In the wake of the USOC ethics controversy, the U.S. Olympic Committee (USOC) says it will have the detailed financial figures demanded by major Olympic sponsor John Hancock Financial Services before the desired Feb. 15 deadline and will be glad to make them public.
The data, which ranges from revenue sources to administrative and fund-raising costs to payouts for sports governing bodies and athletes during the past decade, will cover everything listed by Hancock chairman and chief executive David D’Alessandro in a six-page letter dated Jan. 20.
D’Alessandro said he was happy with the response. “The USOC has been very forthright”.
A major reason Hancock wanted a detailed accounting said D’Alessandro, was to find out how much of the USOC’s $500 million quadrennial budget actually is spent on athletes.
“When this information becomes public, it will help Congress decide how to reform the USOC, said D’Alessandro, who said he would testify at the next committee hearing if asked. “The reconstruction they’re talking about is not about personalities. It’s about how the Olympic committee operates and how it’s governed”.
While most of the USOC’s financial information is available on the committee’s Web site in the form of annual reports and federal tax filings, Hancock said the data is “difficult to reconcile, does not cover all the years in question, and often fails to provide the level of specificity that is necessary in order for your investors and contributors to reach conclusions about the specific use of the monies”.
