Behind-the-Scenes Fight in the L.A. Olympics

In your excellent coverage of the “Olympics ‘84, a Year Later” (July 28), one crucial and historic aspect of the behind-the-scenes battles went unreported.

The Los Angeles Olympic Organizing Committee was the first integrated and truly representative group ever to play a significant role in Olympics affairs. This did not simply happen by chance.

The Olympic movement had a long, ugly history of bigotry at the top levels. Mayor Tom Bradley was determined that old guard Olympic stalwarts would not control the Los Angeles Games. He moved quickly and effectively to ensure the selection as president of the Organizing Committee of an outstanding citizen and community leader who would symbolize fairness and equality.

Bradley could not have made a better choice than Paul Ziffren. Although initially reluctant to take the job, Ziffren eventually acceded to the mayor’s urgings and became the first Jew to play a major role in the history of the Olympics. His selection, pushed through over strong objections, sent a clear message to all those involved in the Olympic movement that this time things would be different--and they were.

Thanks to Tom Bradley, Paul Ziffren and Peter Ueberroth, we soon had the type of diverse staff a multicultural city like Los Angeles could be proud of, and we quickly adopted an affirmative action program that sought to ensure fair treatment for all persons in connection with the business dealings of the committee.

But, much as we might like to believe otherwise, integrating the Los Angeles Games was not all sweetness and light. One incident is illustrative. Peter Ueberroth told me, and he told others, of a visit by a delegation, including members of the Los Angeles Olympic Organizing Committee, which protested his hiring of Jews in key staff positions. Their visit backfired, for, as Peter later reported, it left him more committed than ever to Tom Bradley’s and Paul Ziffren’s goal that the 1984 Olympics be color-blind and prejudice-free. If the Organizing Committee didn’t succeed fully in our efforts at equal opportunity, at least we tried.

Let us hope that one legacy of the Los Angeles Games will be its message of tolerance and equality. Let us hope that this legacy will help bring about open membership regardless of race, religious views, or sexual orientation in all institutions in our community, both public and private. Let us also hope that this legacy will at long last become a permanent part of the International Olympic movement.

STEPHEN REINHARDT

Secretary, Los Angeles

Olympic Organizing Committee