“More than a whiff of scandal” around IAAF bid

From an editorial in the Bend Bulletin over UO’s plan to hit up the legislature for more athletic subsidies, here:

… There’s also more than a whiff of scandal around the meet. The controversy centers on the no-bid award that gave Eugene the right to host the games. It involves Nike, Sebastian Coe, Vin Lananna of the private nonprofit Track Town USA and, naturally, money and influence. The French are investigating the award and the possibility of bribery or other irregularities.

Of course, it would be lovely to have the IAAF meet in Eugene. But Oregon has real financial problems, and neither a lodging tax increase nor the world’s largest track meet will change that. Lawmakers should just not do it.