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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Monday, May 17, 2010

Soccer: Ex-USOC CEO made about $1 million


By EDDIE PELLS
AP National Writer

DENVER — Stephanie Streeter made about $1 million as acting CEO of the U.S. Olympic Committee in 2009, according to tax reports filed by the federation Monday.

The annual report recorded Streeter's compensation as $1.006 million, which included $960,000 in salary and bonuses and $46,000 in benefits. The man she replaced, Jim Scherr, received $801,000, which included a year of severance pay after he resigned in March 2009.

Streeter took Scherr's place, then stepped down later in the year. She was replaced in January by Scott Blackmun, who agreed to take the job for $450,000 a year.

Streeter's unexpected rise to CEO caused a major rift within Olympic circles, and when news of her salary went public — $380,000 more than Scherr received in 2008 — it sparked another round of complaints.

Chairman of the board Larry Probst defended the salary as being in line with what the CEO of a complex, multimillion-dollar company would make and said Streeter, who had extensive experience in the corporate world, was worth it. By comparison, commissioner Mike Slive of the Southeastern Conference made $1.8 million in 2006-07.

Detractors said it was hard to justify that kind of salary in the nonprofit world in which the USOC operates.

According to the report, the USOC brought in more than $123 million in 2009, $35.5 million of which was spent on employee salaries.

The tax return lists salaries of the highest-paid employees. That included chief operating officer Norm Bellingham ($534,000) and former communications chief Darryl Seibel ($373,000). Seibel stepped down in June, but the USOC agreed to pay him for the entire year.

Streeter's salary caused the biggest stir, in part because of a bonus package worth $558,000, more than 3.5 times what Scherr made in bonuses in 2008, his last full year.

Pressed about her salary during her tumultuous months as CEO, Streeter told reporters to wait for the tax returns to come out in May. She did not immediately respond to interview requests Monday from The Associated Press.