Olympic Sponsor Backs Out

Johnson & Johnson backed out of a $30 million sponsorship deal for the 2000 Winter Games, and no new sponsors have signed on since a bribery scandal broke.

"The sponsors that we talk to are assessing the environment in which we find ourselves every single day," said John Krimsky, U.S. Olympic Committee deputy secretary general and the games' chief fund-raising officer.

"And when they have to invest millions of dollars and the reputation of their products and services, they have to be very, very careful," he said.

Krimsky said Johnson & Johnson had signed a letter of intent but pulled back in January or February, before Olympic organizations finished investigating the bribery allegations and implementing reforms.

Company spokesman John McKeegan cited as the reason internal disagreements about how to link the company's many brands under a sponsorship umbrella in time for the Salt Lake games.

But Olympic corruption also played a role, he acknowledged.

"We can't say that it didn't have anything to do with it," McKeegan said. "It was certainly in the background."

Johnson & Johnson had never been a full sponsor before but has provided its products to athletes for about 20 years. McKeegan said that will continue.

Krimsky said other potential sponsors have asked him why Johnson & Johnson hesitated.

The International Olympic Committee has traditionally chosen Olympic host cities, but the system became fraught with gifts and freebies and led to the worst scandal in Olympic history. More than six committee members have been replaced, an ethics commission was set up and the method for choosing hosts has been changed.

Salt Lake already has commitments for more sponsorship support than Atlanta had by the time it staged its more expensive 1996 Summer Games. But Krimsky must still raise about $300 million in cash, goods and services to meet the Salt Lake Organizing Committee's $1.45 billion budget.

Krimsky has said he has pitched $200 million in sponsorships to corporations waiting for the controversy to subside and at least one, BMW, may be ready to sign. But most targets have remained elusive.

By Hannah Wolfson