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FROM RUSSIA; WITHOUT LOVE: THE CASE FOR VACATING MEDALS AND BANNING RUSSIA FROM THE OLYMPICS.
By: JON WILLIS, LYNN JAMIESON, BAYLOR HELMUTH AND THOMAS ORR
When you think of the Olympics, what do you think of? It is common to view the Olympics as a time of unity during a sacred time every couple years that brings people from all walks of life together to compete and show the world what they are made of. The Olympics allow a time to put aside differences and come together to show that we are all people on the same planet. When a war breaks out during this period of time, the motive of that country to start war is called into question whether that country is really committed to the ideals of the Olympics.
Noting the buildup of troops along the Ukrainian and previous takeover of Crimea, why has Russia been allowed to compete in any world sporting events any time recently? Being banned from Olympic competition is not new judging from the banning of South African due to its apartheid policies. That ban was lifted after apartheid was abolished. It seems that Russia war policies would effect a complete ban on Olympic participation. Both apartheid and waging war violate the spirit of the Olympics so to reward a country with Olympic Glory seems antithetical to the entire concept of the games themselves.
War as a policy is difficult to understand. Why do we feel the need to fight? We are all people who live on this Earth, and there seems to be no point to the accumulated death toll occurring in any war. What Russia is doing right now to Ukraine however, is a dangerous act of aggression from a leader that does not seem fit to be running his country. Vladmir Putin, who is a dictator and has constantly threatened war against other countries is causing terror not only in people worldwide but also among Russian citizens. The Russian invasion of several cities in the Ukraine not only is a problem for the country, but it also threatens any country that speaks out against it. Nuclear threats make this a world problem.
So what does this have to do with sports? It is creating a bad image for Russia, resulting in athletes from Russia being kicked out of any world athletic competition. A lot of these athletes and even people who live in the country of Russia disagree with what Putin is doing, and they are paying the price for it. Alexander Ovechkin, a very popular Russian hockey player has lost significant sponsorship from CCM (a hockey equipment company) and has faced criticism. Young athletes from both the Ukraine and Russia who are playing in the United States have very uncertain futures. Russia is terrorizing Ukraine during a time that was supposed to be about peace, and threatening the rest of the world while the Olympics were still ongoing. That is leading to them continuing to lose supporters from around the world, and continuing to grow tensions. If things like this keep up, world sporting events may start to decline. How can we have events like the Olympics if we end up going to another World War?
Creator: Steffen Prößdorf | Credit: Steffen Prößdorf
Copyright: Steffen Prößdorf
Now the question is for potential punishments. We believe that Russia should be kicked out of any global sporting event and stripped of any medals or titles that they may have won. What they are doing is against the code of the Olympics and any national competition, and we can not continue to stand for it. This should not just extend to when the conflict with Ukraine ends however, Russia should not be allowed to compete until someone other than Vladmir Putin is in charge of the country. He is a ruthless dictator, raging war wherever he seems fit, and that doesn’t seem like the kind of representation we want in things like is this harsh? No. A strong consequence to these actions is something we need to do if we actually believe in what the Olympics stand for. In essence, Putin would be banned for life and any country he led would be as well. This rule should be ubiquitous in that others who replicate such actions in the future would know these consequences.
Nikol Rodomakina - 2013 IPC Athletics World
We have seen situations like this before. In 1936, during world war two, people began to protest that Germany should not be allowed to compete in the Olympics because of the debacle that was going on with the Nazi Germany. There have been other instances where Olympics have been cancelled or boycotted. The 1916, 1940, and 1944 Olympics were cancelled due to the World War’s. Germany and Japan were banned from the Olympics in 1948. Throughout history, countries have boycotted Olympics due to what other countries are doing. 65 nations stayed home in 1980 and three countries boycotted in 1964. This proves that countries do not want to compete when a country like Russia is doing what they are doing. Most countries attempt to uphold the values of the Olympics, and it shows with these past cancellations and boycotts.
Now Russia is already being excluded from sporting events so far. Even the athletes that are allowed to compete aren’t allowed to compete for Russian sponsors. Russian has been barred from international ice skating, skiing, basketball, track, and some tennis events. They are not allowed to compete in the world figure skating championships, the CHL, and the World Games. The international basketball and volleyball federation have already suspended them from competition so they will not be allowed to compete in the World Cup. This has all only happened ever since the war with Ukraine began. People and major corporations are already taking action and Russia is having to deal with the consequences.
For the longest time, the Olympics and other international sporting events have always held up the standards of bringing people together and not fighting. Russia is clearly going against the values of that, and therefore, they will have to continue to deal with punishments. A fervent hope is that maybe one day everyone in this world can just appreciate what we have and we can all come together in sport without argument, fighting, and things of that nature.
Sources
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/the-movement-to-boycott-the-berlin-olympics-of-1936.
Kennedy, Lesley. “6 Times the Olympics Were Boycotted.” History.com, A&E Television Networks, 26 July 2021, https://www.history.com/news/olympic-boycotts.
Author, No. “Russia Is Banned from More Sports Events as Sanctions Mount.” Https://Www.inquirer.com, The Philadelphia Inquirer, 2 Mar. 2022, https://www.inquirer.com/sports/russia-sports-ban-ice-skating-ukraine-war-20220301.html.
The Olympics and Russia
Like all sporting events through the years, the Summer Olympic Games have changed dramatically, sometimes for the better and sometimes not.
Growing up, I always viewed the Games as something that showcased the purest form of athleticism. While the Olympics did not allow professional athletes, it brought together the best of the best amateur athletes from around the world. It was a showcase for the less popular spectator sports like track and field, swimming, gymnastics, etc. Notice I said less popular spectator sports, not less important sports.
Back in the day, it was a way to find out about people like Bruce Jenner and Mark Spitz. It often rallied a country together as people forgot about political affiliation and focused on being united and cheering on our country’s representatives. In short, it was sports for all the right reasons as Olympic athletes were not being labeled spoiled brats like the professionals because of the huge salaries that they had begun to reel in.
Some moments have become nearly bigger than The Games themselves, such as the Miracle on Ice of the 1980 Winter Olympics when the United States stunned Russia to win the gold medal.
To be fair, there was still a lot of politics at play, back in the day, as countries threatened to boycott the Olympics as a show of power and a few actually did. There were a few doping scandals that also became THE story of the Games. With all that, there still seemed to be an innocence to the Games as America would routinely send amateur athletes to shine on the world’s stage.
That has certainly changed through the years as America now sends professionals to the international stage. With commercialism and the advent of this thing called social media, that innocence has now taken a back seat to egos and entitlement.
There are many athletes who still shine brilliantly as they work towards qualifying for the Olympics. Yet, it seems there are others who use the Games as a platform for their beliefs on everything from politics to sexuality to human rights. Some decline offers to participate in the Games because it doesn’t fit into their schedule or worse yet as a sign of protest because of some sort of perceived slight. That does nothing to bring our country together like the good old days, instead becoming another agent of divisiveness.
I am not a historian when it comes to the Olympics. I know there were plenty of things at play behind the scenes that a young boy was oblivious to. I just knew at the time that the Games were a chance to watch phenomenal athletes that weren’t in the NFL or the NBA and on TV every week.
When I think of the Summer Games, the sports that most quickly come to mind are track and field, and swimming. Interestingly enough, this past summer those particular sports featured athletes with ties to my home state (South Dakota), and even my hometown (Aberdeen). Needless to say, that makes watching the Olympics even more riveting.
As we all get ready for another round of the Winter Olympics, let’s hope that the focus is on the athletes who have worked hard to get there and not on issues like COVID, politics or some form of Skate Gate.
Maybe some form of pure competition between athletes most of us have never heard of is too much to ask for these days, but I for one would like to just sit back and watch the world’s best go head-to-head just for the pure joy of sport and pride of country. It’s really what the Games should be all about.
MLB is (again) destroying their product
By: JON WILLIS
Major League Baseball has been a sport that has been slowly dying. There are many parts to why baseball might be a dying sport, but one thing is for sure, they definitely are not helping. Baseball has been a sport that has been slowly losing popularity for a couple of reasons. The big ones are they are not adapting to the youth, it is a sport that some consider boring and not a lot happening, and they are doing things like they are with this lockout. The MLB owners and MLB players association are currently not having any operations as they bicker over silly things.
The joke has always been with these things happening that it’s billionaires vs millionaires. Now why that might be funny, it is not 100% false. The average MLB player in 2021 earned an average income of 4.17 million dollars and a median income of 1.1 million dollars. The average salary for a U.S. citizen is roughly 51,000 dollars. So I know this might sound harsh, but these players who are complaining about money are really already set up pretty nicely in life, at least a lot nicer than the average citizen.
Now I know I am bashing the players early on, but it really does come down to the owners. The owners continually think that this is just all about money when really there is a lot more to it than that. The owners initiated the lockout and with Rob Manfred, the commissioner of baseball, announcing the first two series of the season have been cancelled, it is now impacting a lot more than just the players. I want to add by the way that when Manfred had his press conference where he announced this, he had a big old smile on his face which really just showed where baseball is at this point in our time.
So let’s go over what each side wants just to get a better understanding. The players basically want more guarantees of money. The MLBPA wanted to increase the competitive balance tax threshold to 238 million, and was seeking an 85 million dollar bonus for pre-arbitration players. Some things they did want were already agreed upon with owners. There will now be a universal DH, and an expanded playoffs. The owners originally wanted 14 teams, but they eventually agreed on 12. Now those are the basics of what the players want, I know there is a lot more to it, but for this article that’s the basis on what we will go off of.
So how do we fix this? Talks have been going on for a couple of weeks now, and it is being reported that really no progress is happening. Players have also come out and said that the owners really hadn’t started talking negations until like a week before that March 1st deadline. That’s the first issues there. The owners and the players should have been talking since the season ended. Everyone and their mom knew that the players wanted to change some things, so why were talks not started earlier? The next thing that needs to happen is compromising, and that is on both sides. The players need to realize they are already set for life on a professional salary, and need to be ok with not making as much money as they are asking for. If you’re the owners, you need to realize that these players are the one actually on the field making money for you and for the team. Both sides need to not be so hard nosed on what they want and be willing to compromise.
I really do think both sides, the players and the owners are being extremely selfish right now. The players are saying that playing and not getting what they want is hurting them, but I don’t think they realize the people they are hurting by participating in this lockout. Each team has concession workers, field managers, security, employees, broadcasters and more that are currently unemployed that rely on baseball to make a living. Last, and most importantly, they are hurting the fans. When it comes down to it, sports in general is an entertainment business. You could not have a baseball league without the fans. Fans want desperately to watch baseball, and they are stabbing those fans in the back by being selfish and not figuring this out. I am referring to both the players and the owners by the way.
One thing I do hope comes out of this is that college baseball grows in popularity. I hope ESPN and other networks start to put college baseball on their airwaves because you don’t see those problems in college baseball and it’s very high quality competition. This lockout continues to hurt baseball as basketball and football are continuing to dominate in the most popular sports in America. In 2022, football had the biggest viewership in America at 38.8% with basketball at 15.3% and baseball/softball at 14.8%. Baseball used to be “America’s sport,” and now it is in the rear view mirror.
If baseball wants any chance of keeping MLB popular and relevant, they need to figure this lockout out. Baseball has a lot of work to do anyways to keep the sport popular anyways, which I could write a whole other article about, so they need to compromise and figure this out. This lockout is hurting a lot of people, most of which aren’t actually in this lockout, and the MLB needs to figure it out because that’s what the fans deserve.
Sources-
https://en.as.com/en/2021/10/08/mlb/1633685987_178363.html#:~:text=According%20to%20recent%20data%2C%20MLB,shows%20a%20totally%20different%20picture.&text=The%20average%20salary%20of%20an,to%20%244.17%20million%20a%20year.
https://policyadvice.net/insurance/insights/average-american-income/
https://www.mlb.com/news/mlb-mlbpa-cba-negotiations-update
https://sportsbrowser.net/most-popular-sports-in-america/
A look at the Unexpected in the 2020 Summer Games
The 2020 Summer Olympics held in Tokyo this past year treated us to some wacky and unexpected things. The event itself was delayed due to COVID-19 so we went in definitely expecting some things to happen that normally didn’t. Whether it was Simone Biles stepping back for her mental health, a camera boat almost hitting some of the competitors, or Lamont Marcell Jacobs shocking the world and winning Gold for Italy in the mens 100m sprint. We’re going to break down some of the biggest things we saw in this years games.
Mental Health
Before we get into some of the fun stuff, this years games proved to be one that brought a huge issue to the forefront. Simone Biles, arguably the best Olympic athlete of all time maybe excluding Michael Phelps, decided to sit out this year’s Olympics, after losing herself in the air and shaking uncontrollably. She knew that if she continued to compete, she would hurt her team and possibly herself.
We later learned that what Biles was experiencing was something called the “Twisties.” Basically as a gymnast, you lose yourself and don’t know where you are because of some psychological problems. Biles has come out and talked about how she has gone through a lot mental health wise and she made the bold decision to sit out. She still was a fantastic teammate and sat right there with her team supporting.
The decision was of course met with controversy. Some people applauded her for being so bold while others said she was quitting on her team. What she proved though, was that athletes are in fact HUMAN. They go through the same stuff that us average Joe’s go through. She set the stage for future athletes, saying that it IS ok to put your mental health first, and that you need to be ok first before you can go out and do stuff for other people.
Crazy Events
Some crazy and even dangerous things happened as well in this past Olympics. We take a look at some of the crazier.
Like I mentioned in my opening paragraph, there was a camera boat that almost led to some very dangerous waters. The men’s triathlon was taking place, and a camera boat was right in the way of swimmer’s getting ready to go. The buzzer went off and the boat was still in the way. The boat tried to reverse but it struggled to get out of the way. Luckily, the swimmers that were in the path were able to get out of the way and stay safe and no one was hurt during the incident.
Some fans were worried about German judo star Martyna Trajdos after she was seen being slapped and shaken by her coach. After not making the podium, she joked on social media that the slaps “weren’t hard enough apparently.”
BMX rider Niek Kimmann with the Dutch team collided with an official who was trying to cross the track and suffered a bit of a sore knee.
The Israel Olympic basketball team got in trouble after trying to break their beds in their hotel. They made a Tik Tok with nine guys bouncing on the bed and they eventually broke the bed and it collapsed to the ground. They later came out and apologized even though their original purpose was just to be humorous.
Maria Belen Perez Maurice, who is an Argentinian fencer, had been proposed to in the 2010 games, but rejected Lucas Guillermo. Guillermo asked again this year during an interview, and this time she finally said yes.
Finally in these awkward and crazy events, Annemiek Van Vleuten crossed the finish line of the road cycling race believing she had won the race and celebrated as such. She later found out that had not been the case and she was extremely embarrassed. There were plenty of other crazy and shocking events that happened in the 2020 games.
Unforeseen Results
In every Olympics, there are always winners that we don’t expect, here are some of the biggest.
Lydia Jacoby had already made history by becoming the first Alaskan to ever make the United States Olympic swimming team. She then beat the defending champion in the 100m breaststroke to win Gold and shock the world.
Naomi Osaka, who was the second ranked tennis player in the world, was upset by Marketa Vondrousova (ranked 42nd in the world) in the third round. Vondrousova went on to win a silver medal.
The Canadian women’s soccer team defeated the United States for the first time in 20 years, and won their first ever Gold Medal.
American swimmer Bobby Finke went into the games as not really a favorite in anyone’s books and flew under the radar. After being behind big in the 800m freestyle, he came back and passed the top three swimmer’s in the final 50 meters and won Gold. He was called the comeback kid of the 2020 Olympics after having another later charge to win the 1500m final.
Novak Djokovic was heavily favored to win Gold in 2020 with Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal opted to not compete, but Djokovic lost in the semifinals and again in the bronze metal match, and went home medal-less.
The last big surprise was Austria winning its first Olympic cycling medal since the 1896 Athens Games when Anna Kiesenhofer dominated and crossed the finish line 75 seconds before everyone else.
Heartwarming Moments
For our last topic, we explore some of the things that happened and made people go “awww” in the Tokyo Games.
Claire Michel crossed the line in the Triathlon way after every one else and she collapsed on the floor crying as she felt she had let her country down. Lotte Miller, who finished 24th, went over to her and even though they were from different countries, comforted her and told her that she was a “fighter,” and that “she had 100% Olympic spirit.”
Tom Daley, who is an LGBTQ advocate and diver, gave an inspirational speech after to young kids saying that you can achieve anything and that LGBT people are not alone and that people are here to support you.
Tony Hawk was seen taking pictures of skaters at the women’s skateboarding events like a “proud dad.”
Oksana Chusovitina who is 46 years old, competing in her 8th Olympic Games, received a standing ovation after her gymnastic routine as it could very well possibly be her last Olympic Games.
Simone Biles, who we mentioned earlier sat out for her mental health, was the first one seen congratulating Russia for beating the USA as the best team all around.
High Jumpers Mutaz Essa Barshim of Qatar and Gianmarco Tamberi of Italy agreed to share the Gold Medal after both of them cleared a jump of 2.37 meters but failed to clear the next bar. They could’ve gone to a jump off, but agreed to share the medal as now very good friends.
This Olympics showed that even though you are competing, that it is all still love and respect. Both Isaiah Jewett from the United State and Nijel Amos from Botswana fell in the 800 meter semifinal. They helped each other up and embraced in a hug.
The last warming moment was when Japanese Skateboarder Misugu Okamoto fell and dropped from first to fourth place, other skaters helped her up and together carried her off.
This year’s Olympics featured crazy events, social change, unexpected results, and heartwarming moments. That is what these games are for though. It is for the people of this planet to come together and show the pride of their country, and that is what makes these games so special.
Works Cited:
• Murray , Holly. “What Simone's Step Back Teaches US.” Athletes in Action, 30 July 2021, https://athletesinaction.org/articles/what-simones-step-back-teaches-us/?gclid=Cj0KCQiA-eeMBhCpARIsAAZfxZBdbKWdEz69rlofAFgeIhGl-lVZHR23Xo-z87wSq5zBi-tfimijaIsaAoeKEALw_wcB.
• Beresford, Jack, et al. “23 Shocking Olympics Moments You Probably Missed from the Tokyo 2020 Games.” Newsweek, 9 Aug. 2021, https://www.newsweek.com/23-shocking-olympics-moments-probably-missed-tokyo-2020-1616924.
• Smith , Shawn. “Biggest Upsets of the Tokyo Olympic Games.” Beijing 2022 Olympic Winter Games, 8 Aug. 2021, https://www.nbcolympics.com/news/biggest-upsets-tokyo-olympic-games.
• Lakritz, Talia. “15 Of the Most Heartwarming Moments from the Tokyo Olympics.” Insider, Insider, 5 Aug. 2021, https://www.insider.com/tokyo-olympics-heartwarming-cute-moments-2021-7.