IAAF Ethics Commission Provisionally Suspends Leaders of Athletics Kenya
November 30 2015 - 1:00PM
Dow Jones News
By Sara Germano
Three top Kenyan track and field officials have been
provisionally suspended by the ethics commission of the sport's
global governing body based on several allegations of wrongdoing,
including one that the officials diverted sponsorship money from
sportswear maker Nike Inc.
The independent ethics commission of the International
Association of Athletics Federations said it was suspending
Athletics Kenya's president, vice president and former treasurer
pending an investigation into several allegations against the
officials, including the "potential improper diversion from
Athletics Kenya of funds received from Nike."
Nike said it was cooperating with the investigation. Nike's
"expectation and understanding of our sponsorship agreement with
Athletics Kenya has always been that funds are to be used to
support and service the teams and athletes," the company said in a
statement.
Athletics Kenya didn't immediately respond to requests for
comment.
The commission said the three officials--President Isaiah
Kiplagat, Vice President David Okeyo, and Joseph Kinyua, the former
treasurer and team leader--would be provisionally suspended for 180
days while its investigator examines the allegations. Other claims
made in the IAAF statement were that the leaders allegedly were
subverting antidoping efforts in Kenya, and that Mr. Kiplagat had
received "an apparent gift of two motor vehicles from the Qatar
Association of Athletics Federation" within the past two years.
The suspensions further an ever-widening crisis facing the sport
of track and field, which within the past month has included the
suspension of the Russian team amid claims of state-sponsored
doping as well as the arrest of the recently retired IAAF president
by French authorities for allegedly accepting bribes to cover up
Russian doping results.
Monday's claims are the first revelations of alleged corruption
that involve a sponsor. Nike, the world's largest sportswear maker,
is the top sponsor of track and field world-wide, including both
the Russian and Kenyan national teams.
Last week, IAAF President Sebastian Coe said he has severed ties
with Nike, for whom he had served as a consultant since 2013, amid
concerns it had presented him with a conflict of interest between
corporate and governance affairs in track and field.
Write to Sara Germano at sara.germano@wsj.com
Subscribe to WSJ: http://online.wsj.com?mod=djnwires
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
November 30, 2015 12:45 ET (17:45 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2015 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
Nike (NYSE:NKE)
Historical Stock Chart
From Mar 2024 to Apr 2024
Nike (NYSE:NKE)
Historical Stock Chart
From Apr 2023 to Apr 2024