Just a little reminder of the people with whom Boston will be getting into bed for the next ten freaking years if we host the 2024 Olympics.
Russian Tennis Federation head Shamil Tarpischev called the Williams sisters the “Williams brothers” and added “it’s scary when you really look at them” …
The WTA [Women’s Tennis Association] suspended Shamil Tarpischev for a year and fined him $25,000….
Tarpischev, who is a member of the International Olympic Committee, said the comments were a “joke” in a statement.
“I didn’t want to offend any athlete with my words,” he said. “I regret that this joke has garnered so much attention. I don’t think this incident deserves so much fuss.”
So, yeah. You can read about a bunch of the other reprobates on the IOC at this link.
refused the Olympics… then we could dump the IOC and start the thing over from scratch.
It seems like the US would have the clout to have a lot of our people on it.
Zeus, of course.
And why would that be an improvement?
maybe Roger Goddell?
I figured they would have a better sense of what American cities would want out of the deal, since it sounds like there is a bit of a race to the bottom which less advanced or democratic nations are more willing to participate in.
It’s like a frat….current members vote on new members. Self-propagating.
Of COURSE these guys are scum. Reminiscent of the gambling industry, if you ask me. In my view, the real clowns are our local government officials who voluntarily invite these sleazebags into our collective affairs.
Why “OF COURSE?” Why do they have to be?
I think they probably are, but why is that inevitable?
I meant that everybody already knows these guys are scum, as do our local government officials who want to do business with them anyway.
it may be inevitable. It seems likely that good people will pick good people, and bad people will pick bad people. However, people make mistakes.
The trouble is, there are far more potentially bad IOC members out there than good members. So, methinks it’s far more likley that a good IOC member mistakenly chooses a bad replacement than a bad IOC member mistakenly chooses a good replacement. If that’s true then, over time, the quality of the IOC will fall. Stochastically, not in a non-increasing way. Nevertheless, it’s basic queueing theory — the quality will eventually suck and generally stay there if my assumptions about odds of choosing replacement are right.
I do not think it works that way. It is far more arcane.
The IOC, as a whole, chooses who it’s members are by a vote of all members. Each member is elected to 8 year terms so the entire IOC is not up for re-election every year… If you are a member and miss the Olympic session two years in a row you are kicked out. The total number of members is fixed at 115. There are currently 105.
Anybody, from any country with a national olympic committee, between the ages of 18 and 70 can request that they be considered for membership.
As long as a member meets certain eligibility standards there are no limits on the number of 8 year terms to which a member can be re-elected (until the age of 70. It was previously 80 but they changed it in 2013. There are a few grandfathered in there…).
Of the 115 possible members, 45 of the potential memberships are restricted to athletes, members of national olympics committees, members from former host cities, and members of recognized international sports federations (the reprobate whose actions impelled this diary, Shamil Tarpischev, is the president of the tennis federation… which makes his remarks about the Williams Sisters even more surprising. It’s not like he’s some punch drunk hockey player who happened to make a random remark about female tennis players… If he loses his job he automatically becomes ineligible for IOC membership and will be ousted. He may be ousted from the IOC none). Of the remaining 70 possible ‘open’ memberships (not affiliated with athletics or a sports federation) no nation can have more than two members.
From a pre-Sochi piece
that I linked in the post! Looks like it’s a reprint of some sort.
Can’t hurt to have a second reminder-these guys are the worst.
A good look at the corrupt process already underway in Rio over at Jacobin, and a link to the “matrix of responsibilities” any host city must accept. We have to ask ourselves if they are acceptable to Boston before we bother putting together a bid.
I realize kicking the IOC is on a level with complaining about fundraising emails around here, but if you’re going to blame the IOC for corruption in Rio de Janeiro is just ridiculous. I have trouble of thinking a group of people running a major event who wouldn’t trip off some corruption there.