Paris Mayor Says Russian, Belarusian Athletes 'Not Welcome' At Olympics
Paris Mayor Says Russian, Belarusian Athletes 'Not Welcome' At Olympics
Paris mayor Anne Hidalgo said on Saturday Russian and Belarusian athletes "were not welcome" at the Olympics being staged in the French capital this year.
But Russians are still able to compete under neutral flag, same as last year.
This lets them feel like victims but also take credit for any medals Russian athletes win. I honestly don't understand why the Olympics insist on having Russians competing when they cheated systematically even before they started murdering Ukrainians.
The competition between USA, Russia, and China is what gets people to tune in, really. With anyone of those countries not participating, viewership tanks, is my guess.
There's also the whole thing about eschewing politics. Traditionally wars were paused for the Olympics, but I'm pretty sure that's irrelevant today, especially when the US led a boycott of the Moscow Olympics in 1980 and then Russia boycotted the Los Angeles Olympics in 1984. It's really about viewership.
Oh and the IOC is notoriously corrupt. If Russia pays to participate, the IOC will find every which way to let them, no matter how badly they cheat and genocide, same with the US and China.
Is it?
I'm in the UK, and I don't think the British (or any other European country) particularly gives a fuck about how any of those countries do. Ask most people in the UK who America's best gymnast was and most couldn't tell you.
What people want to see is the best, which to do so needs involvement from the largest countries (the three named). If any of these countries is banned from these sports, chances are that any funding for them is killed pretty quickly, and suddenly those great athletes aren't world-beaters any more.
They can but they are not welcome... Regardless their opinion or what.
You can come but we spit on you.
I would like see France coherent in its geopolitical positions regarding this kind of speech... But...
We have a story as country..
I'm okay with individuals from offending countries competing, as long as they denounce the state by separating from its governing body, and choose to train outside of their confines.
Let an Israeli or Russian compete, but only if they move away from their country and disassociate, opting to relocate and represent another country where possible - and we'll see the best possible outcome of banning war-hungry nations.
Completely missing the point of the Olympics
OK, wait a minute. The modern Olympics are a super problematic thing in themselves, but the idealistic naïveté that underpins them has a certain internal logic. And this statement breaks that internal logic. If Russia breaks the Olympic Truce, then sanction them however appropriate (e.g., by excluding them from the next games, like it has been done before), but this kind of pre-emptive exclusion is inconsistent with what the Olympics are about and reeks of hypocrisy and double standards, when it is only directed at Russians and Belarussians and not any of the "what about X" countries that anyone can think of.
That said, fuck the IOC and the corporate monster that the Olympics have become.
Are they simply not welcome but will compete anyway or are they banned outright
Fourth paragraph in the article:
Russian athletes can compete in the Paris Olympics, which run from July 26 until August 11 but only as neutrals.
Figures. Mayor just blowing smoke for no reason.
