International Olympic Committee Welcomes Russia and Threatens to Suspend Ukraine
Joint Statement from Ukrainian Athletes and Global Athlete
The International Olympic Committee Welcomes Russia and Threatens to Suspend Ukraine
9 February 2023: Last week, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) sent a letter to the President of the National Olympic Committee (NOC) of Ukraine, Mr Vadaym Guttsait, attempting to justify Russia’s invitation to the 2024 Paris Olympic Games. In the letter, the IOC told Ukraine that threatening to boycott the Olympic Games would be a violation of the Olympic Charter and would result in a sanction. The IOC’s inverted stance toward the aggressor and the victim of this war flouts the Olympic Charter and undermines peace.
Russia’s war of aggression has cost hundreds of thousands of lives, destroyed infrastructure, threatened the stability of the global food supply, and risked nuclear catastrophe. By welcoming Russian athletes back to the Olympic Games, the IOC is rewarding Russia’s actions. By threatening to punish the NOC of Ukraine for declining to compete against Russia at the Olympic Games, the IOC is denying Ukraine’s right to sovereignty.
The letter to President Guttsait states that “Ukrainian athletes can continue to count on the full solidarity from the entire Olympic Movement.” What solidarity is the IOC offering with this decision? Solidarity is unity with a common interest – there is no interest amongst Ukrainians to see war criminals attend the Games under the mask of a neutral flag.
We cannot accept the IOC’s ‘raison d’être’ – “to unite the entire world in peaceful competition” – as sound reasoning for allowing Russian and Belarusian athletes back into the Olympic Movement. Uniting the world through peaceful competition is a utopian view that denies the role of sport in geopolitics and disregards the way sport is routinely used as a tool of authoritarian states. The Russian State has been a prime example, using its home Olympic Games in 2014 and a state-sponsored doping program to build goodwill at home and abroad before annexing Crimea. In 2022 it did the same, using the Beijing Games to strengthen its bond with China before invading Ukraine. Russia has promoted athletes to prominent positions in the armed forces and touted athletic success as signs of Russian superiority. These actions have been possible because Russia has manipulated and controlled the governing bodies of sport to its advantage.
The IOC’s letter to President Guttsait attempts to stipulate that any person from Russia or Belarus who supports the war should continue to be barred from international competition. How many athletes from those states are members of the military? How many are subsidized by the state? How will the IOC ascertain which athletes support the war.
For Russia and Belarus, there is no distinction between the athlete and the state. We can strip away their flags, anthems, and other identification but nothing can change their identity as representatives of their governments.
This criminal war was initiated by one man. Putin underestimated the strength of the Ukrainian people fighting to preserve their freedom. He has always used the mythical superiority of athletes, trained and supported by the Russian state, to bolster his popularity to allow him to commit atrocities at will. The IOC’s sanctions against the Russian name and flag are meaningless in Russia. If anything, the sanctions strengthen Putin’s hold on power by allowing him to portray Russia as a victim of an international conspiracy while simultaneously touting the successes of Russia’s athletes in international competition. The IOC is rewarding Putin’s aggression while the death and destruction of his victims are being ignored. The IOC must choose a side in this war.
The IOC continues to be on the wrong side of history and their letter is further evidence of the power Russia has over the organization and the Olympic Movement. Sponsors, host cities, and national governments must stop tolerating the IOC’s kowtowing to Russia. The time for the IOC to be held accountable is now.
Signed on behalf of:
Ukrainian Athletes
Global Athlete
The full letter from the IOC can be read by clicking the button below