Ethiopian Olympic Gold Medalist Wolde Charged in Killings, Torture

Olympic marathon gold medalist Mamo Wolde was among 73 people arraigned Monday in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, on charges of participating in mass killings and torture in the 1970s during the military regime.

Wolde, 65, the 1968 Olympic champion, has been imprisoned since 1992. He is accused of involvement in the killing of about 2,000 political opponents of Col. Mengistu Haile Mariam from 1974-78.

He will be asked to enter pleas April 14.

Wolde was a captain in the former imperial guard when Mariam overthrew Emperor Haile Selassie in 1974.

The special prosecutor said Wolde was involved in planning the killings of hundreds of youngsters suspected of belonging to the opposition Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Party.

Football

Nine black assistant coaches met with NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue to discuss the dearth of opportunities for advancement to head coaching jobs.

Though 10 jobs changed hands in the offseason, only one black assistant, Emmitt Thomas of Philadelphia, was interviewed for one of the openings.

Attending the meeting were former Raider coach Art Shell, Ray Sherman of Minnesota, Gerald Carr of Philadelphia, Robert Ford of Dallas, Chick Harris of Carolina, Herman Edwards of Tampa Bay, Clarence Shelmon of Seattle, Greg Blache of Indianapolis and Johnny Roland of Arizona.

There are three black head coaches in the NFL: Dennis Green of Minnesota, Ray Rhodes of Philadelphia and Tony Dungy of Tampa Bay.

They and Shell are the only African Americans who have ever been head coaches in the modern-day NFL.

Bob Devaney, 81, who won consecutive national championships in the 1970s as Nebraska’s football coach, is recovering from a heart attack suffered last week.

Devaney was listed in stable condition in a Lincoln, Neb., hospital.

Mike Holmgren has an escalator clause in his contract with the Green Bay Packers that guarantees he will be paid no less than the average salary of the five highest-paid coaches in the NFL, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported.

Also, according to a source, winning the Super Bowl was worth about $300,000 to Holmgren, thanks to an incentive clause in his contract.

The Dallas Cowboys, uncertain if Charles Haley will return, re-signed pass-rushing specialist Broderick Thomas. . . . The Miami Dolphins signed wide receiver Lawrence Dawsey as an unrestricted free agent. Dawsey played for the New York Giants last season. . . . Veteran tight end Keith Jackson of the Packers retired. Jackson, 31, said he would have returned if the Packers hadn’t won the Super Bowl. . . . Cornerback Steve Israel, who spent the last two seasons with San Francisco, has signed with New England Patriots.

Jurisprudence

Prosecutors in New York have added Don King’s boxing promotion company to the criminal case against him, alleging the company also committed insurance fraud after a 1991 bout was canceled when King claimed a boxer was injured.

The new charges are tied to a case in which King is charged with faking a contract with Lloyds’ of London to collect $350,000 in nonexistent training expenses for the canceled bout between Julio Cesar Chavez and Harold Brazier.

Horse Racing

Two jockeys were thrown from their horses at the Aiken (S.C.) Steeplechase and both were taken to the hospital, one with severe head injuries.

George Perry was in an intensive care unit with a cerebral hemorrhage, the Columbia State newspaper reported. Brian Korrell was treated at the hospital and released, officials said.

Perry toppled from his horse on the back side of the field during Saturday’s G.H. Bostwick race, the fourth event at the steeplechase. Korrell later went head over heels just past the judging stand as the horses headed for the final lap.

Soccer

The Los Angeles Galaxy has signed separate agreements with KTLA (Channel 5) and Fox Sports West to televise a total of 10 road games for the upcoming Major League Soccer season.

These two agreements combined with the MLS national agreement with Univision, ESPN and ESPN2 means all of the Galaxy’s 16 regular-season road games will be televised--14 live.

The Galaxy opens its season against Washington D.C. United Saturday at the Rose Bowl.

Winter Sports

American Kristina Koznick and Czech Martin Tichy won the slaloms in the U.S. Alpine Championships at Carrabassett Valley, Maine.

Koznick, 21, of Burnsville, Minn., has the best time for each run in the women’s race, winning the title for the third consecutive year.

Names in the News

Fernando Vargas, 1996 Olympian from Oxnard, makes his pro debut tonight in a four-round welterweight bout against Jose Corella at the Oxnard Performing Arts Center. . . . The San Jose Lasers (18-22) of the women’s American Basketball League fired their coach, Jan Lowery.