BittyBug
Childless Cat Lady
- Messages
- 27,684
I know the Canadian OC voices openness to having RUS athletes return but has the USOPC? I don’t think so.
ISU Statement on Russia's war against Ukraine - Participation in international competitions of Skaters and Officials from Russia and Belarus
- Thread starter skatingguy
- Start date
- Status
Firedancer
Well-Known Member
- Messages
- 3,038
This article includes quotes from the US and Canadian Olympic committees:
https://www.insidethegames.biz/articles/1133259/poland-say-40-nations-oppose-russia
The USOPC quote specifically includes that the neutral athletes be clean athletes but there don’t seem to be any changes to address Russian doping
coppertop1
Well-Known Member
- Messages
- 2,112
Exactly! The doping directly affected their athletes yet they still think they should compete? We're hearing the athletes getting more outspoken about the fact that they do not think Russia should be at the Olympics. Add to that, the fact that the Russian trolls have been bullying Loena Hendricx for speaking out about the doping. Russia doesn't belong anywhere near competition.
airgelaal
Well-Known Member
- Messages
- 5,986
Neutral russian skaters
This was incredibly creepy...
Vagabond
Well-Known Member
- Messages
- 27,011
I think that thete is a very real chance that athletes will organize their own boycott of Paris 2024 if the IOC doesn't come up with something acceptable. And I question France's willingness to go along with the IOC if doing so provokes such a boycott.
airgelaal
Well-Known Member
- Messages
- 5,986
Pink Cats
Well-Known Member
- Messages
- 499
thvu
Usova's Apprentice
- Messages
- 8,900
Let’s remember how Nazarova & Nikitin were in cities being bombed while Sinitsina & Katsalapov were proudly wearing the Z at pro war rallies and accepting money from the state. Russian athletes are not neutral.
SkateSand
Cat Servant
- Messages
- 3,343
Edited because I posted in the wrong thread.
greenapple
Well-Known Member
- Messages
- 1,145
Poland, Lithuania, Estonia and Latvia have jointly rejected the IOC plan to let the warmongers compete and believe it is possible to build a coalition of 40 nations to boycott the 2024 Games.
BBC article.
BBC article.
caseyedwards
Well-Known Member
- Messages
- 24,204
it’s that or death unless they don’t live in Russia like the tennis players that criticize Putin
I do not remember the skaters who didn't wear 'Z' and didn't participate in that genocide rally dying.
Not that YOU'RE going to get it, but there's still a difference between active participation and silence. The second is much more understandable for me.
SkateGuard
Well-Known Member
- Messages
- 2,207
I'd love to see the national governing bodies of different sports here in Canada create some push back to the Canadian Olympic Committee on this too. The CBC article that came out a couple days ago quoting the COC's CEO was definitely a 'read the room' kind of moment.
Bach seems pretty impervious to logic, reason and decency, so any appeal there is useless. Too much of the rest of the IOC members seem to be in thrall to him, and the recent pronouncements coming from them clearly show their preference for allowing Russian athletes back in. No joy there. Good on some of the European NOC's for standing up, but unless some of the biggies weigh in, it's likely we'll see at least some Russian athletes able to participate. Even with the supposed hurdles of 1) can't have supported the Russian war effort and 2) clean/no doping, there will be loopholes for them big enough to drive large trucks through.
In the last decade, I've not been impressed by the USOC. They've made a lot of moves I thought were questionable or self-serving, rather than being on the side of the athletes much less the US fans/supporters. So it wouldn't surprise me to see them take the Weasel-and-Sellout route. Canadian OC, I have no idea, I'll let the Canadians comment on that.
Money, however, does talk. It's the only language the IOC really understands. And NBC in the US provides a huge amount of the IOC revenue through television broadcast rights. This article outlines this for the 2017-2021 period, and I think the 2022-2026 period is likely a similar profile.
www.infobae.com
USA-based sports fans could write to NBC Sports and lay it on the line, that if the Russians are back in the Olympics, not only will they NOT be watching ANY Olympics on NBC, USA, Peacock or any related platforms, but they will also avoid other NBC programming as well, in protest. Better yet, make it a public campaign, which with social media is not that difficult. Something that would make NBC Olympic corporate advertisers have to notice and perhaps weigh in as well. I've got it on this week's To-Do list to write in to NBC and to Peacock directly (I am a current subscriber) and voice my opinion.
Grassroots effort may ultimately not make any difference, but it's a place to start. I personally wouldn't care if I never saw another Russian athlete competing again, in any sport, for the rest of my life. Yep, I'm mad and disgusted.
In the last decade, I've not been impressed by the USOC. They've made a lot of moves I thought were questionable or self-serving, rather than being on the side of the athletes much less the US fans/supporters. So it wouldn't surprise me to see them take the Weasel-and-Sellout route. Canadian OC, I have no idea, I'll let the Canadians comment on that.
Money, however, does talk. It's the only language the IOC really understands. And NBC in the US provides a huge amount of the IOC revenue through television broadcast rights. This article outlines this for the 2017-2021 period, and I think the 2022-2026 period is likely a similar profile.
IOC posts $7.6 billion in revenue over the expanded Olympic cycle
Broadcast and sponsorship fees make up majority of the revenue, delayed financial reporting due to the postponed Tokyo 2020 Games
www.infobae.com
USA-based sports fans could write to NBC Sports and lay it on the line, that if the Russians are back in the Olympics, not only will they NOT be watching ANY Olympics on NBC, USA, Peacock or any related platforms, but they will also avoid other NBC programming as well, in protest. Better yet, make it a public campaign, which with social media is not that difficult. Something that would make NBC Olympic corporate advertisers have to notice and perhaps weigh in as well. I've got it on this week's To-Do list to write in to NBC and to Peacock directly (I am a current subscriber) and voice my opinion.
Grassroots effort may ultimately not make any difference, but it's a place to start. I personally wouldn't care if I never saw another Russian athlete competing again, in any sport, for the rest of my life. Yep, I'm mad and disgusted.
List of corporate sponsors of 2024 Games:
www.paris2024.org
Maybe some of them can figure out how much of their revenues/net income come from Russia/Belarus, versus the rest of the world.
Partners of the organization committee of Paris 2024
The partners are involved with Paris 2024, their commitment contributes to the influence of the values of Olympism and Paralympism.
www.paris2024.org
Maybe some of them can figure out how much of their revenues/net income come from Russia/Belarus, versus the rest of the world.
If the war is ongoing, Russia should not be allowed to compete, period.
If the IOC lets "neutral athletes" compete from Russia, all other countries should boycott or hold a competition elsewhere.
The IOC rules that competitors MUST be a citizen of the country they are representing therefore, Russian athletes are Russian under that rule.
I cannot recall which pair team but they (I think a NA pairs team) could not go to the Olys because she did not want to give up her Japanese citizenship.
The doping issue just adds yet another reason to rethink Russian participation in the Olys.
If the IOC lets "neutral athletes" compete from Russia, all other countries should boycott or hold a competition elsewhere.
The IOC rules that competitors MUST be a citizen of the country they are representing therefore, Russian athletes are Russian under that rule.
I cannot recall which pair team but they (I think a NA pairs team) could not go to the Olys because she did not want to give up her Japanese citizenship.
The doping issue just adds yet another reason to rethink Russian participation in the Olys.
SkateGuard
Well-Known Member
- Messages
- 2,207
I created a poll on Twitter and tagged the ISU, IOC & CEO of Canadian Olympic Committee. Don’t have any illusions that it will change anything, but who knows? Maybe, if the number of votes goes up, it may speak to someone. If anyone would like to vote:
coppertop1
Well-Known Member
- Messages
- 2,112
I voted. No way should they be back and at this point, they shouldn't ever be allowed back.
I think it's really getting to Russia that not only are they banned but that figure skating is doing fine without them. They hate it.
I think it's really getting to Russia that not only are they banned but that figure skating is doing fine without them. They hate it.
Theatregirl1122
Needs a nap
- Messages
- 34,211
The Euros ladies were a delight this year.
coppertop1
Well-Known Member
- Messages
- 2,112
They were. Three small fed skaters on the podium, and some bright talents.
coppertop1
Well-Known Member
- Messages
- 2,112
And uses their athlete for propaganda (and the athletes support the war)?
greenapple
Well-Known Member
- Messages
- 1,145
Why is Bach so focused on finding a way for a country that has an unprecedented history in cheating (doping) at all OWG - which he has repeatedly publicly condemned over the years - to return to sport when it is so obvious that the greater percentage of people/sporting federations in the world are against it? Apparently it only takes him a year to forget that the Ruskies broke the Olympic truce for a second time - something he decried endlessly last February.
The Ruskies crying about their human rights is such a sham given their demolition of the human rights of the Ukranians on a daily basis.
The Ruskies crying about their human rights is such a sham given their demolition of the human rights of the Ukranians on a daily basis.
Last edited:
skatingguy
decently
- Messages
- 19,973
I'm not sure if your question was rhetorical, but assuming that it wasn't the answer is money laundering, and international sports are the mechanism.
Sylvia
Flight #5342: I Will Remember You
- Messages
- 84,278
Copying out a Twitter thread by the Associated Press' Stephen Wade on Feb. 3: https://twitter.com/StephenWadeAP/status/1621415245863620609
Why is IOC’s priority a few hundred Russian and Belarusian athletes competing in the Olympics when 40 million Ukrainians are being blown to smithereens by Russian attacks? This strange deference to Russia goes back almost a decade to state doping and coverup in Sochi.
2 Olympics are a business that generates IOC $7-8 billion every 4-year cycle. Keep this in mind. IOC is a business, not a charity. In September, Putin suggested at a meeting of Shanghai Cooperation Organization that Russia, China and other SOE members stage own sports events.
3 This is a direct threat to IOC, its Olympics, its income. So this helps explain why IOC appeases Russia. What about rights of Ukrainian athletes? First, how can they possible face Russians given war atrocities. Beyond that, how can Ukrainians even train?
4 IOC now playing the human-rights card; human rights of Russian athletes. IOC never uttered the words “human rights” in run-up to last year’s Beijing Olympics when China held Uyghurs in concentration-like camps. IOC most concerned about protecting its billions.
5 IOC can recall Ted Turner’s Goodwill Games in 1980s-90s that briefly threatened stature of Olympics, their mere existence. A breakaway led by Russian is a nightmare for International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach.
6 The IOC is severely compromised. It has income of $7-8 billion. Money explains most of what it does. It fears Russia, China and many central Asian countries might organize breakaway events. Never forget. The IOC is a business, not a charity, not the Red Cross of sports.
Why is IOC’s priority a few hundred Russian and Belarusian athletes competing in the Olympics when 40 million Ukrainians are being blown to smithereens by Russian attacks? This strange deference to Russia goes back almost a decade to state doping and coverup in Sochi.
2 Olympics are a business that generates IOC $7-8 billion every 4-year cycle. Keep this in mind. IOC is a business, not a charity. In September, Putin suggested at a meeting of Shanghai Cooperation Organization that Russia, China and other SOE members stage own sports events.
3 This is a direct threat to IOC, its Olympics, its income. So this helps explain why IOC appeases Russia. What about rights of Ukrainian athletes? First, how can they possible face Russians given war atrocities. Beyond that, how can Ukrainians even train?
4 IOC now playing the human-rights card; human rights of Russian athletes. IOC never uttered the words “human rights” in run-up to last year’s Beijing Olympics when China held Uyghurs in concentration-like camps. IOC most concerned about protecting its billions.
5 IOC can recall Ted Turner’s Goodwill Games in 1980s-90s that briefly threatened stature of Olympics, their mere existence. A breakaway led by Russian is a nightmare for International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach.
6 The IOC is severely compromised. It has income of $7-8 billion. Money explains most of what it does. It fears Russia, China and many central Asian countries might organize breakaway events. Never forget. The IOC is a business, not a charity, not the Red Cross of sports.
Uh huh. The same way this year's Russian Cup series was going to be so much more glorious than the GP.
Have at it, Russia. Hold your figure skating events with all the Iranian, North Korean, and Belarusian figure skaters you can. See how much glory that wins you.
(Methinks China wouldn't love this arrangement once they realized it means losing everything to pro-Russian judging panels).
The truth is that Putin wants to use sports to symbolically defeat political opposition. He can't do that if the political opposition isn't there.
Have at it, Russia. Hold your figure skating events with all the Iranian, North Korean, and Belarusian figure skaters you can. See how much glory that wins you.
(Methinks China wouldn't love this arrangement once they realized it means losing everything to pro-Russian judging panels).
The truth is that Putin wants to use sports to symbolically defeat political opposition. He can't do that if the political opposition isn't there.
Karen-W
YMCA is such a catchy tune!
- Messages
- 51,324
Well, for most winter sports this is true where, apart from speed skating, most of the nations in question are merely bit players on the international stage, but it certainly isn't true in a lot of summer sports and we have Paris 2024 looming on the horizon before the next OWG.
A Russo-Chinese led multi-sports festival with swimming, diving, gymnastics, wrestling, boxing, all the racquet sports, etc would be just as competitive as a western-centric Summer Olympics.
Oh I found @clairecloutier in the retweets haha
- Status
Users who are viewing this thread
Similar threads
