David Letterman Calls Olympic Officials Hypocrites says Hollywood Grind

Along with sending us their threatening letter, the IOC is generally trying to pass the buck on the death of Georgian luge athlete Nodar Kumaritashvili. IOC issues take down of news coverage about luge death in David and Goliath battle

The story is all over the Internet today. Hollywood Grind wrote, ” David Letterman called Olympic officials hypocrites for calling the cause death of Nodar Kumaritashvili “human error,” which blamed Nodar, and not a lack of safety measures in the engineering design of the luge track:

“A ‘mistake’? I just wonder if it had anything to do with those exposed steel girders… Don’t blame the kid, for god’s sake. He had said to his dad. ‘I think something’s a little haywire here; I’m a little bit frightened about the track.’ For them to say that he made a mistake, that just stinks.”

“Why is it that they then repaired the track and covered up the girders and started the race from the women’s starting point? You know what it is? It’s hypocrisy, ladies and gentlemen.”

“That’s exactly what I said. It’s also important to note the height of the wall Nodar flew over is also being raised. Olympic officials owe Nodar’s family a heart felt apology.”

I’m a so-so Letterman fan but on this one at least someone has the guts to say the IOC stinks. Every day they remind me more of the Catholic Church, power hungry willing to do anything to keep maximum control, image conscious more than having a conscience. Of course, any religion or power group that doesn’t have to turn to the people for election gets like that. But, hell the Olympics is supposed to be about amateur sport and building values in people.

Instead of sending their little lawyers out to cover up the scandal, instead of sending police on horseback to charge into crowds of street people, the IOC could try a little humility.

Paul Birnie in the Vancouver Sun wrote, David Letterman takes a run at Olympics organizers over luger’s death

VANCOUVER — Chasing down a rumour about David Letterman coming to the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics, I tuned in his Monday-night show to see if Dave, Paul and the gang might indeed be headed our way.

Instead, I watched in amazement as Letterman devoted a large portion of his opening monologue to skewering both the Vancouver Organizing Committee and the IOC for their initial response to the death of Georgian luger Nodar Kumaritashvili.

The late-night host was quietly seething. You could see it in the way he kept his head turned sharp-right toward Shafer and the band, only occasionally shifting toward the camera and the audience.

It felt like an eternity as Letterman wouldn’t let go of his anger over the way officials initially blamed the death on Kumaritashvili’s lack of experience and a “mistake” during his trial run.

“For them to say it is because he made a mistake, that just stinks,” Letterman said, “because if the kid made a mistake and that was the end of it, they wouldn’t have repaired the track and covered up the girders and started from the women’s starting point.

“You know what it is? It’s hypocrisy, ladies and gentlemen.”

At which point, thankfully, someone applauded his measured rant and it came to an end.

A phone call to CBS in New York confirmed that the Late Show With David Letterman, and its host, will remain at the Ed Sullivan Theater in midtown Manhattan for the duration of the Olympics.”