ISU bans Russia and Belarus from competitions

[gsk8]

I think that some people in this thread need to thoroughly read the IOC statement and understand that a treaty was broken. ISU is just following suit per IOC recommendations.

In the meantime, let's not bash Russia or it's athletes in this thread. The Russian government made the decision(s) that resulted in this ban. Not the citizens of Russia and certainly not the Russian athletes.

Please use the Speakeasy for political discussion relating to the war.

 

[Ducky]

Me too. Sports should be sports, not politics. The skaters did nothing wrong. I am done with the ISU and IOC. I will not watch worlds 2022 and if necessary, any future figure skating events until the wrong is righted.

International sports ARE political and have always been political. Why did Russia want to host the World Cup or the Olympics at Sochi if not to gain a more favorable opinion on the world stage? Why do they pour money into sports like figure skating (or into arts programs like the Bolshoi Ballet) if not to have a cultural product to export and show off to the rest of the world?

 

[Sjs5572]

I don't agree with the ISU decision. I condemn Putin. It doesn't mean I condemn every Russian. Imagine when the USA attacked Iraq, should they have banned all athletes from the USA? If the answer is no, this is hypocritical.

The answer is not no. I was an American protesting the Iraq war in 2003 (along with the Dixie Chicks). I would have welcomed international moves to sanction Bush and his cronies. The "whataboutits" are using typical Russian state propaganda to justify actions or avoid sanctions.

 

[TontoK]

I only condemn Putin and his cohorts among the Russians. Everyone who wears a green or white ribbon is my hero.

After IOC statement, ISU had no other recourse, so it did the right thing—the only thing they could do. Again, this announcement should have come with temp relaxation of rules for transfers and the clarification on 2023 spots. Russian athletes will pay the price for Putin’s madness, along with the rest of the Russians, and by the time they are done paying, not having a team at Worlds will feel as much of a trifle as worrying about who smoked weed in Krasnoyarsk feels now in comparison to the war. For some of the fans, this worlds will suck. For the rest it would be the best worlds ever. And so life goes on.

This is the important fact. The ISU really had no choice.

Whether it was "fair" or "equitable" is not the issue - and reasonable opinions can vary. I don't feel strongly either way, as I can see merits of several arguments.

In the end, they did what they had to, so it is hard to fault them in this case.

 

[EdRoz]

I hope ,this will be the rule for IOC, from this day all countries that do the same bad things ,
will be punished with a similar ban, no exceptions.

 

[skatedreamer]

This news of an ISU ban on Russian athletes seems appropriate to me. (Note the use of appropriate over fair.) Sport success is very important to Putin and the Russian government as evidenced by the state paying coaching fees/stipends to top athletes and the state-sponsored doping scandal. THis seems like a sanction against the Russian government.

It is true that individual Russian athletes are being caught and that is not "fair" strictly speaking. But it does seem the best call for the ISU.

Assuming that "caught" refers to doping, the ISU ban was in response to the IOC's statement about Russia's invasion of Ukraine. It's not related to doping.

 

[Amei]

When your best defense is "Waaah, everyone else has done bad things, waaah".

That's no defense at all.

Russia has invaded another country and the ISU has banned Russia from World as a result. The only relevant information for these decision.

And the correct decision, in light of these events,

I'm not saying it as a "defense" (a defense of who/what?) Im saying they have literally never held this standard of "we disagree with your politics, thus we are banning athletes from your country from competition" prior to this (as others have said the Nazis were allowed to host and compete, Russian athletes aren't even given an option to compete under a neutral flag). And my point is that now they have decided to enter this arena, they have to hold that line permanently, its the only fair thing to do to the innocent athletes that are currently being punished for someone else's action. Especially when you consider (based on what i have read) there's nothing mentioned about what these innocent athletes whose international sports governing bodies dictate to use their counties to enter a competition can ever compete again, it's just a blanket ban.

 

[mrrice]

Assuming that "caught" refers to doping, the ISU ban was in response to the IOC's statement about Russia's invasion of Ukraine. It's not related to doping.

I was confused by this earlier as well.

 

[TontoK]

Assuming that "caught" refers to doping, the ISU ban was in response to the IOC's statement about Russia's invasion of Ukraine. It's not related to doping.

This is true. Absolutely true. No question about what the statement says.

But in the back of my mind, I wonder if it might have had something to do with it. Having a 15 year old girl involved in a doping scandal in one of the premier events at the Olympics... after bending over backwards to accommodate Russian athletes in the past... an ongoing string of "just one more chance"... Well, it certainly didn't help.

 

[iceskater10]

The US is occupying part of Syria right now, and bombed Somalia the other day. Where is the banning of US athletes?

Oh Please!

 

[el henry]

I'm not saying it as a "defense" (a defense of who/what?) Im saying they have literally never held this standard of "we disagree with your politics, thus we are banning athletes from your country from competition" prior to this (as others have said the Nazis were allowed to host and compete, Russian athletes aren't even given an option to compete under a neutral flag). And my point is that now they have decided to enter this arena, they have to hold that line permanently, its the only fair thing to do to the innocent athletes that are currently being punished for someone else's action. Especially when you consider (based on what i have read) there's nothing mentioned about what these innocent athletes whose international sports governing bodies dictate to use their counties to enter a competition can ever compete again, it's just a blanket ban.

"We disagree with your politics" has jack squat to do with it.

A country conducted an unprovoked military invasion of its neighbor. That violates the treaty.

All the "whataboutisms" in the world about every military action in the history of the world cannot be used defend an argument to include Russia in these Worlds under the circumstances. As the kids say, periodt.

 

[Amei]

The answer is not no. I was an American protesting the Iraq war in 2003 (along with the Dixie Chicks). I would have welcomed international moves to sanction Bush and his cronies. The "whataboutits" are using typical Russian state propaganda to justify actions or avoid sanctions.

thats such an easy stance to have when it comes 20 years after the fact and nothing will be obviously done.

 

[Ducky]

The US is occupying part of Syria right now, and bombed Somalia the other day. Where is the banning of US athletes?

Oh, you want to do Whataboutism? Russia has been backing Assad in a civil war that started as part of the Arab Spring for more freedom, which Assad reacted to by murdering protestors, using chlorine bombs against opposition. Meanwhile, Russia bombing hospitals there.

As for the Somalia bombing, that was because Al Shabab militants attacked Somali troops and they asked us for help.

 

[Amei]

"We disagree with your politics" has jack squat to do with it.

A country conducted an unprovoked military invasion of its neighbor. That violates the treaty.

All the "whataboutisms" in the world about every military action in the history of the world cannot be used defend an argument to include Russia in these Worlds under the circumstances. As the kids say, periodt.

Read my post, its not a "whataboutism" to say the sporting bodies have never done this before. Secondly its not a "whataboutism" to say they have entered this arena and now they are beholden to it forever and ever amen into the future.

 

[Bufo viridis]

I know the ISU had to do this. I'm not going to complain over it. But I am incredibly sad for my favorite athletes. I probably won't watch Worlds, I simply lost interest
I guess I'll just start counting the days to the beginning of next season.

 

[siberia82]

Let's also consider how skaters of Ukrainian descent like Canada's Roman Sadovsky can now feel comfortable competing while his relatives are fighting for their country and their lives.




For those of you who may have missed Roman Sadovsky's Instagram message, his extended family is struggling in Ukraine.

 

[Gourlie]

What will happen with russian quotas for next Worlds?

 

[skatemd1]

This is the right call in light of the IOC decision and the gross violation of the Olympic truce that precipitated it. I agree they had little choice. What I do not understand is the sad history of repeated inaction action by ISU in the face of past instances of corruption in this sport carried out by Russian athletes and officials. It is long overdue to impose a ban and well justified IMO.

 

[Joekaz]

Oh, you want to do Whataboutism? Russia has been backing Assad in a civil war that started as part of the Arab Spring for more freedom, which Assad reacted to by murdering protestors, using chlorine bombs against opposition. Meanwhile, Russia bombing hospitals there.

As for the Somalia bombing, that was because Al Shabab militants attacked Somali troops and they asked us for help.

Treating countries by the same standards isnt Whataboutism, it is fairness. Assad is the legal government and invited Russia, who is an ally with a military base there, there to fight jihadis. The US has no legal right there and is an illegal occupier. What business does the US have in Somalia. The Ukraine had 8 years to honor their agreement with the Russian area of Ukraine to give autonomy, but instead have killed thousands. American exceptionalism has killed far more people than Covid over the years.

 

[el henry]

Read my post, its not a "whataboutism" to say the sporting bodies have never done this before. Secondly its not a "whataboutism" to say they have entered this arena and now they are beholden to it forever and ever amen into the future.

If "now that they have entered the arena" means every time the IOC issues a directive, then yes they are.

If "entered the arena" means every time a larger nuclear force country invades a neighboring country without provocation, I could see that the exact circumstances are the same, then yes, they are.

Otherwise politics has nothing to do with it. Every war ever fought in the past has nothing to do with it

This decision is related to this decision. Periodt.

Now, I will bow out, because in-depth discussion of politics is not appropriate for the Edge.