It might be a good thing Marty Walsh removed the gag order on Boston 2024 Olympics criticisms, because Boston’s mayor is angry.
The Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday afternoon that the United States Olympic Committee (USOC) might drop Boston as the U.S. bidder for the 2024 Summer Olympics if public support doesn’t improve, citing “people familiar with the (USOC).” Walsh was furious when he heard the news, sources close to the mayor told WBZ’s John Keller.
The USOC since has released a statement denying the news, and Walsh claims publicly to believe them.
“We’re assured that there’s a commitment to the Boston bid and that the unnamed source in the article today was not from the USOC,” Walsh told WBZ. “So I take them at their word for that.”
While that statement of trust might sound naive to some, Walsh is taking steps to ensure competency at the level he desires for the remainder of the long bidding process — steps others have perceived as a warning to the USOC. Walsh announced Wednesday that he has created an Office of Olympic Accountability consisting of personally selected members to oversee and double-check even the smallest details.
He then issued reassurance to those against a Boston Olympics should the new office dig up any problems.
“We’ll be out of this bid just like that,” Walsh said. “I mean, if we don’t feel this is good for the City of Boston and doesn’t do the right thing that we want to do, and we’re gonna be left holding the financial obligation 20 years down the road, we will not be part of this bid.”
Thumbnail image via Twitter/OnlyInBOS
