Well, the cat's out of the bag, and heads have started to roll. Anyone and everyone has launched some sort of investigation into the Olympics fiasco. Even our own queen of "stirring the bucket," Jan Graham, has announced she'll start her own affidavit-signing inquisition. Amid all of the scandal hoopla, I have just a couple of questions.
First, when is the ethical line in the sand crossed between being a hospitable city and being a pocket-padding evil empire? Now that the scandal snowball has begun its destructive run down the hill, everything from business lunches to helicopter rides have emerged as being shady and suspicious.OK, did we expect the Olympic committee members to walk to the proposed venues? Should we have given them a Happy Meal for lunch on their way to the airport? Now, I'm not saying unethical or illegal behavior should be allowed or that steps should not be taken to weed out the bad apples, but most of the actions of the Salt Lake Olympic bid committee were surely not meant to be underhanded but merely to be hospitable and accommodating.
After all, what potential Olympic city would not want to be as influential as possible when millions of dollars have already been spent to start construction on facilities that are needed to even be considered for an Olympic bid? Maybe that is where the selection process should be evaluated.
Laird Small
Lehi