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© Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.150 athletes, educators and activists demand change in Olympic protest rule
By EDDIE PELLS TOKYO©2024 GPlusMedia Inc.
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GBR48
If you use the Olympics as a political platform, some nations will simply boycott it in response. You lose the ability for every top athlete to perform in the same arena. However positive your protest, you break what generally keeps the Olympics global.
It's the same with trans athletes. However inclusive you want to be, physique issues will lead to their inclusion breaking the basic fairness of some events.
By doing something for the right reasons, you ruin it for everyone.
There are plenty of other political platforms out there. The Olympics has survived this far because it has tried to avoid this, and be a sporting DMZ. It looks like it will now become a victim of the war on globalism and a lack of appreciation of the value of having areas of political neutrality.
However right you believe you are, you have to compromise so that the athletes of all nations can take part, however hideous and abusive their governments are. Their dictators are not their fault and their chance to compete should not be sacrificed on the altar of the self-righteousness of others.
And who gets to choose which protests are OK? Do you allow 'Independence for Taiwan' but ban a Chinese claim to other people's islands?
Entire nations of athletes may be excluded by their governments because of this. The walls will go up within sport around the world. The effect will be the opposite of 'inclusive'.
There are some regimes around the world I would like to see taken out for the atrocities they commit, whilst - for their own dubious reasons - Western regimes cheerfully tolerate them. I might post about them and blog about them, but I wouldn't undermine the chances of their citizens from watching or taking part in an international sporting event just to grandstand my views.
ShinkansenCaboose
Injustices? A tragic injustice is having 100,000 people enter a country when there is a pandemic going on. Why not protest that by staying home?
Droll Quarry
...... and while you are at it, ban professional athletes.
Magnet
Hoping this will be the last Olympics. The movement has completely lost its way. Political and social activism is out of control as it is.
lostrune2
That doesn't include the US Olympic team then
The US Olympic organization is not a government-funded entity - it gets its money from sponsors and license fees
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_StatesOlympic%26_Paralympic_Committee#Fundraising_efforts
"The United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit corporation supported by American individuals and corporate sponsors. Unlike most other nations, the USOPC does not receive direct government funding for Olympic programs"
Bet ya guys didn't know that
Define "professional" athlete?
How about athletes paid by the state?
College athletes who get paid by sponsors?