'Lance Cross has to go’

Press, 9 August 1976, Page 6

' Lance Cross has to go’

'PA Wellington The Halt All Racist Tours movement wants the chairman of the New Zealand Olympic and Commonwealth Games Association (Mr Lance Cross) to resign. The chairman of H.A.R.T. (Mr T. Richards) said yesterday that few New Zealanders concerned about "our continuing full participation in world sport” could have confidence in either Mr Cross’s judgment or leadership. “For the long and shortterm international future of New Zealand sport. Lance Cross has to go.” He said statements made by Mr Cross since his return from Montreal were capable of bringing joy only to those political sports administrators responsible for the boycott against New Zealand at the Olympic Games. Mr Cross had lost sight of

the real world, said Mr Richards. He seemed to have a John Wayne complex in claiming “it was tough, working almost single-handed to keep New Zealand in the Games.”

“Working for him and with him he had the New Zealand High Commissioner to Canada, as well as officials from the New Zealand Olympic team.” Mr Richards said he defended without qualification the statements and activities of the H.A.R.T. representative in Montreal Mr D. Wickham.

Mr Cross is said to have ■Jleged that Mr Wickham was working with the Africans to have New Zealand expelled. . It had taken the Interna-« tional Olympic Committee 50 years to come to the defence of its own principles and expel South Africa, said Mr Richards.