Tom Welch resigned as president of the Salt Lake Organizing Committee Tuesday, calling the cost and stresses imposed on his public and private life by "unfounded charges and allegations" simply too high.
He said he will serve as a consultant to the 2002 Winter Games, earning much less than the $325,000 annual salary he was paid as president and chief executive officer.A smiling but emotional Welch read a prepared statement to reporters at the organizing committee's downtown Salt Lake headquarters shortly before noon Tuesday.
The organizing committee's board of trustees is scheduled to discuss the matter behind closed doors Wednesday at a meeting of the board's executive committee.
Welch was charged last week with domestic violence battery based on allegations he bruised and restrained his wife during a July 9 argument in their upper east-bench home.
He has denied ever hitting Alma Welch, but he has acknowledged having a nonphysical relationship with another woman who was the subject of his and his wife's argument.
The story, which surfaced last week while Welch and his son were on a hunting trip in Africa, has been widely reported. USA Today described salvaging Welch's reputation as "an Olympian task" in an article Monday.
Welch said Tuesday it's all been too much.
He told reporters in a prepared statement he's "concluded that the cost and stresses imposed upon the organizing committee, my children and me by the unfounded charges and allegations which have been widely reported in the media are simply too high."
Welch told the Deseret News that he was not forced to quit the job he sought for a dozen years. "I felt absolutely no pressure," Welch said. "I made this decision. I feel good about it. . . . This feeding frenzy needs to stop."
Although leaders of the organizing committee had already scheduled the Wednesday meeting to deal with "the recent publicity regarding SLOC's presi dent," Welch said he sat down with them Monday.
"I contacted the local trustees and asked to meet with them to help me assess the situation in the community," he told the Deseret News. In his prepared statement, Welch said he told them he was resigning.
A source told the Deseret News that the executive committee did not force Welch out but suggested he take a leave of absence. It hired an attorney to investigate both the allegations of spouse abuse and infidelity.
Although it had been suggested the board might wait until after Welch's Aug. 28 court date, the source said that would take too long and the disposition of the case might be open to interpretation.
Besides setting his salary as a consultant, trustees will also have to determine whether Welch will receive any of his $100,000-a-year pension. The pension plan was created to reward top officials who stay on through the Games.
And they'll also have to choose a successor. One option the board is expected to consider is conducting a national search.
Welch served as president and CEO of the organizing committee, answering to the board of trustees. He held a similar role in the bid efforts for the 1998 and 2002 Winter Games.
Two years ago, after Salt Lake City was awarded the 2002 Winter Games, Welch faced an unsuccessful challenge for his job from Frank Joklik, chairman of the board of trustees.
And last year, former Utah Jazz President Dave Checketts was approached to see if he was interested in running the 2002 Winter Games. Checketts, now the head of Madison Square Garden, said then he supported Welch.
Tuesday, Joklik said he personally regrets Welch's resignation and that Welch's successor will be discussed at Wednesday's meeting.
It's not clear how much support Welch could have expected from trustees Wednesday, because most board members have declined to comment publicly on the situation.
One, Bennie Smith, told the Deseret News that he supports Welch. Smith, the owner of Beneco Enterprises, helped secure the needed votes from African members of the IOC for Salt Lake City's successful bid for the Olympics.
"Tom is the Olympics. It's as simple as that," Smith said. "Everybody has personal family problems. Has he done (his Olympic job)? The answer is yes. That's what he should be judged on."
Smith said he plans to resign from the Olympics board to devote more time to his business.
Dick Schultz, the executive director of the U.S. Olympic Committee, praised Welch's efforts Tuesday. "Tom has done a tremendous job in bringing the Olympics to Salt Lake City," he said.
"I think Tom is showing his true character in what he's doing," Schultz said. "He doing what he feels is best for Salt Lake and the Olympic movement."