USOC’s Helmick Reportedly Will Resign Soon

Robert Helmick is expected to resign as president of the U.S. Olympic Committee, possibly as soon as Thursday, the Washington Post reported in today’s editions.

Helmick has come under scrutiny the past two weeks because of his business dealings with Olympic-related clients. He is attending the three-day meeting of the International Olympic Committee, which began Tuesday in Berlin, but is expected to return to the United States today.

The IOC executive committee “let it be known it hoped he would resign from the USOC because it might affect his future with the IOC,” an Olympic source told the Post. His resignation as USOC president would not jeopardize his position as a member of the IOC, which is a lifetime position. Helmick, one of two U.S. members, was appointed in 1989.

Also Tuesday, the U.S. Ski Federation, one of 40 Olympic sports-governing bodies, called for the resignation of Helmick and Harvey Schiller, the USOC’s paid executive director. “We are troubled by the recent admissions that have brought a dark cloud over not only the USOC but all organizations that are involved in Olympic sport,” the group said in a letter sent to USOC executive committee members.

Helmick could not be reached for comment Tuesday night.