Originally published at: Russian figure skating star tested positive for drugs months ago, but was allowed to compete at Olympics | Boing Boing
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On the radio this morning, the hosts plainly described the Olympic Committee as corrupt and "all about “power and money.”
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Olympic committe is rotten to the core?
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Russia - “We are not NOT cheating.”
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The real competitive event to watch is the one between the IOC and FIFA to see which sports org is more corrupt and more willing to collude with the worst regimes on the planet. The IOC is way ahead at the moment.
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Oh yes.
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I mean… yes, the IOC is corrupt, but in this particular story they’re not the bad guys. What happened is that she was caught doping, the Russian Olympic Committee covered it up so she could compete in Beijing, now the IOC is calling it out, and the Russians, to nobody’s surprise, are being all NAH, WE WOULD NEVER, YOU’RE ALL CORRUPT AND ROTTEN.
ETA: I have already asserted that blaming the victim wasn’t my intention and I’m not holding her responsible for ingesting illegal performance enhancing drugs. Please kindly check the rest of the thread before giving me an attitude check.
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The IOC should have prohibited Russia from competing at all, especially after their athletes displayed the flag at the opening ceremonies against the rules. Everyone knows that the Russians cheat and most of the time the IOC enables them.
It’s bad guys wherever you look, especially at these particular Winter Games. The only people I feel sorry for are the athletes who trained all their lives to win fairly, only to end up in such a sorry showcase of corruption, greed, cheating, authoritarianism, and environmental destruction.
The whole “Olympic Movement” needs to be razed to the ground and rebuilt fresh: permanent sites for summer and winter in liberal democracies; no corporate sponsors; clear the money men and aristocrats and fascists off the committees.
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It’s been clear for decades that Russia is far more worried about the possibility of their athletes losing than they are about any sanction the IOC could administer or any reputational damage that might come from getting publicly exposed for cheating. Better to look hopelessly corrupt than to look “weak” on the international stage.
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poor kid.
take away - don’t trust russia
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…or the IOC
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Yeah, it’s definitely worth noting that she’s a child and likely had little to no agency in this matter.
On the subject of child athletes in general, I’ve always been a bit uncomfortable with the fact that there are 12 year old gymnasts competing in a sport that has lasting effects on physical development and potential for long term injuries. Aside from the physical issues the training required to compete at that level virtually guarantees that the kid will miss out on a big part of their childhood and education. I’d like to see the minimum age set to at least 16, maybe even 18.
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she was caught doping
That way of phrasing it is blaming the victim. She was used by the Russian machine that systematically dopes their athletes and uses every trick to evade getting caught, and when caught, like in this case, to evade the consequences.
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Blaming the victim wasn’t my intention, but I don’t know how to put the plain facts in another way. She was doping, obviously as a minor she had no say in the matter and she is a victim who was caught up in the disgusting mess that is competitive sports in Russia. But at the end of the day she is the person around whom this whole thing has broken out.
(Believe me, as someone who lives almost next door to Russia and whose country’s own Dear Leader regularly performs oral sex on Putin and pushes Russian interests in the EU, the NATO and at home - I know what Russia is like.)
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Oh, I agree with all this. I’ve long been saying that the Olympics should be just abolished altogether, no need for fresh rebuilding, at least not in a way that is even remotely similar to the current system. As long as representations of countries are involved it’s always going to be a sh*tshow because that’s politics.
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A classic:
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I doubt it would change anything - they would still start the training at a very early age.
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Or just lie or falsify papers, like they do every now and then.
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Corruption is one of the many reasons I don’t watch and have done my best to avoid the Olympics.
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Sure, they’ll allow this, but if a Black lesbian Canadian sprinter were to hypothetically smoke a little pot…
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