Moscow says calls to ban Russian athletes from Olympics 'unacceptable'

[Chris]

Moscow says calls to ban Russian athletes from Olympics 'unacceptable'
The Russian government does not agree with the calls from many international ministers to ban Russian athletes from competing in the Paris 2024 Olympic games.
By REUTERS
Published: FEBRUARY 11, 2023

Russian Sports Minister Oleg Matytsin said on Saturday that calls from ministers of more than 30 countries to ban Russian and Belarusian athletes from the 2024 Olympics were unacceptable, TASS news agency reported.

A group of 35 countries, including the United States, Germany and Australia, will demand that Russian and Belarusian athletes are banned from the 2024 Olympics, Lithuania's sports minister said on Friday, deepening the uncertainty over the Paris Games.

The move cranks up the pressure on an International Olympic Committee (IOC) that is desperate to avoid the sporting event being torn asunder by the conflict unfolding in Ukraine.

more............ https://www.jpost.com/international/article-731263

 

[Ghoti Ichthus]

Barring Russian Soviet athletes from the Olympics is a whole lot less unacceptable than the Russians Soviet Soldiers invading Ukraine and raping, killing, pillaging, and burning

I don't like barring athletes for the actions of their countries because they work their butts off and it's (probably) not their fault what their government did/is doing. Letting them compete under the Olympic flag as independents, etc. seems reasonable. There's a lot of precedent for it.

Independent Olympians at the Olympic Games​

"Athletes have competed as independent Olympians at the Olympic Games for various reasons, including political transition, international sanctions, suspensions of National Olympic Committees, and compassion. Independent athletes have come from North Macedonia, East Timor, South Sudan and Curaçao following geopolitical changes in the years before the Olympics, from the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (present-day Montenegro and Serbia) as a result of international sanctions, from India and Kuwait due to the suspensions of their National Olympic Committees, and from Russia for mass violations of anti-doping rules.

Medals were won by independent Olympians at the 1992 and 2016 Olympics, both times in shooting. The naming and country code conventions for these independent Olympians have not been consistent. Independent Paralympians have participated at Paralympic Games for the same reasons as independent Olympians."

More
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Independent_Olympians_at_the_Olympic_Games

 

[MapleLeaf]

Stop doping your athletes, Russia! Wah, wah, we're not allowed to cheat. Boo hoo.

 

[DWB]

The Olympics were supposed to be non-political and hopefully bring Nation's closer together. Unfortunately, not the case any longer.