A day after telling people he would support the troubled 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, Utah, but would not give money to them, industrialist Jon Huntsman pledged $1 million for the allied 2002 Paralympic Games for disabled athletes, the Salt Lake Tribune reports.
Huntsman has gone on record as being skeptical of the Salt Lake Olympics, which have been marred by scandal brought on by accusations of payoffs to IOC officials. A spokesperson for the philanthropist told the Tribune that the spur-of-the-moment decision to the Paralympics is consistent with Huntsman's support of disabled athletes.
Huntsman has sponsored a competition for disabled skiers -- called the Huntsman Cup -- for 13 years, the Tribune reports.
This isn't the first time Huntsman has made a surprise decision to donate a lot of money, the Tribune reports. After giving a speech at the University of Utah's business school last year, he pledged of $1.25 million to endow a chair at the school.
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