Olympics-Top U.S. Olympic official reassures sports they are welcome in U.S.
By Steve Keating
PARIS, July 27 (Reuters) -U.S. Olympic and Paralympic chief Gene Sykes reassured worried sports officials that they need not fear being investigated by American law enforcement when in the United States but conceded there was nothing he could do if they were.
The influential Association of Summer Olympic International Federations (ASOIF) expressed their concerns at bringing events to the United States after World Aquatics executive director Brent Nowicki was subpoenaed by the U.S. government to testify in an investigation into how 23 Chinese swimmers escaped punishment after testing positive and allowed to compete in the Tokyo Olympics.
A U.S. House of Representatives committee in May called on the Department of Justice to launch inquiries ahead of this year's Paris Olympics which got underway on Friday.
"They (federations) have asked questions and I've also provided reassurance," Sykes told Reuters. "We'll have many events going forward and I expect those events to go well and I expect people to travel to the United States without incident.
"I can't control anything that the FBI does but honestly, it's a small issue.
"It's a small issue relative to the magnitude of people who are going to come to the U.S. for events that are important to them, and the reassurance comes from the evidence of how many people actually enjoy the hospitality of the U.S."
It may be a small issue for Sykes but for ASOIF members it has become a major concern.
Images of members of soccer's world governing body FIFA being arrested on U.S. corruption charges as they exited a Zurich hotel in 2015 have not been forgotten and is not a scene the ASOIF or the IOC would like to see repeated with their members.
With the U.S. preparing to host the 2028 Summer Games in Los Angeles, a number of test events are being planned for the Olympic venues.
However, in a statement ASOIF said that U.S. investigations may lead federations to consider the risks of allocating future competitions over doubts about the safety of athletes and officials.
ASOIF concerns centre around the Rodchenkov Act legislation.
The Rodchenkov Anti-Doping Act passed in 2020 is named after Grigory Rodchenkov who led Russia’s state doping programme before turning whistle blower. The Act allows criminal charges to be brought against those found to have committed anti-doping rule violations.
The Act legislation extends U.S. law enforcement jurisdiction to any international sporting competitions that involve American athletes or have financial connections to the United States.
"The Rodchenkov Act was passed over four years ago, we've had literally hundreds of international sporting events since then, with athletes who have come to the United States and team officials and others without incident," said Sykes, who was elected an International Olympic Committee member on Wednesday.
"We want to reassure people who come to the United States that they will be treated with respect, and they'll be welcome.
"I think we have a very, very good record."
Reporting by Steve Keating, editing by Pritha Sarkar
Eng oxirgi yangiliklar
Javobgarlikdan voz kechish: XM Group korxonalari har biri faqat ijro xizmatlarini koʻrsatadi va onlayn savdo platformamizdan foydalanish huquqini beradi, bu odamga veb-saytda yoki veb-sayt orqali mavjud boʻlgan kontentni koʻrish va/yoki undan foydalanishga ruxsat beradi hamda uni oʻzgartirishga moʻljallanmagan va uni oʻzgartirmaydi yoki kengaytirmaydi. Bunday kirish va foydalanish huquqi doimo quyidagilarga boʻysunadi: (i) Shartlar va qoidalar; (ii) Risklar haqida ogohlantirish; va (iii) Javobgarlikni toʻliq rad etish. Shuning uchun bunday kontent umumiy maʼlumot sifatida taqdim etiladi. Xususan, shuni esda tutingki, bizning onlayn savdo platformamiz mazmuni moliyaviy bozorlarda biror bitimni amalga oshirishga oid maslahat yoki taklif emas. Har qanday moliyaviy bozorda savdo qilish sizning kapitalingiz uchun jiddiy risk darajasini oʻz ichiga oladi.
Onlayn savdo platformamizda chop etilgan barcha materiallar faqat taʼlim/axborot maqsadlari uchun moʻljallangan va unda moliyaviy, investitsiya soligʻi yoki savdo maslahatlari va tavsiyalar; yoki bizning savdo narxlarimizning qaydlari; yoki har qanday moliyaviy vositalar bilan bitim tuzish maslahati yoki taklifi; yoki sizga kerak boʻlmagan moliyaviy reklama aksiyalari hisoblanmaydi
Har qanday uchinchi tomon kontenti, shuningdek XM tomonidan tayyorlangan kontent, masalan: fikrlar, yangiliklar, tadqiqotlar, tahlillar, narxlar va boshqa maʼlumotlar yoki bu veb-saytda joylashgan uchinchi tomon saytlariga havolalar umumiy bozor sharhi sifatida "boricha" taqdim etiladi va investitsiya maslahatini tashkil etmaydi. Har qanday kontent investitsiya tadqiqoti sifatida talqin qilinsa, siz bunday kontentni investitsiya tadqiqotlarining mustaqilligini ragʻbatlantirish uchun moʻljallangan qonun talablariga muvofiq moʻljallanmagan va tayyorlanmaganligini eʼtiborga olishingiz va qabul qilishingiz kerak, shuning uchun unga tegishli qonunlar va qoidalarga muvofiq marketing kommunikatsiyasi sifatida qaraladi. Mustaqil boʻlmagan investitsiya tadqiqoti va yuqoridagi maʼlumotlarga oid risk haqida ogohlantirishimizni oʻqib chiqqaningizga va tushunganingizga ishonch hosil qiling, unga bu yerdan kirish mumkin.
