortable.”
Christophe Dubi, Executive Director of the IOC Olympic Games, said, “It gives us hope that this dialogue will lead to something good.”
“You saw how Salt Lake City acts.” “We like it a lot,” Dubi said. “Because this is how you talk to each other, and what was said supported WADA’s position.” He said that Bullock and Sykes “made that very clear” and agreed with the new wording.
He said, “What you hope for is a healthy dialogue.” It’s up to you how you define “healthy,” but at least there’s a conversation going on to find an answer or make things better. From my point of view, and I have seen them more than once since then, everyone is fine.
A member of the IOC from Spain, Pau Gasol, who used to play basketball in the NBA, spoke out against the U.S. government’s investigation at a news conference in Paris last week.
Media reports that Gasol said, “There’s a big issue when it comes to the Rodchenkov Act and how that law has passed through Congress and the effect it could have in international sports.” He also warned that this puts the safety of the Olympic movement and the sports movement at risk.
Gasol said, “This has to be dealt with and solved.” He also said that he thinks Utah and the USOPC “can help solve the issue for the good of the Olympic movement” and that they know they can.
Gasol also told The Associated Press, “I know it might not be fair; it might not be something that any of us wanted Salt Lake City and their group to deal with.” “It’s not about me.” It’s not that the IOC is trying to be rude or unappreciative. This is a big problem that needs to be dealt with, and it comes from the United States.
