USOC Chief Out Amid Controversy

Embattled U.S Olympic Committee chief executive Lloyd Ward resigned Saturday, USOC spokesman Bob Condron said, becoming the second top-ranking official in a month to step down amid the latest furor to hit the world's most powerful Olympic organization.

"It's a done deal," Condron said. He declined additional comment, but said a statement would be issued later in the day.

Ward did not return a telephone message seeking comment.

The move caps three months of upheaval that began with Ward being investigated for a possible conflict of interest, and includes Senate hearings and the resignations of six other top officials, including president Marty Mankamyer.

Ward's decision came four days after the USOC's executive committee discussed his job status in a conference call and a day after two senators visiting USOC headquarters in Colorado Springs said they might have found evidence of fraud.

Ward becomes the latest USOC leader to exit the USOC's revolving door. The group has had six presidents and CEOs since 2000.

Mankamyer, the organization's highest-ranking volunteer, resigned on Feb. 4 after colleagues accused her of trying to oust Ward in an attempt to gain more power.

Ward, a former Maytag CEO, was hired to replace Norm Blake in October 2001. Blake lasted just nine months before resigning in 2000 amid internal strife.

The Gazette of Colorado Springs reported on its Web site that Ward "appeared Friday night to be prepared to resign."

Ward has been under fire since he was accused in December of trying to steer Olympic business to a company with ties to his brother. No deal was made, but Ward was reprimanded and stripped of a $184,000 bonus for the ethics violation.

Since then, a top sponsor has threatened to pull out of a $10 million endorsement deal, Congress has stepped in and ethics compliance officer Pat Rodgers was among the half-dozen members to quit.

On Friday, Republican Sens. Ben Nighthorse Campbell of Colorado and Ted Stevens of Alaska said during a visit to USOC's headquarters that they might have found evidence of fraud.

Campbell, Stevens and Arizona Sen. John McCain are part of a Senate Commerce Committee investigating ways to streamline the unwieldy structure of the troubled organization. They have appointed a task force to look at reforming the 1978 law that gave the USOC its charter.

Campbell has repeatedly called for Ward to resign. "I don't know how you get this ship of Olympic state back on track without new people in charge," he said Friday.

In a conference call on Tuesday, two members of the USOC's executive committee called for a vote to oust Ward and five others questioned whether he could continue as CEO amid the widening crisis. No vote was called after interim president Bill Martin said the meeting was not official.

A flurry of accusations have followed Ward since the executive committee reprimanded him on Jan. 13.

The Gazette reported last week that Ward and his wife billed the USOC for $115,664 in travel expenses last year, including a trip to see an Evander Holyfield fight and several trips to his home in Florida.

Lita Ward also flew by herself to the U.S. Figure Skating Championships in Los Angeles last January and went with him to the U.S. Open tennis tournament in the fall. Ward said his wife sometimes takes his place at official functions when he has conflicts.

Ward also was accused of asking officials at the Salt Lake City Games to give preferential treatment to the man who built his house in Colorado Springs.

The Denver Post reported Friday that a financial services company claimed the USOC pulled out of a contract for an employee retirement plan because the company had ties to an outspoken critic of the organization.

Last year, Ward was criticized for his membership to Augusta National Golf Club, which does not allow women members.

David D'Alessandro, CEO of John Hancock Financial Services, demanded in January that the USOC provide a financial disclosure or his company might invoke a morals clause to pull out of a sponsorship deal.

The report, which D'Alessandro received in early February, showed Ward's annual salary was $550,000 and that he gets two cars for personal use with money for gas.