The International Olympic Committee will allow flag bearers, including U.S. Olympians, to carry an American flag found at ground zero of the World Trade Center collapse into Rice-Eccles Stadium during the 2002 Winter Olympic opening ceremonies.
The flag bearers will be a mix of heroes of the Sept. 11 tragedies and U.S. athletes.
The IOC's decision came a day after it said it wouldn't allow American athletes to carry the flag — considered by many to be now sacred — during the opening ceremonies. That decision had brought criticism from the New York-New Jersey Port Authority, which has custody of the flag.
Bending to the criticism, the IOC changed its mind and will allow the U.S. contingency to carry the flag, which may also be flown above Rice-Eccles Stadium during the opening ceremonies.
Last week, the U.S. Olympic Committee asked the IOC's coordination commission if U.S. athletes could carry the recovered flag into the stadium, but the IOC declined.
On the nationally syndicated Sean Hannity radio show Tuesday, the port authority's Curt Killinger said the IOC rejected the proposal because they thought the flag was "too political."
"They missed the point that people from 86 nations were killed in the World Trade Center," Killinger said on the show.
Moran said the reason the IOC originally rejected the idea was because many nations have tragedies every year and if every nation competing in the Games had some sort of tribute for every tragedy the ceremonies could become too long. "I wouldn't call it political at all," he said.
The burned and battered flag, which was flying atop one of the World Trade Center towers before they were hit by hijacked airplanes on Sept. 11, will arrive in Salt Lake Wednesday, Moran said.
The idea to bring the flag to the opening ceremonies parade of athletes was first developed by the USOC about a month ago, Moran said.
"We thought about that amongst ourselves and thought it would be a good idea," he said.
SLOC President Mitt Romney issued Tuesday a statement saying Salt Lake organizers weren't involved with the flag flap. However, later SLOC became involved in negotiation with the IOC to allow athletes to carry the flag in the stadium.
Romney said that SLOC has planned for some time to have a Sept. 11 tribute as part of the opening ceremony. The tribute will occur during the NBC televised pre-show which will air nationwide between 6 and 7 p.m. MST.
Besides raising the ground zero flag during the national anthem at the beginning of the opening ceremony and having it fly throughout the ceremony, SLOC plans to honor New York firefighters and policemen, Romney said.
"This tribute is designed to honor all of the heroes and victims of September 11," he said. "The IOC approved our plans for this tribute."
While there is protocol for the athlete's march and the battered World Trade Center flag would break that protocol, Francois Carrard, an IOC leader said they would make an exception.
Carrard said the highest form of respect for the victims and heroes of Sept. 11 is to hoist the flag high above the stadium. "For us, a form of respect is to hoist the flag. We are also coming to the (United States) as a form of respect."
Contributing: Lisa Riley Roche
E-MAIL: bsnyder@desnews.com