February 17, 2023 | The Hill
The US should insist that Russian and Belarusian athletes be banned from the 2024 Olympics
February 17, 2023 | The Hill
The US should insist that Russian and Belarusian athletes be banned from the 2024 Olympics
Excerpt
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) needs to get off the sidelines on the question of whether Russian athletes will participate in the 2024 Summer Games in Paris. Instead, it appears the IOC is trying to have it both ways — a cowardly stance that will fool no one.
Russia’s revanchist invasion of Ukraine and the resulting death and destruction have no precedent in recent history and the Olympic movement’s response should be a principled and categorical rejection of any participation by the perpetrators.
President Biden made an inspiring pledge in his State of the Union address to have the U.S. work “for more freedom, more dignity and more peace, not just in Europe, but everywhere.” To fulfill that vision, his administration should rally participants in the Summit for Democracy in March to pressure the IOC to exclude athletes from Russia and Belarus.
Ivana Stradner is a research fellow with the Foundation for Defense of Democracies’ (FDD) Barish Center for Media Integrity, where her research focuses on Russia’s information operations and cybersecurity, particularly Russia’s use of advanced forms of hybrid warfare and the threat they pose to the West. Follow her on Twitter @ivanastradner. FDD is a nonpartisan research institute focusing on national security and foreign policy.