Cram must quit BBC to get top job
HE HAS TO BE INDEPENDENT SAYS EX-UKA BOSS
STEVE CRAM will have to quit the BBC if he wants to become the new chairman of UK Athletics, according to former chair Ed Warner.
The former mile world record holder is among the leading candidates to replace Richard Bowker, as first revealed by Sportsmail.
Cram is understood to be on the final shortlist that will be considered by a UKA selection panel today, having put his name forward for the position.
The 58-year- old has high level support to become chairman, with sources claiming he hopes to combine the £40,000-a-year role with his current duties as the BBC’s voice of athletics.
That, however, concerns Warner given what he regards as a clear conflict of interest.
As well as working for the BBC, Cram is a coach and has strong links to Nike, who sponsor UK Athletics.
‘Only if Steve left the BBC could he even be considered a credible candidate for the chairman’s position,’ Warner told Sportsmail.
‘UK Sport have told UKA they want to see an independent chair appointed and I don’t see how that works if Steve continues to lead the athletics coverage for the main broadcast partner.
‘It would be like he was marking his own homework, commentating on the team he chairs. That’s before considering the competing
demands of both roles during major championships.
‘The equivalent would be Gary Lineker becoming the chairman of the FA. How could he criticise himself? Having been the chair of the organisation when it was the subject of fierce scrutiny from the BBC, I just don’t see how he can also be their lead commentator.’
Bowker was forced to stand down in January after a bitter power struggle with key figures on the UKA members council.
In a letter sent in February to UKA by UK Sport chief executive Liz Nicholl and Sport England CEO Tim Hollingsworth, the funding bodies made it very clear that they wanted an ‘ independent chair’, as ‘outlined in the code of sports governance’.
The BBC will not comment on whether they would allow Cram to become UKA chair until they receive confirmation that he has applied for the position.
But BBC insiders have pointed to the national broadcaster’s editorial guidelines and suggest it could leave BBC Sport bosses with a difficult decision. Cram enjoys major influence at the BBC. It remains to be seen how much resistance he would meet when he has already served as the chair of the English Institute of Sport and as an endurance adviser for UKA. He also coaches athletes including Laura Weightman.
‘The concern would be the balance and independence of his journalism,’ said one BBC source.
Cram is now in a relationship with former athlete Allison Curbishley, who also works as a BBC athletics pundit. The pair also run a sports events business.
‘Steve has your details but he has nothing to say to you,’ she said.
Cram declined to comment.