Workers threaten to sue Rio Games over pay dispute
RIO DE JANEIRO — Nearly 2½ months after the Summer Olympics, hundreds of workers have not been paid and are planning to sue the local organizing committee to get their money.
Among those late getting paid are about 100 freelance contractors who worked as stadium announcers, show producers and DJs, and several hundred others who worked for the Olympic News Service, which produced written summaries about the sports and athletes at the Olympics and subsequent Paralympics.
“I’m working with a legal firm that is already representing someone involved with Rio 2016, so they have a pretty good handle what is going on,” Rocky Bester, a South African freelance show producer, told the Associated Press in an interview.
Bester, a spokesman for the 100 contractors, said he never has experienced such problems at previous Olympics. This was his seventh, and he said all he has received from Rio organizers is silence and excuses.
“We’ve had robust conversations at other Olympics about payments, but it’s always been an open conversation,” Bester said. “What is happening here is that no one is talking back.”
Rio Olympic officials blamed the delays on late payments from their sponsors, the Rio city hall and the International Olympic Committee.
“We are paying, but not all the money we need to have for payments has been received,” Rio spokesman Mario Andrada told the AP. “We are struggling a bit in making the ends meet.”
Cash-flow problems, budget cuts and cost overruns dogged organizers throughout the run-up to the Olympics. As the Games opened Aug. 5, organizers needed millions in a bailout from the city and federal governments, breaking a promise to use only private money to fund the $2.8 billion operating budget.
HORSE RACING Derby winner Nyquist retires
Kentucky Derby winner Nyquist has been retired and will begin his stud career next year in Kentucky.
Darley, a breeding operation, confirmed the news that had been expected since Nyquist was withdrawn from the Breeders’ Cup Classic last weekend because of a “puffy ankle.”
The 3-year-old colt won his first eight starts, with five victories that included the Kentucky Derby, Florida Derby and BC Juvenile, before losing his final three.
HOCKEY Judge to dismiss charges on Kane
A judge will dismiss the charges against Buffalo Sabres forward Evander Kane stemming from scuffles with women in a bar if he stays out of future trouble, according to a prosecutor who described the athlete’s behavior as “arrogant, boorish and surly but not criminal.”
The arrangement is contingent on the 25-year-old player avoiding legal issues for the next six months. Kane did not speak during or after his brief appearance in Buffalo City Court.
Kane’s lawyer said the action does not include an admission of guilt, and Kane denies the allegations.
“Evander has steadfastly maintained that he did nothing wrong,” attorney Paul Cambria told reporters after the hearing. “Nothing has changed.”
Kane was arrested in July, a month after he was accused of grabbing three women by the hair and neck in separate encounters on the same night in a Buffalo bar. Kane was removed from the club by bouncers. He was charged with misdemeanor trespass and noncriminal violations of harassment and disorderly conduct.