CORRUPTION

International Affairs Forum Fall 2016
ready by day one, and shortcuts to achieve this
goal often involve lowering environmental and/or
safety standards. In the case of Rio, the impact
of the Zika virus could not have been anticipated;
however, it could be argued that the IOC should
have recognized the potential negative impacts
of political instability, when it awarded the games
to that city. Moreover, problems associated with
the so-called “pacification” of the favelas were
clearly identifiable from the outset.
Western media commentators tend to apply
a double standard, publishing scathing
assessments of organizing committees and
governments in developing and/or non-Western
countries, while taking a more lenient approach
to similar problems that London, Vancouver,
Sydney, and other host cities encounter. Overzealous
security provisions in Western cities
routinely criminalize poverty and homelessness,
while so-called legacies, especially those
involving environmental promises, often fail to
materialize. Mainstream media sources are, in
many instances, official Olympic sponsors, and in
effect unofficial boosters of all things Olympic.
Bribery has also crept into the games
themselves in past Olympics. For example,
in 1988, boxer Roy Jones, Jr. was the
victim of a boxing judge who later admitted
accepting a bribe. What is the state of
controls to prevent similar occurrences?
but recent changes in structure have partly
addressed the problem of anti-athlete bias.
Those who support the CAS system point to its
efficiency and panelists’ sport-related expertise,
especially in the resolution of disputes that occur
during the Olympics or other sport mega-events,
when its Ad Hoc Division can generate speedy
decisions. However, a case currently before a
Canadian court argues, in part, that an athlete
has the right to a court hearing in his/her home
country. Furthermore, critics point out that court
decisions generate legal precedents, and that
it is in the public interest for courts, rather than
the CAS, to decide on significant sport-related
cases, such as those involving gender identity
and eligibility.
Similarities have been found between
Olympic bidding scandals and FIFA bidding
controversies for Russian World Cup. What
are your thoughts on the FIFA scandals?
It is not surprising to find numerous similarities
since many of the same players are
involved. The same sense of entitlement and
invulnerability characterizes IOC members and
the men who control FIFA. The stakes during bid
processes are equally high, as are the financial
and symbolic rewards for certain sectors within
host cities and regions: developers, resort
owners, politicians, and leaders of sports
organizations.
The Court for Arbitration in Sport (CAS) was
established by the IOC in 1984 to address these
kinds of disputes during the Olympics. It is an
arbitration body and not an actual court, and
athletes are contractually bound to use this route.
In fact, past IOC president Samaranch called it
the “supreme court of world sport.”
In its early years, CAS was so closely linked
to the IOC, that its objectivity was questioned,
Fall 2016
63