USOC split going into key discussions

DENVER -- As the U.S. Olympic Committee prepares for a meeting with members of Congress, its leaders are searching for ways to provide a united front as they squabble over control behind the scenes.

It might not be as easy as it seems.

USOC officials have been summoned to a meeting Tuesday in Washington to discuss recent allegations of ethical violations within the organization. Sen. John McCain of Arizona will preside.

But even as the government threatens to restructure the world's most powerful Olympic committee, its leaders continue to trade accusations and insults.

"We need to work together. That is what we need to do for the good of the organization and we must do it," said Anita DeFrantz, the senior U.S. member of the International Olympic Committee. "There are really good people working really hard to serve the athletes and that gives me confidence."

The USOC has always been an organization filled with turmoil and power struggles between its volunteers and paid officials, but furor over conflict-of-interest charges against chief executive Lloyd Ward has piqued the interest of congressional members.

Sen. Ted Stevens, R-Alaska, architect of the 1978 legislation that gave the USOC control over America's Olympic program, has called USOC officials to Washington to discuss possible changes to the organization.

Stevens stepped in last week after five USOC members resigned in protest when Ward received a slap on the wrist for his involvement in a business deal between a company with ties to his brother and the 2003 Pan American Games.

On Tuesday, all five USOC vice presidents and two other members of the executive committee asked for USOC president Marty Mankamyer's resignation. They said she conspired with another staff member to force Ward from his job in an attempt to pursue her own political ambitions.

Mankamyer denied the accusations and said she would not quit, adding that she was disappointed in some of the decisions Ward has made. Ward responded by saying Mankamyer engaged "disparagement and character assassination" in an attempt to oust him, The Denver Post reported Thursday.

USOC officials have tried to bring Mankamyer and Ward together to work out their differences, but to no avail.

The rift between the organization's top two officials doesn't bode well for the USOC headed into next week's meeting.

"It's about the athletes and no one else and once we get the focus on that, we'll be better," said DeFrantz, who also is a member of the USOC's executive committee.

But even government involvement might not be enough to soothe rattled donors and sponsors.

Earlier this week, the family of an Alabama businessman backed off plans to donate a 22-acre Greek-themed park that was to be used as an Olympic academy.

The USOC also faces the possible withdrawal of a $10 million sponsorship deal by one of its chief sponsors.

David D'Alessandro, chief executive of John Hancock Financial Services, sent a six-page letter to Mankamyer and Ward on Tuesday, saying the company could invoke a morals clause to pull out of its sponsorship deal.

D'Alessandro gave the USOC until Feb. 15 to provide detailed revenue and expense figures to ensure that his company's investment is safe.

"It is no longer possible to overlook the seemingly nonstop turmoil and controversy that afflict your organization," D'Alessandro said in the letter.