USOC dances around leadership questions

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Larry Probst. Credit: USOC; St. Thomas Aquinas. Credit: Principality of Andorra postage stamp

Leave it to the U.S. Olympic Committee to indulge in hair splitting worthy of medieval scholasticism rather than give a straightforward answer to questions about its recent leadership change.

You ask a simple question, you get the debate over how many angels can fit on the head of a pin.

And, since the Chicago 2016 bid group cannot call on St. Thomas Aquinas to provide a rational answer, it may struggle to explain the USOC situation to international sports leaders at a meeting next week in Denver and the International Olympic Committee evaluation visit to Chicago in early April.

Latest twists in As The USOC Turns:

The USOC board of directors will conduct a national search for a new chief executive and have its ethics committee look into potential conflicts of interest in having Stephanie Streeter remain on the board while she serves as acting CEO, which means she is reporting to herself.

Those were the two salient -- if not concrete -- points to emerge from Monday’s meeting between USOC Chairman Larry Probst and two National Governing Body leaders who sought answers to the leadership questions and expressed concern over their lack of connection with a USOC board that 11 days ago forced Jim Scherr to resign and replaced him with Streeter.

Probst said at the time of Streeter’s abrupt ascension that no decision had been made about a search for a permanent CEO, and the implicit suggestion of a fait accompli in that statement angered the national sports federations, which develop most of the athletes on U.S. Olympic teams.

The concrete still is far from hardened, especially since everyone now is left to figure out the meaning of the change in Streeter’s stature from ‘interim’’ to ‘acting’’ CEO.

There may be plenty of time for that discussion, since Monday’s meeting ended with no time frame for either the search or the ethics committee decision on whether Streeter should remain on the USOC board or the several other corporate boards of which she is a member.

What the USOC -- and the IOC -- forever fail to understand is that potential or perceived conflicts of interest can look as bad as real ones. Both organizations sell themselves as representing lofty philosophical ideals that demand a purity greater than that of Caesar’s wife.

As to the difference between ‘acting’’ and ‘interim,’’ it would be easier to determine whether angels have corporeal presence.

This is how USA Gymnastics President Steve Penny described it after learning at the meeting that ‘acting’’ now was the relevant term for Streeter’s role:

‘Acting means she has the full support of the board, and the other word (interim) would imply there is a timeline attached to it,’’ Penny said.

Translated, that could mean Streeter will be acting CEO for a long while, unless the USOC board makes the unlikely move to initiate a search before the 2010 Winter Olympics. No matter when the search begins, the USOC has perpetuated the air of instability that has made its relations with the rest of the Olympic world problematic.

Skip Gilbert, head of the NGB council and executive director of USA Triathlon, said he came away from the meeting with no indication of whether Streeter will seek the job permanently.

‘She has to decide that, and I don’t believe she has done that yet,’’ Gilbert said.

Penny and Gilbert were satisfied that the national sports federations would have a voice at all board meetings, but no additional power other than having two NGB-nominated people on the board. Each has one of the nine votes on a board so small it is easy for a small faction to dominate.

Speaking on a conference call, they also felt reassured that Probst understands all the issues related to the potential impact of USOC leadership turnover on Chicago’s bid for the 2016 Summer Olympics.

‘He knows the priority [the bid] is and the opportunity it represents,’’ Penny said.

Probst was not made available to reporters. The USOC issued a statement (full text below) on his behalf that simply reiterated what Gilbert and Penny said after
the meeting, which also included the two NGB nominees to the board, Stanford athletic director Bob Bowlsby and Atlanta Braves vice president Mike Plant.

As indicated in a blog posted here yesterday, Gilbert and Penny chose to address the present and future rather than dwell on the reasons why the board replaced Scherr. They were given some background on the decision but chose not to reveal it.

‘There was a little discussion about it,’’ Gilbert said. ‘We see, respect and accept the decision that was made.’’

To a question about whether Streeter would move to Colorado Springs, Colo., where the USOC has its headquarters, or continue to commute from her home in Neenah, Wis., Penny could answer only that she now is the acting CEO.

Where is St. Thomas Aquinas when you need him?

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Statement from U.S. Olympic Committee Chairman Larry Probst after the meeting today with National Governing Body leaders and USOC Board members

The meeting today with leaders from the National Governing Bodies and members of the U.S. Olympic Committee Board of Directors was, in my view, extremely productive. We had an opportunity to speak candidly with one another and, in so doing, address a number of important questions and concerns.

Among the items we discussed and reached agreement on are the following:

In directing the day-to-day operations of the U.S. Olympic Committee, Stephanie Streeter will carry the title ‘Acting Chief Executive Officer.’ She has the full support of the U.S. Olympic Committee Board of Directors and the authority to lead the organization.

As we work through this transition, we are extremely fortunate to have someone with the talent, familiarity and expertise Stephanie Streeter possesses to serve as our Acting Chief Executive Officer.

The U.S. Olympic Committee will conduct a national search to select the organization’s next Chief Executive Officer, although the timing and process for that search is still to be determined.

The Ethics Committee of the U.S. Olympic Committee will address and resolve any potential conflicts involving Stephanie Streeter’s appointment as Acting Chief Executive Officer, including her position as a member of the USOC Board of Directors and any other Boards on which she currently serves.

The U.S. Olympic Committee Board of Directors will seek greater input and involvement from all constituent groups within the U.S. Olympic Family.

The U.S. Olympic Committee and National Governing Bodies encourage the entire U.S. Olympic Family to continue lending its full support to Chicago 2016 in the bid to bring the 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games to our country.

As a result of our meeting today, we have established a much more productive path on which we will move forward. Given the magnitude of the challenges and opportunities that are before us, it is essential we begin doing so immediately.

We all share a common purpose, which is to contribute to the continued growth and development of the U.S. Olympic Movement, to enable America’s athletes to reach their full potential on the fields of play, and to improve the lives of young people through participation in Olympic and Paralympic sport.

-- Philip Hersh