IN his opinion piece on CNN.com on Saturday, sports journalist Bruce Berglund writes about Russian athletes, even para athletes or differently-abled athletes both from Russia and Belarus who have been punished for their leadership’s transgression against Ukraine.
In last week’s column, I talked about sports diplomacy. This is hardly sports diplomacy.
As Berglund says, “A number of world sports organizations have pulled events from the country or severed ties with Russian entities. The European soccer federation, UEFA, moved this year’s Champions League final from St. Petersburg to Paris, while Formula One canceled the Russian Grand Prix scheduled for late September.
“Other governing bodies, leagues and clubs followed suit. On Monday, UEFA and the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) took the extraordinary step of barring the Russian national soccer team from the qualifying tournament for the 2022 World Cup.
“Even the IOC [International Olympic Committee] has changed course and joined the actions against Russia. On the day of the invasion, [IOC President Thomas] Bach condemned Russia’s ‘breach of the Olympic Truce,’ “ a consensus resolution adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in December 2021, which started seven days before the Beijing Winter Olympics and lasts until seven days after the Paralympics.
“On Monday, the IOC went further, recommending all sports federations ban Russian and Belarusian athletes [because of their country’s crucial enabling of Putin’s aggression] from competing in events.”
World sports organizations have their crosshairs on Russian teams and athletes competing or will compete in various major sporting events in the next few months. F1 has announced that the Russian Grand Prix will not be part of this year’s season. FIFA and UEFA has banned Russia from competing in world football.
Berglund writes on the National Hockey League (NHL) banning Russian players, “In hockey as well, Hall of Famers Wayne Gretzky and Dominik Hasek called for Russian players to be excluded from contests in North America. Gretzky said Russia should be banned from the world junior men’s championship, while Hasek, who grew up in Czechoslovakia when the country was occupied by Soviet troops, demanded that the NHL remove Russian players from its rosters. “The NHL must immediately suspend contracts for all Russian players!” he tweeted.
As for whether it is fair or unfair, the veteran sports journalist, opines, “The athletes who have spoken out insist a ban against Russian participation in world sports is a necessary step. Having competed on the world stage, they understand that athletes inevitably serve as ambassadors of their nations.”
“Every athlete represents not only himself and his club, but also his country and its values and actions,” tweeted Hasek.
Allowing Russian athletes to participate in sports can advance the image Vladimir Putin wants to project to the world—all while Russian soldiers are striking Ukrainian civilians. It’s simply not acceptable.
Athletes who are calling for bans against Russia argue that we have to view sports in a broader context, one that acknowledges the world’s outrage over events in Ukraine.
“It is not an easy decision,” tweeted members of the Polish national team after deciding not to play Russia, “but there are more important things in life than football.”
The world must use sports to express its outrage and indignation to Russia for violating the sovereignty and independence of another country. It’s not right and it never will be.
When one country invades another and cowardly attacks civilians, it is inexcusable. Russia will reap the whirlwind of isolation and sanctions from economic to financial to, yes, even sports.